Untamed Beauty... Refined Appreciation

 

It's hard to describe in words the energy that one feels on the Olympic coastline... particularly on Rialto Beach.  It's like you're transported back in time... the thunder of the waves hitting the beach... the massive driftwood that has accumulated on its shores... and the low hanging fog that often blankets the horizon...  We were so captivated by the vibe that we sat on one of the large logs by the water for over an hour just 'being.'

We think John Burroughs, the 20th century naturalist, summed up our experience while sitting on that beach... "We talk of communing with Nature, but 'tis with ourselves we commune... Nature furnishes the conditions - the solitude - and the soul furnishes the entertainment."

Our journey has been filled with a variety of serendipitous events... and our arrival at Kalaloch Lodge presented us with another one!  The Lodge is located on a bluff overlooking the Olympic Coast near the Hoh Rainforest. This is a remote area with the nearest town, Forks,  being 45 minutes away.  

While there are a variety of larger multiroom cabins associated with this location along the coastal bluffs, there are only 10 rooms in the lodge - and we were were honored to get room #1. It is the only standard room with it's own separate entrance looking onto the patio area and with gorgeous views of the the ocean and beachfront.  The room is set off by itself at the far end of the lodge complete with a large bay window and two Adirondack chairs. We later found out from the staff that this was originally "the proprietor's room."   

We began each morning at the lodge sipping our first cup of coffee while taking in the sounds and views of the sunlight rising from from behind us onto the beach.  Checking our phones or playing a game on our tablets was not an option here - as there was no internet or Wi-Fi access anywhere on the grounds.  In fact, the only way one could reach out to civilization was to utilize two working pay phones located near the parking lot - sort of like having to use an outhouse for digital nomads!

And yet, these conditions pleasantly contributed to the untethering of our lives to the hustle and bustle of our techno-world. Heck, there wasn't even a tv in the room.  We didn't miss it at all given the wide screen programming that nature was providing out our front window. In our opinion, much like the surrounding area - the rugged setting and pre-internet attributes furthered "the conditions and solitude!"