January 16

Up early today to visit the West Coast and the Makah Museum on Neah Bay. On the way over, my daughter Ainslie and I had an amazing drive around Lake Crescent in the Deschutes National Forest within the Olympic National Park. Felt like we were traveling though a rain forest!(Hoh Rain Forest is about an hour drive from the lake) We had hoped to go to Hoh but the road was closed due to flooding. So - our first stop was Second Beach. The sun was beaming and followed us all day.

Second Beach

We then headed to Neah Bay to visit the Makah Museum. This tribe is related to the native peoples of the West Coast of Vancouver Island who live across the Strait of Juan De Fuca in British Columbia. https://www.makahmuseum.com Beautiful museum, particularly taken by the design of wooden boxes and basket weaving. We ate fry bread Indian Tacos at Pat’s Cafe. And, at the end of the day, took the trail to Cape Flattery (below) which is managed by the Makah Tribe. . It’s the furthest northwest tip of the contiguous United States where the Makah, the first people to live at Cape Flattery and used Tatoosh Island, a half a mile from the Cape for seasonal hunting and a whaling camp.. Spanish explorers came through the Strait looking for the Northwest Passage. Captain James Cook made his last voyage to this area and named the island after their chief. A lighthouse was constructed ini 1845 and was used as a defense site during WWII.

Cape Flattery.

And, of course, there was sketching involved. .I love how theses stacks sit like monuments at the water’s edge. I have plenty of visual information on paper and in my memory to keep me busy in the studio.