Onward to Washington
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| Astoria-Megler bridge |
We're in
Washington now. We took the mile-long bridge from Astoria, Oregon and continued up Route 101. In short, we'd both recommend skipping this length of the 101. As absolutely stunning as parts of the 101 are in California and Oregon, up here it leaves much to be desired. It's a monotonous carousel of forest clear-cuts and depressed (and depressing) towns, all with infrequent views of the coastline. I don't understand how there can be so many signs of the evisceration of the forests and still evidence the collapse of the timber industry, which translates into these rusted and rundown hamlets. One town, which shall remain nameless, was about as forlorn and tumble-down as a place can get and still have inhabitants. I observed that I counted more tattoos than teeth on one intersection in particular and Erin said that you know a town is in the slump when the Walmart is in the
nice part of town. Shouldn't the decimation of these woodlands translate as a vibrant economy, as it means the timber industry is thriving? From all appearances, the lumber money isn't trickling down here along Washington's 101.
The good news: we camped overnight in Old Fort Townsend just outside of
Port Townsend, Washington last night. What an incredible little town this is. Erin and I passed through here on our road trip 14 years ago and it made quite an impression and it still doesn't disappoint. Artsy, bustling and funky, it's a nice combination of fancy and seaside shabby -- it's one of our favorite coastal towns (and apparently, we're not alone in our love of this place). I'll post some pictures later.
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| Campsite in Old Fort Townsend, just outside of Port Townsend, Washington |
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Our feeling whenever we go North is similar...lots of signs of irresponsible forestry. Unfortunately, it gets worse in many parts of B.C. where, interestly, forestry practices have always been behind the U.S. (usually Canada is the more liberal minded). This is probably due to the huge, historical influence of logging. Clear-cutting of federal and state lands has dropped significantly in the U.S. since the 1990s, however logging on private lands has shot up. It can't last too long, fortunately, because the government owns most of the forests. However, we can all expect to see plenty of clearcutting and unsustainable logging for several more years as private lands are literally raped. The Recession has really hit lumber hard too, with historically low prices (counting inflation), low demand, and really no need to cut many trees. But it's hard to get an industry that was used to lucrative profits and zero responsibility to slow down too much! I'll step off my soap box now...
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