Day 224 – It was a quiet and peaceful day at the campground. The low last night was 41 degrees and the high today was 55 degrees. It was very cloudy with some fog. We did 2 more loads of laundry, very convenient, and later baked halibut for dinner.
There is a rustic feel around here. The campground, particularly the section with the various cabins, is fairly new and extremely well-kept. We are on the Quileute Indian Reservation, staying in a Native American town. And it feels like that…..like there’s a lot of history & culture, there’s plenty of native art influence without it feeling like it has been made into something for the tourists, it feels spiritual. The scenery certainly doesn’t hurt – the wild Ocean, the fog, the huge trees, the sea stacks – it all adds to the feel of being someplace special.
When you check in, they give you paperwork asking that you respect the residents and not photograph the burial grounds and other sacred places, and that if you come across the residents participating in various cultural activities, that you do not disturb them. We drive by the Native American cemetery every time we enter La Push. There are beautiful Indian carvings at the entrance. We would’ve liked to take a picture. Many of the Tribal buildings have Indian paintings on them. On Wednesdays, they have “Native Drummings” at the cultural center. We heard it’s awesome with native dancing and singing. But we’re leaving Wednesday morning.
Yesterday, a truck pulling a long, wooden canoe – a Quileute Tribal Canoe – pulled up across the street from the campground. A Native American man got out and was fiddling with something inside the canoe. Campers emerged from their various vehicles to see the canoe. It was amazing.
“In 1989 Washington State had its 100th birthday. The coastal tribes of Washington decided to honor the state in the traditional way. The Quileutes would paddle canoes to Seattle like members of their tribe had done seventy years before. Nearly twenty other tribes were invited to join in the celebration. Tribes, including the: Duwamish, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Lummi, Makah, Nooksak, Quileute, Quinault, Hoh, Samish, Upper Skagit, Skokomish, Swinomish, Suquamish, Tulalip, Lower Elwha Klallam, Port Gamble S ‘Klallam, Jamestown S ‘Klallam, together with tribes from Canada, were invited to take part in the paddle.
The Quileute paddlers started the journey by launching their canoes off the coast at La Push. Three canoes began their journey to Seattle by heading north. The 170-mile trip would take them about a week. A fourth canoe met them near Port Angeles. At Neah Bay the Makah canoes joined the Quileutes. Old rest camps along the way were prepared to welcome the tired travelers. The paddlers stopped at every reservation on the coast. At each stop, the paddlers asked if they could come ashore to rest and eat. The paddlers’ songs told the people on the shore who they were and why they had come. After the host tribe had welcomed them ashore, the visitors would present their hosts with a gift to thank them for their hospitality.”
From Paddle to Seattle Challenge
From our current campsite we can see the local school. Today the children, ranging from fairly small to probably pre-teens were outside practicing Indian dance. We enjoyed watching them from the RV. We like it here and don’t want to leave.