Last one from Bumbershoot.
Quadron
Electronic soul. Very different! The lead singer had a phenomenal voice, and the music was mostly upbeat. Great way to start off the last day.
Grand Hallway
The lead singer from Grand Hallway has performed with The Maldives before, and I knew he was a wonderful artist. He has a fairly high voice, kind of sounds like heaven. They were enjoyable, but unfortunately, a lot of the music is repetitive sounding.
Lemolo
Two young ladies, a drum set, keyboard and a guitar from Seattle. They are self-described dream pop. The EMP Level 3 stage was a good fit. I rather enjoyed their music. It was pretty dreamy, but then they'd break into these runs and just rock out with so much passion!
Greensky Bluegrass
A bluegrass band. I was a little disappointed. Or maybe just tired. They play around here often.
Eisley
Girl-fronted rock band. Pretty good. Nothing spectacular, unfortunately.
My paper says I saw Sharon Van Etten, but I don't remember her. Maybe we went to the Starbucks lounge instead. I'm telling you, free drinks! Almost their whole menu!
Vendetta Red
AGGHH! VR is getting back together, agggghhh! Okay, it's not that big a deal to me, more just that one of the old rock bands is back together. Kind of a nostalgia thing. And although the audience for them was small (they've been broken up since 2006, none of the young kids know them), their fans are still rabid. Not many people, but enough for lead singer crowd surfing, apparently! So much energy, and I was surprised to remember a few of the old songs (they played at WWU a few times). Their bassist is the guy from Schoolyard Heroes (moment of silence for another AWESOME disbanded Seattle band). Glad to see they're back at it.
Two more Decibel Festival bands: SPLATINUM and Truckasaurus. Okay, we pretty much skipped the latter...The former were dressed in these wacky robes, and at one point brought their toddler on stage. Adorable. Also, pretty entertaining for electronic music.
Ended Bumbershoot with a beautiful (visually and audibly) show by Phantogram. They're actually electronic too, but this one was out under the stars by the fountain (perfect!) The key to electronic music: having a SINGER, instead of just DJ's. The lead singer gal for this band makes sweet sweet music. Check them out on Spotify. I love "Mouthful of Diamonds".
And that was it for Bumbershoot! A lot more local acts, fewer bands I was psyched to see, but discovered a lot of great music. Best shows of the festival: DEFINITELY Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Presidents of the United States of America, Astronautalis, STRFKR and Mad Rad. Hip hop definitely shined in 2011!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
MTME: Bumbershoot 2011, Sunday
I know, I am WAY behind on these. But honestly, who finds the time to blog?
The Lonely Forest
Great local band, finally making it. These guys are from Anacortes, and I saw them play when they were still in high school (I think)...at least, I was still in college :) They had a single out on the radio this summer on 107.7. I really enjoy them!
Mad Rad
Holy fuck. I'd heard of these guys, but not their reputation. They're a rap group from Seattle. With names like P Smoov, Buffalo Madonna, and Radjaw, and DJ Darwin...their songs are titled things like "Party Mountain" and "I Want Your Blood"...whatever you do, SEE THEM LIVE! Because they bring it like almost no one else. Their music is nasty and crazy, almost exclusively sex, drugs, and craziness. And the crowd goes WILD. A couple of them work at Neumos, but not too long ago, they were all kicked out and the cops called on them there. They were banned for some time. This is how crazy these MC's are.
AgesandAges
I have them marked down on my paper but I don't remember seeing them. Tells you a lot...
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Ah, yes, we went to see this amazing singer while downing free Starbucks at the lounge. The Starbucks Lounge is awesome...Probably drank like $20 worth of drinks for free, plus had a good view of their stage. Jessica Lea is only 22, but she sings like she's seen a life of heartache. She recorded her first EP at 15. Depressing, but beautiful and poignant music. And she play guitar, which is always nice in a female singer/songwriter.
Warpaint
This band is made up of four young ladies. The music a'ight. I probably bobbed my head. Not terribly memorable, though.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
We arrived an hour early, and STILL had to sit in the top bowl of Key Arena. Mack "sold" that place the fuck out! What a show to remember. These men are Seattle boys, bringing the local hip hop scene to an increasingly national stage. Macklemore, 3 years sober, sings often of his experiences with drugs and alcohol, growing up as a white kid who loves rap, fidelity (with his very long-time girlfriend), and had a hit single this summer about his obsession with Nike's and disgust for consumerism, called "Wings". It's rap with brains. And he brings the party just as hard as Mad Rad. Ryan Lewis makes the magic happen, laying down the beatz.
