Hoquiam, Washington

Our next stop was in the town of Hoquiam, Washington. It's not much of a town, mostly modest homes in need of repairs, lots of high mileage cars, not much commerce. The forestry industry seems to be the only thriving economy. Trucks loaded with fresh cut logs rumble through town constantly. The campground, however, was great, thanks largely to our lucking out and getting the best site in the place. Our big side window faced the river, and my dog fencing was able to be propped up to give our beasts the biggest yard of the trip.


Speaking of varmints, we were thrilled to see otters swimming in the river right at our doorstep. They came by quite a few times, diving, playing, crunching up their catch, peering at us inquisitively. They never seem to rest, never stop moving. Very cute!


I love otters...they're delicious! With a nice oyster sauce, some field greens, a smooth cabernet... The only thing I like better than otter is baby seal, although spotted owl is a delectable treat!

Seriously, though...it was great to see the otters' intelligent faces peering up at us, watch them dive and come up with fish, listening to the crunch as they hastily consume their catch...

We launched our kayaks right from our site and enjoyed paddling the tidal river:



The otters (there were three) were wary of us when we were floating in their element, but when I went out alone and drifted quietly I was able to get much closer and observe them in their daily routine. Remember, these pics can be viewed full screen by clicking on them.


"You keep watch while I eat my fish."

We took a drive over to the coast, to the beach town of Ocean Shores, where we had a nice, but windy, walk along a sandy spit...



...smiled at the entryway at Sharky's...


...and drove out onto the sand where folks were horseback riding through the misty shore wash.


Each day started cool and misty, clearing up late morning and warming to about 70 degrees. Pretty darn perfect.