Sep 2-8 PORT TOWNSEND, WA CA -OR-WA
The old historical port town of Port Townsend is very fortunate.
They have most of their old buildings: the superb 1893 3-story stone
Post Office, the 1889 Palace Hotel, and the oldest Elks building in the
NW—the 1889 downtown Elks #317. But, we stayed at the current one,
out-of-town and very peaceful. The WINs soon learned to love this
quaint, artsy town: both the lower, "tourist," section and the
upper, "local’ (where the REAL Port Townsend people live, work
and play), section. Each section had its unique atmosphere and charms.
Deannie organized a kayaking outing on Mystery Bay, a lovely cove with
some interesting boats anchored near. As a side trip, some visited Fort
Flagler at the end of the peninsula. Carolyn found a large park for
hikes right next door to our Elks; she also prepared a fresh salmon
bake. Barbara satisfied our hunger for Italian food with a tasty
spaghetti dinner. There was a unique variety of entertainment. We
enjoyed two theatre events: a Reading of Neil Simon’s "Last of
the Red Hot Lovers" and "Stories of Courageous Women."
The Art Gallery Walk and sidewalk sale and a patio dinner at the Food
Coop with live Celtic music were special. Rio, a
songwriter/singer/storyteller (who Deannie met through one of the local
musicians) entertained us at Circle. We WINs, on the other hand,
introduced him to the WIN lifestyle. Steve acquainted us with
"Sirens," a favorite seafood restaurant with an outstanding
view of Port Townsend Bay. Some of the WINs enjoyed the Elks special
fish and chips dinner. Steve, Deannie and Darlene had fun dancing at an
outdoor Beer Garden while Gail and Eve enjoyed the live music—with
their beer! Those of us who enjoy foreign films were able to indulge
ourselves in a couple of foreign movies played at the historical 1907
Rose Theater which had been maintained in its original beauty. And what’s
not to like about the largest Farmer’s Market in NW WA which just
happened to include live bluegrass music. During the stay at Port
Townsend, the food was great, the local atmosphere was spectacular, and
the company was grand... another great week during the last part of a
long, enchanting WINs’ circuit.
Sep 8-14 PORT ANGELES, WA CA -OR-WA
We were treated to a personal City Walking Tour by a very
knowledgeable guide who concentrated on the waterfront area. In 1914,
because of flooding, Port Angeles began a project to raise the streets,
yet maintain the existing first level buildings. They started by
building cement retaining walls three feet thick and up to eight feet,
in some places. They then built a huge sluice, similar to what a cement
truck uses today, from the top of the hill to the front streets. Water
was pumped from the bay to the top of the hill where it blasted the rock
and mud down the sluice. This project was completed in about seven
months. We toured these same streets and some of the buildings where the
first floors had been covered. One "basement" had lovely
murals on the walls and had, at one tme, been an indoor golf course. We
also visited the oldest building in town, the Family Shoe Store, which
had been the town’s most popular brothel. Some of the rooms were still
furnished; they appeared they had only recently closed. The Madam’s
room had a peep hole so she could see who was coming up the stairs. The
stairway had a grill that customers could use to check out the
"girls" before entering with their $2 charge. Four of us left
early one morning to catch the ferry to Victoria. We hopped a bus to the
Butchart Gardens and were treated to a narrated tour of the city on the
way. We spent about three hours enjoying the lovely gardens. Then, we
returned to town to tour the Royal British Museum. The Museum had a
special exhibit from England that included ancient artifacts from
Europe, plus a great exhibit of early natives and people of Canada. We
also saw the IMAX, "Africa-the Serengeti." Although we had a
wonderful day, it felt great to return home late that evening. We
returned to Port Townsend for the Wooden Boat Festival which was billed
as the fourth largest. Darlene and Carolyn lucked out by having the
opportunity to row on a longboat patterned after Capt. Cook’s
exploratory longboat: eight rowers, three sails. We visited many
beautiful old wooden ships, yachts, schooners, canoes, kayaks, tug
boats, trowlers, and ferry yawls. We saw the making of wooden boats too
- GREAT show!
Sep 14-21 FORKS, WA CA -OR-WA
The last gathering of the Circuit was at Forks, WA, which is on the
west side of the Olympic peninsula and far from any large city. We
camped at a lovely Elks Lodge encompassing an almost flat grassy area
and surrounded by trees. It was peaceful. The Elks treated us very
graciously. We heard Elk bugling at night and watched migratory birds
fly overhead. Forks is a lumbering town. In the past, they cut down
almost all of the ancient old growth timber: Sitka Spruce, Cedar and
Fir. At the base, some of these trees were 12 feet in diameter. Now they
log regrowth trees, mostly for pulp. Forks and La Push are the fictional
setting of "Twilight," the very popular book and movie series
(about lovers and a vampire) authored by Stephenie Meyer. The town
boasts about 2,000 residents and 8 1/2 vampires. There were several
shops that only specialized in "Twilight" paraphernalia. We
visited the Hoh Rain Forest which is within the Olympic National Park.
