Shi Shi Beach

This week I decided to venture far within the Northwest to Neah Bay. Neah Bay is an established Native American reservation with generations of history. Not only is the culture strong, but their landscape is one of the most beautiful in the country. The agenda for this trip was to see Shi Shi beach and Cape Flattery.

After a dramatic Monday night episode of The Bachelor, I hit the sack early to catch the first ferry sailing to Bainbridge Island at 5:30am. I had never traveled to the Olympic Peninsula through Bainbridge, but the convenience that the ferry is only eight minutes from my Seattle home base made the trip that much easier. Washington State Ferries also has a congestion time table that helped me plan the best time to sail. I love traveling early in the morning because my senses are so fresh and driving in the dark is relaxing. Upon boarding the dark ferry, we went upstairs to grab some quick breakfast burritos from the galley. After 30 minutes of sailing, we arrived on Bainbridge Island and continued the 3.5 hour drive North West.

The route towards Neah bay was very windy, and although only 140 miles from Bainbridge, the route took quite a bit of time. The road seemed unconventional with many sharp turns around the land. Once we arrived in Neah Bay, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some trail snacks and a Makah Indian Reservation recreational pass. We then headed straight towards Shi Shi beach. Shi Shi is acclaimed as one of the most beautiful beaches in Washington with interesting rock formations and sea life. Although a bit of a trek, totally worth it. We parked at the empty parking lot and came to the realization that we had the whole park to ourselves. Once we entered the trail head, I instantly fell in love with the boardwalks, rain forest, and fresh air. The weather was extremely rainy and we soon found out why this in't a popular trail in the Winter. As we trekked through the flat 2 mile forest trail, we found the challenge of stepping into foot deep mud quite the obstacle. I never knew 'quick-mud' existed, but the Olympics is so wet I guess it isn't too shocking. The trail was full of puddles and mud and there was little way around it. As hard as we tried to avoid it, we were fooled by the forest and shoved into mud. Even little Mac went face first into the deep mud, my poor baby's face was black and sandy, and I had only a little dirty towel to help him out. He eventually sucked up his misery and started to navigate us through outer trails around the rough spots. When we reached the end of the forest trail, we then navigated down the slippery hillside with make-shift ropes placed by previous visitors. It was a lot of fun shimming down the ropes and I was more than excited to see the beach. The beach was beautiful and rocky, and we started to explore the big rock structures and climb over them to get to other sides. After some handstands and sprints on the beach we headed back over the rocks. To get to Shi Shi was another mile and a half down the beach but the low visibility and high tide urged us not to go. We were covered in mud, sand, and rain, and were pleased with what we saw. I do plan to go back on another day more prepared to finish the hike.

After the muddy few miles back through the forest, we cleaned ourselves and Mac off with some water bottles and headed to our cabin. We stayed in a pet-friendly room at the Hobuck Beach Resort. We checked in a tad early and showered the mud away from our lives. The cabin was surprisingly big with a living room, separate bedroom, full bath, and kitchen. With such a long drive and strenuous hike, we were pleased to be staying under a roof with hot water and heat. After a quick detox and reorganization, we went back into the town of Neah Bay to grab groceries for a late dinner. Since we were on vacation, we decided to spoil ourselves, so we grabbed some battered shrimp, steak, and apple and chicken sausages. Then we went to the Warmhouse Cafe for a late lunch. With appetizers of salad, onion rings, and tater tots our stomachs were happy as can be. We finished off the meal with Rubens and french dip before heading back to the cabin to relax for the night. When we got back, we fed and walked Mac, hung some Christmas lights, and popped some wine. After hours of chatting and cooking food, we passed out early, just to wake up the next morning at 4am. After a restless sleep, we spent the morning walking around and playing with Mac, we eventually cooked breakfast and then checked out of the cabin and headed to Cape Flattery. The cape trail was much more relaxing than the Shi Shi trail, and we also had a bit of company. Cape Flattery is a must see in Washington, it has absolutely beautiful scenery and the walk is very enjoyable. Once you get through the woods you walk along a boardwalk to different lookouts that are all unique. The weather was a bit windy and wet but the trees provided ample coverage. After a 3.5 hour car ride home, we kicked back had a meal at La Isla and then a beer at Pikes Place Brewery. It was an amazing trip to the most northwestern part of the lower 48. The lack of service and the homey adventure made me forget about the real world and just relax in the moment, it was the perfect break from the city and I am already ready to go back!

#Celea #celeamae #McInerny #Adventure #Travel #JeepUSA #PNW #RoadTrip #Mountain #ocean #Washington