Back to the Ocean - 7/14-17/2020

I've been coming to this location (South Beach) since I was a boy which is now 55-60 years ago.  We brought our kids and our kids are bringing their kids.  We've come here with a pickup & camper, tent, class b motor home, hard sided tent trailer, soft sided tent trailer, motorcycle tent trailer, Class C motor home, and now our new 2020 Primetime Breeze travel trailer.  I wanted to specifically come this time in order to rest my back from straining it over the past few weeks, do nothing but read, listen to the surf and search the log rip rap.  So on Monday. we packed up the trailer for which it now it's third voyage.  I fueled up the truck and the plan was to depart at 7:00am on Tuesday, 7/14.  

Day 1 - Tuesday, July 14, 2020

My alarm went off at 6am on Tuesday morning and I stumbled out of bed and took a quick shower.  We had just a few last minute items to load, and then I hooked up the truck to the trailer, fastened the load equalizing hitch and anti-sway bar.  We tested the lights and elected to not carry 900 pounds of water as we could easily get it at the Kalaloch campground about 3 miles from our campsite.  We left home about 7:30 and headed for Aberdeen/Hoquiam where we refueled (the truck got 9mpg pulling the trailer which isn't bad for a v-10).  From that fuel stop it's about an hour drive north to South Beach Campground which is located just inside the south border of Olympic National Park and just north of the little town of Queens.  The campground has only been open this year since 7/1 and is a primitive campground with no water or electrical.  They do have garbage service and a toilet house.  Years ago, there was running water, but problems with keeping it bacteria free caused the Park to remove the sinks.  They kept the running water to flush the urinals and toilets.  

Since this is a first come first served location, we didn't know what to expect in terms of openings.  Fortunately at 11:30am, there were around 20 open campsites including one (#45) right on the ocean which we snagged.  It was a bit tricky parking the trailer as the camper in front of us was parked quite a ways back in their allotted space.  But we got our trailer leveled and parked the truck behind the trailer.  It was our way of putting the cart before the horse.  I should note that with the COVID-19 occurring in our country, they changed the payment system to no longer accept cash.  One can just go online and pay for the site using a QR code found on the paper reservation form found at the campsite payment board.  T-Mobile cell service was 3 bars and in prior years we've had good Verizon cell service.

With the trailer set up and while Angela was making a little lunch, I went down to the beach to explore and find some cedar for kindling with which to start a fire.  A new 4' culvert had been installed over the winter and their was quite a chaotic scene of logs and other drift materials high on the beach.  Then something in the logs caught my eye.  It was a large round black object that I first though was a basketball liner.  Upon closer inspection I discovered that it was a Japanese fishing float.  It's the first one of those I've found in a very long time. I also found a nice small piece of cedar which I brought up and split into small pieces for kindling.  

Much of the rest of the afternoon I spent reading a new book, "None were Lost", by Steve Corcoran, which is a factual account of the fire, evacuation, and subsequent sinking of the Holland America cruise ship, Prinsendam, in the Gulf of Alaska in October, 1980.  I read about 200 pages and was mesmerized by the account as we have sailed that route on cruise ships and I could easily identify with what was happening.  We added water to our main tank from the 4 gallons we carried in gallon jugs and then drove up to the Kalaloch campground and brought back around 12 gallons of water in portable containers which we emptied into the main tank.  Dinner was a sumptuous chili over baked potato. I should note that throughout the entire afternoon there was a low marine layer with a constant 10mph or so wind.  Around 5pm, that broke and we had a clear sunset (at least above the second marine layer than then developed).   Finally around 10pm it was dark and not long after that we made up the Murphy Bed and lay down to a well deserved sleep.

Day 2 - Wednesday, July 14, 2020

When we're camping, we don't set alarms, so apart from overnight bio breaks, we slept in until around 8am.  A number of campers were up and packing for departure, but fortunately we didn't have to do that.  A couple from Colorado trailering 2 BMW motorcycles did what we call the "South Beach Shuffle" and moved to the campsite in front of us after the small Airstream departed.  We chatted about motorcycle routes and they were planning to do riding today somewhere north.  I provided some suggestions for which Dan was appreciative.  I also set up our solar charger which still worked all day despite the continued heavy marine layer.  The wind continued to blow all day, and it was just too strong for kite flying.