Lusine
One more Decibel Stage guy. Probably liked him better than some of the others, but again, my heart's not in it with DJ sets.
The Lonely Forest
Great local band, finally making it. These guys are from Anacortes, and I saw them play when they were still in high school (I think)...at least, I was still in college :) They had a single out on the radio this summer on 107.7. I really enjoy them!
Mad Rad
Holy fuck. I'd heard of these guys, but not their reputation. They're a rap group from Seattle. With names like P Smoov, Buffalo Madonna, and Radjaw, and DJ Darwin...their songs are titled things like "Party Mountain" and "I Want Your Blood"...whatever you do, SEE THEM LIVE! Because they bring it like almost no one else. Their music is nasty and crazy, almost exclusively sex, drugs, and craziness. And the crowd goes WILD. A couple of them work at Neumos, but not too long ago, they were all kicked out and the cops called on them there. They were banned for some time. This is how crazy these MC's are.
AgesandAges
I have them marked down on my paper but I don't remember seeing them. Tells you a lot...
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Ah, yes, we went to see this amazing singer while downing free Starbucks at the lounge. The Starbucks Lounge is awesome...Probably drank like $20 worth of drinks for free, plus had a good view of their stage. Jessica Lea is only 22, but she sings like she's seen a life of heartache. She recorded her first EP at 15. Depressing, but beautiful and poignant music. And she play guitar, which is always nice in a female singer/songwriter.
Warpaint
This band is made up of four young ladies. The music a'ight. I probably bobbed my head. Not terribly memorable, though.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
We arrived an hour early, and STILL had to sit in the top bowl of Key Arena. Mack "sold" that place the fuck out! What a show to remember. These men are Seattle boys, bringing the local hip hop scene to an increasingly national stage. Macklemore, 3 years sober, sings often of his experiences with drugs and alcohol, growing up as a white kid who loves rap, fidelity (with his very long-time girlfriend), and had a hit single this summer about his obsession with Nike's and disgust for consumerism, called "Wings". It's rap with brains. And he brings the party just as hard as Mad Rad. Ryan Lewis makes the magic happen, laying down the beatz.
Lusine
One more Decibel Stage guy. Probably liked him better than some of the others, but again, my heart's not in it with DJ sets.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Oddest massage experience ever.
Okay, I know I'm over a month past my last update, but I just had to relay this story.
I bought two daily deals because it was such a steal. $30 for a 90 min massage. It's a block from Cafe Flora, so I thought "decent block, won't be a bad place to go" and the description of the salon didn't make it sound off or anything.
My appt was for 6pm. Got there on time. Had a hard time finding it because it was on the backside of the block-long building of various shops. Cute boutiques, a cupcake store, etc.
The salon is definitely one of those "I go there because I know it's there" places, not some place you drop by because it looks nice from the street. It was kind of run down and poorly lit. There were only 3 chairs, it was all in one smallish room. And it was a weave and braids salon. I was the only whitey there. Which, I know, is not a very sensitive thing to notice, but EVERYONE stared at me when I walked in.
The masseuse was the only male in the salon. Which also makes me kind of uncomfortable.
The massage area is partitioned off from the rest of the salon by a fake wall in the back of the room. The wall didn't go to the ceiling, there was about a foot and a half of clearance, so I could hear everything going on in the salon. Not very relaxing. The space was incredibly small and dim!
I got headphones for "soothing music" because he didn't have speakers.
There was a mini fridge and microwave in the massage room.
OH! And when I walked in, there was a little dog, I pet it and the masseuse says "Yes, that's Action Jackson. He'll be in there, too. He has a little bed under the massage table. He's my service dog."
The masseuse had several gold front teeth and long braids.
I swear I am bruised all over (you can't see them but my skin hurts to the touch all over) because, despite asking four times, he gave me the most painful deep tissue massage I've ever received. After I asked for a Swedish massage. I told him I was sore from a workout the day before, but nevermind that.
I had the feeling something wasn't quite right with him socially. At one point I said my mid-back was really tight, and so he needs to go easy on it, and he responded (I got this a few times) "Oh yeah, I'm really good at disarming the nerves." and went on digging into the muscle. I've never had my kidneys massaged, but I'm pretty sure that's what hurt so much.
