GOING COASTAL, Part 8: WESTPORT, THE FISHING TOWN

On our last day, we traveled clear around Gray's Harbor, east, then west and south again, to visit the town of Westport.  I hadn't been back for many years, and I found that it hasn't changed much at all.  It is still primarily a little town for fishermen and the industry that keeps them happy.

This is what Westport is all about:

I really love weathered wood, and the more seasoned vessels:

We were surprised to see the water at the marinas clear enough to see large jellyfish in detail:

Fish nets are interesting subjects: 

Opportunistic passive "fishers" - pelicans and seals - stay close to the marinas:

Cutie-face:  (click once to see face up close)

A beach just south of town:

Pelicans in formation:

Grays' Harbor Lighthouse is the tallest in the state:

GOING COASTAL, Part 7: Reflections

These photos are miscellaneous reflections from every day.

An old wharf-side building:

A grey snaggy tree on the banks of a river:

Mrs. and Mr. C. Gull:

Floating mass of growth in a river:

A whole forest: 

Bare limbs:

Sea stack and dark log in the outlet:

Abstract of riverbank trees, which includes a nice aqua accent:

Log jamb: 

GOING COASTAL Part 6, Cairns

The tradition of building cairns goes back as far as man's history is known.  A cairn has several meanings, but they are all built with firm purpose, by hand since ancient times.

This cairn is not from the Pacific Beaches, but from a trip DH and I took to New England, specifically here, 

Acadia, Maine.  We hiked in dense fog up a very steep trail on granite the whole way.  The only way we could know the safe way to go was to follow cairns which "marked" the way.  We were grateful for them because we were on solid rock and because the fog, lifting here enough for me to take this one photo, was blinding.

I include it here in order to show one use for cairns.

On the Pacific beaches we visited, we loved discovering cairns people had built.  We knew they represented

the great time someone had enjoyed, and that they wanted to "return someday."

Close-up of the above cairn; a sculpture in itself:

This old driftwood seems to be a shrine for many cairns, natural and on purpose:

This one decorates someone's driftwood shelter:

I really like the simplicity of this one.  It seems the builder wanted to match

the colors and sculptural flow of the old driftwood, and I can almost hear him chuckling as 

he added the tiny but perfectly round topper:

And for good measure, two more views (but different) of 

the cairns Pat and I left behind:

GOING COASTAL Part 5, Natural Sculptures

NATURE as a  SCULPTOR

I thought the Loch Ness monster lived in Scotland!

An un-contrived nest:

 The longer a drift log is lodged on the bank, the more intricate the angles, as weather tools 

down to the grain: