South Bend, Wa

Barbs Place

The Town where Barb and Butch settled is South Bend. Just a blink as you are driving down US 101 and you have missed it. Barbara told me to call when I got to town, and she would come down and drive me up. Okay….I called, and she said to wait on the corner, and she would be right here. About 10 minutes later she drives up, and I follow her about 4 blocks and turn onto this dirt road that headied up a hill. Straight up! Warning signs that said Primitive Road, no warning signs, was at the beginning. It was dark and twisty, and I followed Barbara about 1.5 miles up the mountain. We turned off onto an even smaller road, and then onto an even SMALLER road. She was right, I would NEVER have found it by myself. It was a bout 8:00 when I pulled up. She had dinner ready, and Helped me unload the car.

Barb had stopped at the corner on her way in this afternoon and bought oysters, which she poached with mushrooms and breadcrumbs. YUMMMMMY! Topped off with a salad. After dinner she showed me around, and then we sat and played cards until We were ready for bed.

I slept like a log, I actually had the whole bed to myself, no animals at all. It felt really weird! But I slept until 900 the next morning.

Their land is 10 acres abutting the Weyerhaeuser managed forest, so there were no neighbors. The loggers had clear-cut the 50 or so acres just to the southeast of them, and from that point on there was nothing but forests for MILES! NOTHING.


weyerhauser

I asked what kind of wildlife she had there, and she took me to the front yard and showed me where the elk herd had decided to homestead. RIGHT IN THE FRONT YARD. There were none around because we were there, but there were plenty of elk seed left for us to find. ;)


Elk Seeds

Herds of deer, flocks of Blue Grouse, quail, bears, cougar, owls, and a few birds rounded out the rest. I saw no rabbits, but I am sure there were some. Butch had cleared about 5 acres around the place, planted an orchard, set up a wood fired hot tub on the deck that surrounded the front of the house, built the workshop and garage, and had retired waiting for Barbara to do so also. Barbara works in Seattle, so only comes home on weekends. It was on one of those weekends home that Butch was leading her down the mountain, to the flatlands to see her off for the week, when he had either a heart attack or massive stroke, and died instantly. He was only 62! What a tragedy! Barb is taking it very well. She says she has her moments, as I am sure she will still,. But she is a very strong woman, and is determined to keep the place going in his memory.


where the elk sleep

It was so quiet there, no planes, no highway noise, no neighbors dogs, nothing but quiet. It was magnificent. The land there is so CHEAP! Pacific County is the most depressed area in the state, and a 3 bedroom home can be purchased for under 85,000! Trust me, I am thinking about it.

The town of South Bend was started because of the oystering and the logging, but as the oysters were depleted and the trees were all cut, the town died back. The oysters have returned, but the type of oyster is not the native ones, but ones that were brought in and re-seeded. The trees are also coming back, thanks to Weyerhaeuser and their managed forest plans. Driving along the highway there are signs in front of different sized plots of trees, that tell when the original forest was cut and reseeded, and then harvested, and re-seeded, and when it is to be harvested again.

The size of the stumps of the original old growth timber is awesome. I would love to have been able to see a forest of old growth, virgin forest. Some of them were bigger around than my living room. Seriously, they were big enough to hollow out and live in.

Sunday morning while Barb went down the mountain to Church, I took my coffee out to the deck and just sat there listening to the far off buzz of the logging chainsaws, and then the total quiet that followed. The hummingbirds were dive-bombing, but Barb does not want to start feeding them because she is only home twice a month now. She does not want them to get used to her feeder and then starve. Good thinking. I packed up the car and said my thank yous and good byes to Barb and left for home around 12:00.


Raymond

The town of Raymond is 2 miles up 101 from South Bend, and the highway all along the way is seeded with Iron Sculptures. These are a series of enchanting steel sculptures of wildlife and people, designed by local artists to reflect the heiritage of the area. Loggers, native americans, elk, bear cougar are some of the subjects cut out of the steel. The top of the light posts have Brants all stretched out and sunning their wings. Owls and squirrels are perched where you would expect them to be. It is about 3 miles of road, and really awesome to see.

I Drove on up 101 to highway 12 then up to 108 to 101 again, and then on up along the Hood Canal and the Ferry from Port Townsend to the island. AHHHHHHHHH this is a gorgeous state!!!