Olympics

 Michael processed veggie oil on a road side high above the heavily logged Quinault Nation on the Olympic Penninsula. He made changes to his set up which an interested person can find at www.biodiesel.infopop.cc on the SVO side. His name on the site is "bio-me" and the photos will be under "acme juicer on the road."
Above, a simple and ancient process is taking place. There is a smelt run and hundreds, perhaps a thousand gulls are gathered for it. This was the most lively bird event we've seen and what seemed to be evident was that very few of them were actually getting any fish.

 At the next and last Washington beach we visited we were struck by the beauty. Don't tell any friends in Oregon or Washington I said this but our California beaches, with the august providence of the California Coastal Commission (which stopped development) and our natural rocky coasts are the Best of west coast beaches although all beaches, any ocean, are better than not being at a beach. This is Ruby Beach and it was the loveliest we saw in Washington.

As we leave the U.S. we say good-bye to all the clear cuts we stayed in. After three states of this desecration of the land you almost get used to it. The logging roads have also been the easiest places to find shelter and what is evident up here is how many people depend on logging.
Last night, on Hoh Nation land, coyote voices cut through the night with three individual singers--the ultimate sound of wildness. Dancing foxglove and hopeful young trees competed and grew together in the whimsical nursery there.

In the same frame are these individual flowers, remarkably unremarkable, and amazement.
 We leave Port Angeles tomorrow for Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada. We are a little nervous but mostly just excited to go on the next stage of the adventure. We've eaten all our fresh fruits and vegetables in anticipation of the produce restrictions and are just enjoying yet another coastal community under muted skies.