At the end of the massage, he said that the massage is designed to remove [long list of "toxins"] from your muscles, so be sure to drink lots of water to flush the system. I don't remember the list of toxins, except "herbs and spices" were the last two he said. I know you're supposed to try and flush your system after a professional masage, I just thought herbs and spices were funny. They weren't meant to be funny
I felt sorry for the guy, he just seemed so odd, I gave him a normal tip. He saw what I wrote on my check and said "Well, for customers who give me a tip over $10 (which I was giving), I like to give them one of my Auntie's homemade soaps" which were for sale in the front display case, along with cheap rhinestone jewelry. So, although that was weird, it was pretty nice. The soap smells really good.
And then he walked me to my car.
Oddest massage experience ever. Not relaxing whatsoever.
I bought two daily deals because it was such a steal. $30 for a 90 min massage. It's a block from Cafe Flora, so I thought "decent block, won't be a bad place to go" and the description of the salon didn't make it sound off or anything.
My appt was for 6pm. Got there on time. Had a hard time finding it because it was on the backside of the block-long building of various shops. Cute boutiques, a cupcake store, etc.
The salon is definitely one of those "I go there because I know it's there" places, not some place you drop by because it looks nice from the street. It was kind of run down and poorly lit. There were only 3 chairs, it was all in one smallish room. And it was a weave and braids salon. I was the only whitey there. Which, I know, is not a very sensitive thing to notice, but EVERYONE stared at me when I walked in.
The masseuse was the only male in the salon. Which also makes me kind of uncomfortable.
The massage area is partitioned off from the rest of the salon by a fake wall in the back of the room. The wall didn't go to the ceiling, there was about a foot and a half of clearance, so I could hear everything going on in the salon. Not very relaxing. The space was incredibly small and dim!
I got headphones for "soothing music" because he didn't have speakers.
There was a mini fridge and microwave in the massage room.
OH! And when I walked in, there was a little dog, I pet it and the masseuse says "Yes, that's Action Jackson. He'll be in there, too. He has a little bed under the massage table. He's my service dog."
The masseuse had several gold front teeth and long braids.
I swear I am bruised all over (you can't see them but my skin hurts to the touch all over) because, despite asking four times, he gave me the most painful deep tissue massage I've ever received. After I asked for a Swedish massage. I told him I was sore from a workout the day before, but nevermind that.
I had the feeling something wasn't quite right with him socially. At one point I said my mid-back was really tight, and so he needs to go easy on it, and he responded (I got this a few times) "Oh yeah, I'm really good at disarming the nerves." and went on digging into the muscle. I've never had my kidneys massaged, but I'm pretty sure that's what hurt so much.
At the end of the massage, he said that the massage is designed to remove [long list of "toxins"] from your muscles, so be sure to drink lots of water to flush the system. I don't remember the list of toxins, except "herbs and spices" were the last two he said. I know you're supposed to try and flush your system after a professional masage, I just thought herbs and spices were funny. They weren't meant to be funny
I felt sorry for the guy, he just seemed so odd, I gave him a normal tip. He saw what I wrote on my check and said "Well, for customers who give me a tip over $10 (which I was giving), I like to give them one of my Auntie's homemade soaps" which were for sale in the front display case, along with cheap rhinestone jewelry. So, although that was weird, it was pretty nice. The soap smells really good.
And then he walked me to my car.
Oddest massage experience ever. Not relaxing whatsoever.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
MTME: Bumbershoot 2011, Saturday
I spent more time at this year's Bumbershoot than I have at any of my past ones, and I was less excited about the line up than ever before. However, it really does help to have someone to go with who is psyched to hear music, whether they know the artist or not.
SATURDAY
Presidents of the United State of America: We kicked our festival off right with PUSA at Key Arena at 2:30pm. I have put off seeing them, because I know that they play around here plenty and I'd eventually get to see them, maybe for free. I wish I hadn't put it off so long, they put on a hell of a show! So much fun :)
Astronautalis: Raced over to the Fountain Lawn Stage, sponsored by KEXP, to see this guy. He's indie hip-hop, a former battle-rapper white guy who looks like an accountant with a bad boy (note: tattoos) past. He raps about Dmitri Mendeleev and Ben Franklin. I bought two of his albums at Bumbershoot- I didn't buy any other cds the whole weekend, so that's saying something. The guy is incredibly talented! A regular part of every show is to rap about any subjects the audience throws out. Our audience gave him "famine in africa, tarot cards, sea anemones" and a bunch of other things, like 10 things, all of which he incorporated in a fairly understandable rap that he made up on the spot! Definitely listen to him. Also, he just put out a new video for his song, Contrails, with Tegan Quinn of Tegan and Sara.