We saw some bull Elks with their impressive racks. Also, we enjoyed a
ranger-led tour of the Mossy Trail, an easy 3/4 mile ramble; the trees
and shrubs were drenched with beautiful green moss. We had a very
informative forest ecology lesson about the Hoh Rain Forest. After
leaving the Hoh Rain forest, we drove south to the Kalaloch Lodge where
we had lunch overlooking a log-littered ocean beach. In this area of the
Olympic National Forest, rain averages 140 inches of per year with a
record of 190 inches. It was blissfully dry while we were there. At Neah
Bay, we participated in a guided tour of the Makah Indian Museum on the
Makah Indian Reservation. This museum is used to exhibit the artifacts
found in a 500-yr old archaeological site where a mud slide buried 5
fishing village homes and some of the inhabitants. Also at Neah Bay, we
hiked to Cape Flattery point, the farthest NW part of the lower 48. We
explored the La Push and Rialto Beaches; stayed late to watch a glorious
sunset at Rialto Beach. The beaches were wild and rugged with many
washed-up huge logs. At the Loggers’ Museum in Forks, an enlightened
and passionate museum director gave us an educational tour. In the
rafters of the museum hung an unfinished Indian dug-out canoe which
loggers had discovered in the forest. The canoe was carved out of a tree
that was 500 years old and had been abandoned for over 150 years. On the
last night of this gathering, we enjoyed a campfire (Taz built it) and a
potluck wiener roast. During this gathering, Dody (following in Nelda’s
footsteps) became our personal baker, delighting us with freshly baked
cookies and pies. After the gathering ended, several of us travelled 30
miles south to the South Beach National Park campground ($5/day), just
south of Kalaloch. Some of us parked on the edge of a short bluff,
overlooking the ocean and beach. Taz went to an Indian village at the
Queets river and purchased a small Coho Salmon fresh out of the river.
Then, he treated us to a salmon bar-b-q.
Sep 17-25 Moab, UT Cuack II
Tom in charge of fee collection and Donna in charge of
registration. We had 36 WIN members and 3 PM for a total of 39 at the
gathering with 9 visitors (Green RV group from Millie’s). We were very
crowded in our parking situation. It was a problem getting 15 RVs into
each site like the BLM said was possible. But Bill and assistant Tom
managed to park us very close together and utilize some of the boat
parking lot for bigger rigs. And WINs accepted the situation like the
troopers they are. (FYI for next year secure larger sites C &D). The
views out of some motor homes was gorgeous-red rock and Colorado River.
Fabulous time in a Fabulous place! Days passed by visiting the natural
wonders of Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, and Dead Horse Point SP. We took
several unforgettable 4 wheel drive trips including Shafer Canyon,
eventful Long Canyon and Hurrah Pass led by Bertie and Bill. Chuck lead
us on two kayak trips including a slow easy float from Gold Bar to
Potash, one with big brown fast waves (not white water at all) from Take
Out Beach to Bridge. Several people repeated this one and took new
arrivals along. A group of us drove the beautiful Manti La Sal Mountain
-Castle Valley Loop and much of the scenic byway 128. Small groups hiked
The False Keva at Canyonlands, Ranger lead Fiery Furnace at Arches, and
nearby Corona Arch and Bow Tie Arch. A small group did some biking,
geocaching, toured Rock Art and others concentrated on the great ice
cream place in Moab. While Joey was there she managed to complete the
CUACK II circuit and get it on the WINlist! We did have a potluck also.
Weather was in the 80s during the day and 60s at night with some heavy
wind gusts at times. Very little rain.
Sep 27-Oct 1 MEXICAN HAT, UT CUACK II
We arrived a Gooseneck State Park with no problems after some of us
read the directions of how to get there. It has spectacular views on all
sides and everyone claimed they had the best spot. Marc wanted to kayak
this beautiful San Juan river and we all encouraged him to do so and we
would all record the event for his posterity. So far he hasn’t
attempted it. Most of the group went to see Monument Valley and we had
lunch at Gouldings. Some went on to the Garden of the Gods and did a
little geocaching. We all had a potluck after that.
Oct 12-16
Echo Bay, NV CUACK II
We started out with dinner at The Echo Bay Restaurant, with
dancing and karaoke, and one kayak trip on the Bay in between the wind
storms. We caravanned to the "Valley of Fire", where we took
in the most vivid petroglyphs I have ever seen. Hiked into The
"Mouse Tank" and saw the famous ‘Elephant Rock’. Several
hardy souls then ventured to St. Thomas, Nevada, the town flooded when
the damn was built, that is now visible because of the low water level.
We had a great ‘Mexican Dinner’,with Burrito’s smothered in Green
Chili and all the fixins’ and one night had a "Pig"
Tournament, where Peter took first place and Paul was BUTT last. It was
said that none of the participants contacted the Swine Flu.
Oct 16-24 BOULDER
CITY, NV Cuack II
The Boulder City, NV stop on the Cuack Circuit has quickly
become a happy tradition. From assorted directions 58 WINers converged
here for the fun. Bob and Donna handled essential details so that first
timers and veterans alike easily found a place in our
"system". Securing an assembly place, sequencing our
activities and calling attention to lots of local options. Highlights
this year included kayaking on Lake Meade, an over nighter down in the
Black Canyon led by Chuck and Bob, followed by a delicious Hobo Stew
dinner to welcome them back. A kayak safety instructions by them
preceded the canyon run, combined with a hilarious kayak game session
coordinated by Brad. Joann instigated a bike ride to Hoover Dam while
others chose to hike via a wonderful trail along mountain’s edge
through a series of tunnels. Joey, Tom and Shirley once again produced
and directed a terrific murder mystery play Murder in Deadwood Saloon
with about half the group performing for an audience of the other half.
Going enmass for costumes in the local thrift stores was half the fun.
The downtown Fremont Experience and a night of fun on the strip rounded
out a jam packed week of fun.
Oct 25-29 Bullhead City, NV Cuack II
Once again the wind was a factor at the gathering, but we still
managed to have a great time. Kayaking on the Colorado River, past the
Laughlin casinos, the wind was at our backs. We hiked up Grapevine
Canyon, past some of the best petroglyphs we’ve ever seen. On the trip
to Oatman we saw the resident begging burros and the cowboy gunfight.
And as usual, there was plenty of dancing at the casinos and the Elks
Lodge.
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