Pacific Beach State Park

Sunday, July 15, 2018

The Pacific Ocean!

Did you know that the Pacific Ocean covers more than one-third of the Earth’s surface?  And that it covers more surface area than all of the land masses on Earth combined?  Did you know that the total number of animals, plants, fishes, etc, in the Pacific Ocean (just the Pacific Ocean, not including the other oceans or any other bodies of water, just the Pacific Ocean) are more numerous than all of the land animals, plants, birds, reptiles, fungus, etc, combined on the entire planet?!  That’s just the Pacific Ocean.  It’s huge, and it’s really important.

I knew about that first statistic that it covered more than one-third of the Earth’s surface, but I didn’t know about the second or third statistic until I researched them just a few days ago.  And yet we know so little about this vast ocean.

So here I go!  I’m going camping and I will be parked right next to that amazing ocean that gives life to our planet.

It was a very pleasant four-hour drive/tow from my home to my campsite this day.  My route took me right past the small town of Montesano so I stopped there to eat lunch inside my trailer.  Before getting back on the road, I just could not resist going into the grocery store (same as last year when I was on my way to the campground at Coho) … same grocery store, same bakery, and bought another whole apple pie and a big container of vanilla bean ice cream.  I think that’s a great tradition, don’t you?

Another couple of hours down the road and I arrived at the Pacific Beach State Park campground, right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.  What a gorgeous day.

Photo above is my truck and trailer neatly parked in my campsite.  That giganticus motorhome and the “party” tent belonged to the camp hosts who were the nicest folks.  I chatted them up a bit and then asked about the tent … they chuckled and said “no there will be no parties there, have no fear.”

Turns out I never heard any noise from them even though they were right next door.  Quiet neighbors for sure.  As well, there was no one on the other side of me except a hedge.  A perfect spot!

Little Towhee knew she was in new territory and was a bit wide-eyed about it.  She’s never seen the big ocean after all.

This campground is one where each rig is parked fairly close to their neighbors.  I was concerned about that and about the prospect of noise.  But in fact, the campground was quiet as all get out.  You would never know you had so many neighbors so close to you.

The photo above shows my rig on the left, then a middle row of RV’s, and then the row of RV’s on the right has a front-row view of the ocean.  Notice the black car on the right side of the photo above.

That black car is on the left in the photo above.  And then there’s the beach … and then there’s the ocean.  I could smell the saltwater; I could feel the saltwater in the air.

Just past the picnic tables was an easy paved walkway just a few feet down to the beach.

Photo above is the view from my trailer door.  The photo below is zoomed in on the ocean.

The ocean never stops.  Day and night.  It’s always on the move as is the life it supports.

I didn’t get checked in until after 4pm, then set up camp, then walked around and took photos, so I was tired and ready for dinner.  But at one point in the evening while walking around the campground after dinner, I noticed this goofy thing (above).  My white Dodge RAM truck is on the right.  Opposite me on the left in those three adjacent campsites were three more Dodge RAM pickup trucks … all full crew cabs like mine, and all of them white.  We RAM owners chatted with each other about that and decided we pretty much owned that corner of the campground and would be charging a fee to any pesky Fords or Chevys or Toyotas that trespassed across our land.

It was interesting to me to note that there was not one car towing any size of trailer there.  Seems most folks understand the idea of having a tow vehicle (often called a “tug”) … having a tow vehicle that’s more than up to the job, for safety and dependability.

Later in the evening I took a quick walk on the beach (didn’t even take my camera) and then headed to bed for a lovely night’s sleep.  Lots of adventures to come!  Including getting the truck’s tires wet in the Pacific Ocean!  Stay tuned.  🙂