After a nice camp breakfast of sausage and eggs, I resumed reading my book and finished it.  We then took a short walk up to the overlook area and I shot some pictures of the "NASCAR" type camping area we were in.  There were a couple of very cool Wanderlodge motorhomes that pulled out of camp playing music on their horn systems. Angela had some Zoom meetings so I went out exploring the riprap south of us and found another float.  This one was likely to be a local one and after I removed all of the tree debris from it, I untangled the nylon rope and discovered there was around 100' of good nylon line.  Score!  

Dinner was a grilled steak done over the fire ring grill.  I built a large fire and then let it die down so the coals would cook the steak and corn on the cob.  It turned out well and we enjoyed a nice dinner over looking the ocean and listening to the sound of the waves as the tide made its way to the projected high at just after 9pm tonight.  

I also made a cool discovery today.  The television that came with our unit is a 110v unit, so I thought we would have to run the generator to use it.  However, I brought along a small 12v to 110v 75 watt inverter and it allows us to watch TV without running the generator. Score 2! However there are no TV signals out here and I didn't bring any movies to watch on our iPads or iPhones.  I also discovered that our portable solar unit will stow away along with our outside kitchen.  Score 3.  

I caught up reading newspapers and spent time on this blog entry.  Visibility dropped to less than a mile and the perch fishermen are close to us fishing the incoming high tide.  Fishing for them is something my Dad used to do, but it's not of interest to me as I don't like getting wet and cold!

And so Day 2 ended.  We have one more full day here tomorrow.  

Day 3 - Thursday, July 16, 2020

Today started just like the others here at South Beach.  The marine layer was in, so visibility was less than a quarter of a mile for much of the day. But the winds were calm.  The sun tried to peek through the clouds and we could generate a bit of solar power to recharge our travel trailer's batteries.  What was really surprising was how early the campground filled.  Along with the South Beach shuffle where campers seek out better spots from those who are departing, there was an earlier influx of new campers and the campground was full by 9:30am.  A huge 42' motor home from Walla Walla took the spot in front of us for the night which will make it a bit challenging for us to hook up and leave in the morning.  But the fellow is really nice and we'll work something out as he's moving sites.

After breakfast and while Angela was doing some online meetings, I went exploring to the north of the campground among the ripraff, but found nothing except for a very cool log structure prior campers had built.  Visibility dropped to 1/4 mile and I couldn't even see the campground from the log structure and couldn't see the log structure from camp.  When i returned, I made two  spam and pickles and mustard sandwiches which were yummy.  We then took a drive up to the Kalaloch campground for some water and stopped at the Kalaloch store for some ice cream.  

Back at camp, I caught up on reading my motorcycle & wood and metal working magazines and generally just let the world go by.  My back continued to hurt so it was uncomfortable to not only sit or stand.  I joked with Angela that I may need another week of this ocean therapy!

For dinner we did it hobo style with corn on the cob, ham, fresh beans all wrapped in foil and cooked over the open fire I built.  It was yummy.  While I was cooking it, a little garter snake crossed in front of me.  It's the first snake I've ever seen here in 60 years of coming here.  Lots of vehicles continued to roll through the campground in search of an elusive camping spot.  Around 6:45pm a couple in a small SUV and a tent stopped and inquired about open spaces and several of us said it had been full since 9:30am.  Another camper offered them a tent site behind their Cougar 5th wheel which they graciously accepted.  That couple had been coming here for 20 years and had never seen it so crowded.  We assured them it's been this way the last couple of days. They did have a cool tent that fastened over the tailgate of their SUV.

Our first trip here is now complete.  It continues to be a magical place for us to come and camp.  The constant rumble of the ocean waves, the changing patterns of the drift logs, and the people we meet all create great memories   We'll be back.

As a postscript there are several things I learned about out travel trailer on this trip.  First is that our battery did not receive enough solar energy to keep it charged past 3 days.  The marine layer was too thick throughout the day.  I should have run our generator for an hour or so each day.  

It was very pleasant to learn that our television will run on 12 volt power using a small inverter.

Next time I'll fill the fresh water tank before arriving at camp so we don't have to haul water.  For the two of us, the tank's capacity is well more than enough for the two of us for a week or more.

Last, it's important to not remove the wheel scissor locks until the hitch is attached to the truck.  Gravity has a fine way of moving the trailer.