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August 19, 2008
Cape Alava 2008
Just got back from another backpacking trip to Cape Alava. As always, it was perfect, even when it rained. The trip in was uneventful, a three mile march with heavy pack, and we settled in with friends at the perfect campsite: two rope swings, and miles and miles of beach for exploring. 
The kids (and the adults) spent hours searching for 'treasures.' The beach glass is plentiful, and once collected, becomes a sort of currency, with everyone trading red for blue, blue for turquoise, etc. Evan and his friend Alex, both budding zoologists, were in search of seal, otter, deer, and bird carcasses. Evan found a full otter skeleton, and both found plenty of seal bones, some with the fur and sinew still clinging to the bones. But the prize of the week was in the whales. Two gray whales had washed up on the beach, one about a half mile from the campsite and the second about a mile further. The skin on the first had bloated, stretched, and was now starting to disintegrate. It was on the rocks, and by climbing upwind, you could get upwind and avoid the putrid smell. It made for an interesting photo. 
The second one was still in the water- it was not pretty. Some of its vertebrea had separated from the spine and were rolling on the beach in the surf. I pulled one out for a closer look and my hands smelled for a long time after.
With both whales, the baleen was separated from the rest of the carcass and was in a perfect place to touch. It was rubbery. Carlyn kept telling the boys not to touch it, but I kept 'overruling.' 'How many times in your life do you ever get to feel what baleen feels like' I kept asking.
The petroglyphs at wedding rocks are another draw at the cape. I like the orcas myself. 
But the real draw is the time with family,
sitting by a campfire,
drinking a glass of wine,
no phone,
no television,
no internet,
no contact with the outside world,
and watching the sun slowly set. 
Posted by r.johnson at August 19, 2008 4:39 PM