Neah Bay, Washington
Morning found us in the small fishing village of Neah Bay, Washington – at the very northwestern corner of the United States. When the great British explorer Captain James Cook reached this vicinity in 1778, he failed to find the entry into Puget Sound. He named the point of land at the end of the Olympic Peninsula “Cape Flattery” since in his view it had “flattered” (i.e. misrepresented) a passage. The strait was found nine years later, but the name remains. Cape Flattery is the westernmost point of land in the lower continental United States.
North across the Strait of Juan de Fuca is Vancouver Island, named after another renowned visitor to this region in the early 1790’s, Captain George Vancouver, who did the definitive mapping of the coast from Oregon clear to Alaska.
Our first stop was the excellent Macah Cultural and Research Center at Neah Bay. Kay, a Macah woman who incorporated many personal thoughts and anecdotes in her talk, treated us to a personal interpretation and tour. This center is a marvelous window into the past and present of this small Indian nation. Among the collections are hundreds of artifacts from Ozette, a Macah village which was partially buried in a mud slide some 500 years ago, and was excavated and studied in the 1970’s. Sometimes called “the Pompeii of America”, Ozette yielded beautifully preserved tools, woven and carved articles, and just about every thing used by those ancient people in their daily lives. No other equivalent site has ever been found, so this collection is truly unique and precious.
Traveling by motor coach south through the Olympic Peninsula, our next stop was the Hoh River unit of the Olympic National Park. This remnant of the ancient forests of the region holds some examples of the enormous trees once widespread in this extremely rainy temperate rain forest. Our look was under beautiful blue skies.
We reached the coast again at Ruby Beach, a small cove with tide pools, sea stacks looming off shore, and enormous logs, which had been transported, peeled and sculptured by the sea. This was our chance to see and hear the “Great Southern Ocean” close-up.
We rejoined the Sea Bird at Westport, Washington and enjoyed a walk along the quay while the ship docked. It was then “all aboard” and departure for the Columbia River bar and Astoria.
Morning found us in the small fishing village of Neah Bay, Washington – at the very northwestern corner of the United States. When the great British explorer Captain James Cook reached this vicinity in 1778, he failed to find the entry into Puget Sound. He named the point of land at the end of the Olympic Peninsula “Cape Flattery” since in his view it had “flattered” (i.e. misrepresented) a passage. The strait was found nine years later, but the name remains. Cape Flattery is the westernmost point of land in the lower continental United States.
North across the Strait of Juan de Fuca is Vancouver Island, named after another renowned visitor to this region in the early 1790’s, Captain George Vancouver, who did the definitive mapping of the coast from Oregon clear to Alaska.
Our first stop was the excellent Macah Cultural and Research Center at Neah Bay. Kay, a Macah woman who incorporated many personal thoughts and anecdotes in her talk, treated us to a personal interpretation and tour. This center is a marvelous window into the past and present of this small Indian nation. Among the collections are hundreds of artifacts from Ozette, a Macah village which was partially buried in a mud slide some 500 years ago, and was excavated and studied in the 1970’s. Sometimes called “the Pompeii of America”, Ozette yielded beautifully preserved tools, woven and carved articles, and just about every thing used by those ancient people in their daily lives. No other equivalent site has ever been found, so this collection is truly unique and precious.
Traveling by motor coach south through the Olympic Peninsula, our next stop was the Hoh River unit of the Olympic National Park. This remnant of the ancient forests of the region holds some examples of the enormous trees once widespread in this extremely rainy temperate rain forest. Our look was under beautiful blue skies.
We reached the coast again at Ruby Beach, a small cove with tide pools, sea stacks looming off shore, and enormous logs, which had been transported, peeled and sculptured by the sea. This was our chance to see and hear the “Great Southern Ocean” close-up.
We rejoined the Sea Bird at Westport, Washington and enjoyed a walk along the quay while the ship docked. It was then “all aboard” and departure for the Columbia River bar and Astoria.