Emancipator: The first of many electronic artists at EMP Sky Church, as part of a new Decibel Festival feature during Bumbershoot. I was disappointed that only electronic artists were featured at the Sky Church, because it's such a great venue, but I can't think of a better venue for them at the Seattle Center, what with the 2-story digital background and awesome speakers. We only caught the end of the set, but he was pretty good.
Nice Nice: We stuck around in the Sky Church for this set. They were just a little too out there for us, so we moved on.
MarchFourth Marching Band: From Portland, they always put on a great show. Think mini-marching band, with brass and drums, AND crazy stilt walked and other acrobatic performers. A true spectacle :)
Beat Connection: Back to the Sky Church for two more electronic acts. We only caught the end of Beat Connection, but they were good! Ray Dalton, whom I will mention later, made an appearance on a cover song (I think it was Arcade Fire?) that was really great. The BC kids look just like...kids. Like, 17. Maybe they are!
Free the Robots: This DJ probably had the best energy of any electronic artists we saw this weekend. Just really was into it the whole time, and spun a lot of hip-hop beats, and even grabbed the mic a few times. It is SO lame to watch a DJ set when they just stare into their macbookpro and do nothing to connect with the audience.
STRFKR: This was a PARTY. By now it was dark out, and STRFKR (yep, pronounced Starfucker) got everyone jumping around and dancing. It was fantastic!
Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs: We split up for a bit and I went to Ray LaMontagne for about 20 minutes. He was the featured artist for the evening on the mainstage. I'd heard he can be boring to watch, doesn't engage the audience much. This is true, but it doesn't matter so much when your vocals are mesmerizing and you tour with a great band (slide guitar!) I don't think I'd pay to go see him again unless he was magically playing The Triple Door or some other dinner theater venue. He might also be good at Marymoor on a warm summer night, when you can just sprawl out on a blanket.
Minus the Bear: Haven't seen MtB since WWU, and I remember them being a lot more entertaining. I missed some of their better known songs while at Ray LaMontagne. Then the lead singer revealed that he and his wife had a baby 10 days prior, and he was so tired and it was a miracle he made the show, so I guess I forgive them for the low-key performance. It was just too bad, because I know Robin was really looking forward to seeing them for the first time.
That ended the night at 10:30pm!
SATURDAY
Presidents of the United State of America: We kicked our festival off right with PUSA at Key Arena at 2:30pm. I have put off seeing them, because I know that they play around here plenty and I'd eventually get to see them, maybe for free. I wish I hadn't put it off so long, they put on a hell of a show! So much fun :)
Astronautalis: Raced over to the Fountain Lawn Stage, sponsored by KEXP, to see this guy. He's indie hip-hop, a former battle-rapper white guy who looks like an accountant with a bad boy (note: tattoos) past. He raps about Dmitri Mendeleev and Ben Franklin. I bought two of his albums at Bumbershoot- I didn't buy any other cds the whole weekend, so that's saying something. The guy is incredibly talented! A regular part of every show is to rap about any subjects the audience throws out. Our audience gave him "famine in africa, tarot cards, sea anemones" and a bunch of other things, like 10 things, all of which he incorporated in a fairly understandable rap that he made up on the spot! Definitely listen to him. Also, he just put out a new video for his song, Contrails, with Tegan Quinn of Tegan and Sara.
Emancipator: The first of many electronic artists at EMP Sky Church, as part of a new Decibel Festival feature during Bumbershoot. I was disappointed that only electronic artists were featured at the Sky Church, because it's such a great venue, but I can't think of a better venue for them at the Seattle Center, what with the 2-story digital background and awesome speakers. We only caught the end of the set, but he was pretty good.
Nice Nice: We stuck around in the Sky Church for this set. They were just a little too out there for us, so we moved on.
