Cape Alava, Washington State

If you have ever bee to the Pacific Coast in Northern Washington State, you know it is like no other.  If you want  sit on a andy beach, relax in the sun and surf...this isn't your place.  On the other hand, if you want to find a remote place, get back to nature and feel alive again, this place should be Mecca.  The beach is rocky and in some places, nearly impassable.  The weather is almost always cold.  Storms come in off the ocean and get locked in from the Olympic Mountains, creating a rain forest on the coast.  Even on days when it can be 80 degrees and sunny just a few miles inland, it can be 60 degrees, foggy or raining on the coast.  Why, then would anyone want to go there?

Because it is awesome!  For me, there is something honest about the place.  You are miles away from any roads and well over an hour's drive to any civilization.  Deer, elk and even bears roam the area with confidence.  They stare at you sending the message that you are the visitor in their house.  A few miles up the beach are indian petroglyphs (rock carvings) that are hundreds, if not thousands of years old.  Whales breach just a few hundred yards off the coast and Seals and Sea Lions nap on the rocks and beach.  It is primitive, quiet and wild.  Just like Mother Nature intended it to be.  

This pic was taken on my last trip there in 2008 with my son.  He has been hooked on primitive camping ever since.  This sunset was the only glimpse of sun we had that day and it says it all.  A warm sandy beach is a great way to spend time on the ocean but nothing beats Cape Alava to strengthen the soul.