Kalaloch: The Wood

 

 

 

Nestled along the Washington coastline, Kalaloch is surrounded by the Olympic National Forest and the Quinault Indian Reservation.

It took us about 11 hours to make the drive from our Boise-area home.  Of course, you have to factor in multiple bathroom stops, lunch and a fill-up.

 

I’ve been going to Kalaloch ever since I was a kid, as far back as I can remember.  It was our summer destination of choice.  Mom and Dad once asked if we wanted to go to Disneyland or Kalaloch and to this day, I haven’t set foot in Mickey’s world.  That’s how much we loved it as kids.

 

It had been two years since I last went “home” so I was more the eager to return.  We were prepared for rain, lots and lots of drizzle, mist, and intermittent downpours, but this trip was beautiful every single day.  One evening was cloudy, but it didn’t matter. 

It’s such a treat to unzip the tent door and have the morning sun peek through the trees to greet you hello. 

 

 

Miss B, Mr. C, D.J. and Devin.

 

 

Just a few feet from our tent door is the watering hole, potable water piped in from the lodge. 

Washing off under the spigot feels like living in an Irish Spring commercial. 

Cool water, a carpet of moss to stand on, the roar of the waves below and the lush undergrowth, the smell of which no scented candle can replicate. 

 

 

 

 

So many trees to climb! 

The kids spent their dry, daylight hours in the woods in search of a sasquatch, fighting wild animals, dragons,

aliens, and whichever dumb adult decided to wander in with a camera to capture them.  

 

 

 

 

“I know what you are…  You’re my cousin.”    Sorry, I couldn’t help the reference. 

D.J. and Miss. B were agreeing on the ground rules for the latest round of hide and seek.

 

Back at camp to burn the sacrificial twigs before getting some much needed shut-eye only to get up and do it all over again.

 

I didn’t spend the entire vacation with a camera in my hand – I’m on vacation too and honestly, how many “campy” pictures can one endure?

 

One early morning, my mom woke me up with a photo-op. 

A rather large bald eagle had landed in the dead tree near our campsite and was quite content to perch there while I fumbled with my camera.

 

 

 

To give you perspective of just how close….

 

 

 

The blue dome on the far-left is our tent, followed by Grandma & Grandpa’s tent trailer, the eating pavilion, my sister’s tent and the dead tree.  On a side-note, my mother calls to tell me that the morning we left, it landed in the tree right above our tent.  It figures!!!

 

 

It’s one thing to see such a great bird, the symbol of our nation, chained to a stump in the zoo or wildlife refuge.  It’s another to see it free. 

We ended up seeing a lot of eagles, a “family” of sorts.  Two adults and two fledglings gave us quite a show circling the camp and landing on the beach below.

 

(Here’s the point were I give love to the telephoto lens and yet curse it at the same time.  I thought it was an auto AF-S lens when I bought it – it’s not so everything is manually focused and much harder to get a crisp, crystal clear shot.  These were the best.  I suppose I’ll just have to try, try again!)

 

 

 

Up next, Kalaloch:  The Beach!