MarchFourth Marching Band: From Portland, they always put on a great show. Think mini-marching band, with brass and drums, AND crazy stilt walked and other acrobatic performers. A true spectacle :)
Beat Connection: Back to the Sky Church for two more electronic acts. We only caught the end of Beat Connection, but they were good! Ray Dalton, whom I will mention later, made an appearance on a cover song (I think it was Arcade Fire?) that was really great. The BC kids look just like...kids. Like, 17. Maybe they are!
Free the Robots: This DJ probably had the best energy of any electronic artists we saw this weekend. Just really was into it the whole time, and spun a lot of hip-hop beats, and even grabbed the mic a few times. It is SO lame to watch a DJ set when they just stare into their macbookpro and do nothing to connect with the audience.
STRFKR: This was a PARTY. By now it was dark out, and STRFKR (yep, pronounced Starfucker) got everyone jumping around and dancing. It was fantastic!
Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs: We split up for a bit and I went to Ray LaMontagne for about 20 minutes. He was the featured artist for the evening on the mainstage. I'd heard he can be boring to watch, doesn't engage the audience much. This is true, but it doesn't matter so much when your vocals are mesmerizing and you tour with a great band (slide guitar!) I don't think I'd pay to go see him again unless he was magically playing The Triple Door or some other dinner theater venue. He might also be good at Marymoor on a warm summer night, when you can just sprawl out on a blanket.
Minus the Bear: Haven't seen MtB since WWU, and I remember them being a lot more entertaining. I missed some of their better known songs while at Ray LaMontagne. Then the lead singer revealed that he and his wife had a baby 10 days prior, and he was so tired and it was a miracle he made the show, so I guess I forgive them for the low-key performance. It was just too bad, because I know Robin was really looking forward to seeing them for the first time.
That ended the night at 10:30pm!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Upcoming posts
I know, I've been really lame about posting. But I've been so busy! I will tell you about Bumbershoot, my trip to Portland, and my trip to Bend. Probably this weekend, even. I also have enough music to post another MTME :)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Vacation 2012
National Parks Road Trip!!!
I won't do this by myself, so I am really hoping someone steps up and is like "yeah, that sounds fun! I'll go with you!"
I want to see Arches and Yellowstone mainly, but throw in a few other locations. I think this road trip route, developed by the U.S. Parks website, is a really good start:
http://www.us-parks.com/yellowstone-arches.html
I would probably shoot for late May, or June. I'll have to look into airfare, camping/lodging, and car rental prices, and compare with good temperature and tourist flow. But I'm thinking 12-15 days. :) Probably fly in and out of Salt Lake City, like the website suggests.
Would you be interested in this trip?
I won't do this by myself, so I am really hoping someone steps up and is like "yeah, that sounds fun! I'll go with you!"
I want to see Arches and Yellowstone mainly, but throw in a few other locations. I think this road trip route, developed by the U.S. Parks website, is a really good start:
http://www.us-parks.com/yellowstone-arches.html
I would probably shoot for late May, or June. I'll have to look into airfare, camping/lodging, and car rental prices, and compare with good temperature and tourist flow. But I'm thinking 12-15 days. :) Probably fly in and out of Salt Lake City, like the website suggests.
Would you be interested in this trip?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Beach Camping
A couple weekends ago, Robin and I went out to the peninsula to go backpacking. It was my first adult trip overnight backpacking...I've family camped at State Parks with bathrooms plenty, and I've day hiked some. I went to sleepaway camp when I was younger and we did a one-night to a lake once, but that was with a big group and I don't remember much of it at all, except the backpack was heavy.
We stayed Friday night with the Sheriff's, and I got to catch up on all the goings-on at the "hostel". The yurt is just about finished (it is gorgeous!), and got to see some of Kevin's improvements to the half-pipe garage (e.g., a hand-painted Deadmau5 sign in glow-in-the-dark paint). Met Grandpa Joe, who was really quite funny, and a couple friends of their's from CA. It was a great group :) Luna and Willard made their appearances, too. We left in the morning after some more chats (Robin's next plan: mini golf course on the property, involving a gold elephant that's on the roof of an interior design store in P.A. that's going out of business) and went to the Wilderness Information Center to pick up a bear container and get our backpacking passes. Talked to a friend of the Sheriff's, who really worried me about putting everything in the container than had a scent, because of how aggressive the animals are out there.
Note: We did not see any animals on our trip, besides birds on the Cape and seastars. He freaked me out for nothing!
After the WIC was sorted out and we got food at Albertson's for the weekend, we drove out to Neah Bay to get our Makah Reservation Pass. The weekend weather was just absolutely beautiful, couldn't have gotten anything better. I've never been to Neah Bay, kinda neat. We parked at a private yard near the trailhead (the actual trailhead has no overnight parking, so it costs 10-20$/weekend to park at a private yard- good, cheap money for them!) The hike through the woods to the beach was pleasant. It is muddy, but this time of year it wasn't all that bad. Much of the first half of the hike is on boardwalks, and I enjoyed pointing out all of the plants I knew to Robin. We ate some wild red huckleberries (my favorite finds in the woods!) and later ate some Thimbleberries, which I'd never had the opportunity to taste before (like a less-sweet raspberry). The last part of the hike to Shi Shi Beach is very VERY steep, down a cliffside with switchbacks. There is no railing, and the trail is kind of crazy because so many people have made detours. I hate going down steep things, it takes me forever because I get scared and then I become paralyzed. It's even harder with a big backpack on and carrying Robin's very nice DSLR camera! But harder still I imagine trying to carry that big bear container in your hands (thanks, Robin...!) I forgot my camera on the charger at home, so here are some of Robin's shots. I think he's pretty great at this whole photography thing :)
Shi Shi Beach
We made our way a bit down the beach, happy to have reached our destination. Set up camp near a fire pit, and decided to walk to the Point of Arches. The hike in the woods is about 2.5 miles, my guess, and the hike down the beach was another 2.2 or so. It's harder on the beach, though! We got there during high tide, unfortunately, but it was still really pretty.
At Point of Arches
We got back to the tent with plenty of light and took a nap before setting about building a fire. Very exciting stuff, building a fire on the beach. I am really glad we had a pre-made pit, because supplies of wood and rock were limited in our area (picked over, no doubt). Chris's borrowed saw came in handy with some drift wood. Hey, quick shout-out to Chris for letting us borrow a ton of gear, including his tent! Thanks so much! Anyway, after many matches, trying to get lint and moss to catch fire and get hot enough to get the wood burning, I scolded myself out loud for not bringing the denatured alcohol we thought about using with the stove. We left it behind because of weight, and we were just going to cook over the fire instead of the stove. Then it dawned on me: alcohol...hand sanitizer has lots of alcohol...turns out, our brand had 65%. And it caught VERY well. I got a bit pyro with it, actually :) We cooked brats and a bread bun on the fire, and made delicious s'mores! Neither of us play beachy instruments, so I pulled out the portable iPod speakers and we played some Jack Johnson while drinking rum, etc. Good night, indeed.
In the morning, we packed up while the marine layer was still hanging heavy.
Me, looking camp-y.
It was low tide, so we went down to the exposed rocks and looked at the seastars, mussels and anemones. Purples, oranges and greens. So pretty! Maybe not as cool as the ones at Ecola State Park in Oregon, though.
We packed out of there around noon and hiked back to the car. Zoom zoomed up to Cape Flattery, the most northwest point of the State. It's another mile hike or so, but a nice one for sure. The fog was just rolling out, and we got to see Tatoosh Island and the Tatoosh Lighthouse. Very pretty. Saw lots of birds, including many juvenile bald eagles. There was a little sparrow-type bird who was not afraid of humans at all. And didn't take human food, which I thought was very good of him. He was just chillin'.
Tatoosh Island and Lighthouse
Cape Flattery birdie
On the hike back to the car, we passed this tree with a lot of fungus on it. Upon further research at home, I think I have identified it as Chicken of the Woods, aka Sulphur Shelf. I like this shot (hey, I took this one! :)
We dropped off the borrowed bear canister in P.A. and grabbed dinner at a restaurant on the waterfront. Finally got home about 11:30pm, after a long ferry wait. What an epic weekend :) Who wants to go again?!
We stayed Friday night with the Sheriff's, and I got to catch up on all the goings-on at the "hostel". The yurt is just about finished (it is gorgeous!), and got to see some of Kevin's improvements to the half-pipe garage (e.g., a hand-painted Deadmau5 sign in glow-in-the-dark paint). Met Grandpa Joe, who was really quite funny, and a couple friends of their's from CA. It was a great group :) Luna and Willard made their appearances, too. We left in the morning after some more chats (Robin's next plan: mini golf course on the property, involving a gold elephant that's on the roof of an interior design store in P.A. that's going out of business) and went to the Wilderness Information Center to pick up a bear container and get our backpacking passes. Talked to a friend of the Sheriff's, who really worried me about putting everything in the container than had a scent, because of how aggressive the animals are out there.
Note: We did not see any animals on our trip, besides birds on the Cape and seastars. He freaked me out for nothing!
After the WIC was sorted out and we got food at Albertson's for the weekend, we drove out to Neah Bay to get our Makah Reservation Pass. The weekend weather was just absolutely beautiful, couldn't have gotten anything better. I've never been to Neah Bay, kinda neat. We parked at a private yard near the trailhead (the actual trailhead has no overnight parking, so it costs 10-20$/weekend to park at a private yard- good, cheap money for them!) The hike through the woods to the beach was pleasant. It is muddy, but this time of year it wasn't all that bad. Much of the first half of the hike is on boardwalks, and I enjoyed pointing out all of the plants I knew to Robin. We ate some wild red huckleberries (my favorite finds in the woods!) and later ate some Thimbleberries, which I'd never had the opportunity to taste before (like a less-sweet raspberry). The last part of the hike to Shi Shi Beach is very VERY steep, down a cliffside with switchbacks. There is no railing, and the trail is kind of crazy because so many people have made detours. I hate going down steep things, it takes me forever because I get scared and then I become paralyzed. It's even harder with a big backpack on and carrying Robin's very nice DSLR camera! But harder still I imagine trying to carry that big bear container in your hands (thanks, Robin...!) I forgot my camera on the charger at home, so here are some of Robin's shots. I think he's pretty great at this whole photography thing :)
Shi Shi Beach
We made our way a bit down the beach, happy to have reached our destination. Set up camp near a fire pit, and decided to walk to the Point of Arches. The hike in the woods is about 2.5 miles, my guess, and the hike down the beach was another 2.2 or so. It's harder on the beach, though! We got there during high tide, unfortunately, but it was still really pretty.
At Point of Arches
We got back to the tent with plenty of light and took a nap before setting about building a fire. Very exciting stuff, building a fire on the beach. I am really glad we had a pre-made pit, because supplies of wood and rock were limited in our area (picked over, no doubt). Chris's borrowed saw came in handy with some drift wood. Hey, quick shout-out to Chris for letting us borrow a ton of gear, including his tent! Thanks so much! Anyway, after many matches, trying to get lint and moss to catch fire and get hot enough to get the wood burning, I scolded myself out loud for not bringing the denatured alcohol we thought about using with the stove. We left it behind because of weight, and we were just going to cook over the fire instead of the stove. Then it dawned on me: alcohol...hand sanitizer has lots of alcohol...turns out, our brand had 65%. And it caught VERY well. I got a bit pyro with it, actually :) We cooked brats and a bread bun on the fire, and made delicious s'mores! Neither of us play beachy instruments, so I pulled out the portable iPod speakers and we played some Jack Johnson while drinking rum, etc. Good night, indeed.
In the morning, we packed up while the marine layer was still hanging heavy.
Me, looking camp-y.
It was low tide, so we went down to the exposed rocks and looked at the seastars, mussels and anemones. Purples, oranges and greens. So pretty! Maybe not as cool as the ones at Ecola State Park in Oregon, though.
We packed out of there around noon and hiked back to the car. Zoom zoomed up to Cape Flattery, the most northwest point of the State. It's another mile hike or so, but a nice one for sure. The fog was just rolling out, and we got to see Tatoosh Island and the Tatoosh Lighthouse. Very pretty. Saw lots of birds, including many juvenile bald eagles. There was a little sparrow-type bird who was not afraid of humans at all. And didn't take human food, which I thought was very good of him. He was just chillin'.
Tatoosh Island and Lighthouse
Cape Flattery birdie
On the hike back to the car, we passed this tree with a lot of fungus on it. Upon further research at home, I think I have identified it as Chicken of the Woods, aka Sulphur Shelf. I like this shot (hey, I took this one! :)
We dropped off the borrowed bear canister in P.A. and grabbed dinner at a restaurant on the waterfront. Finally got home about 11:30pm, after a long ferry wait. What an epic weekend :) Who wants to go again?!
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