SIMULACRA : ARCA LUMIS

Ocean Shores gets a lot of good press, it seems, but I can’t imagine why: the waves could barely menace a dust mite, the sand is like concrete, and the the water is cold enough to entreat members of the Polar Bear Club. On the other hand, they’ve got midnight “Rock and Bowl” and “Karaoke With Dave” at Shores Bowl. To add insult to injury, the so-called beachside cabin my family rented on the outskirts of town was actually situated by a rivery marsh, which one had to fjord to get to the beach…which was about a half mile away. A strange vacation, to be sure, particularly the drive through Kurt Cobain’s quirky hometown of Aberdeen to and from the town, which was further immortalized by Gus Van Sant (it’s also the birthplace of painter Robert Motherwell and pornstar Violetta Blue). Discovery Park is another interesting excursion where hiking paths likewise lead to picturesque yet disappointing beaches, whose shores are sometimes covered with moss and weird, bubbling algae, as well as large amounts of driftwood (and sometimes an upturned tree). And there are rocks, lots of rocks, ranging from the serrated palm-sized variety (which are great for skipping, or simply crafting large arrowheads or Neolithic knives) to lichen-festooned boulders and unstable tallus booby-trapped for small children. Let’s just say that you won’t find the cast of Baywatch milling about the base of Magnolia Bluff. The Arboretum is a land-based park, with a few notable ponds…and what a glorious park it is, particularly in Spring and Fall. There are so many little sidetrips and tributaries, one can spend half an afternoon just trying to find one’s car.

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I’ve driven across the Cascades more times than I can count, as my wife’s family lives in both Moses Lake and Ephrata. The waterfall featured below is a famous landmark, Snoqualmie Falls, located 45 minutes outside of Seattle off of Interstate 90. As you drive further east, I-90 snakes through the mountains (Snoqualmie Pass), occasionally opening into snow-laden vistas; it then descends into desert territory, where it dips to its lowest point at the majestic Columbia River Gorge. From Wikipedia:

Snoqualmie Pass is a census-designated place in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 201 at the 2000 census. It is also the name of a mountain pass (maximum elevation 3022 ft./921 m.) through the Cascade Range. Both the CDP and the pass are named after the Snoqualmie people of the valley to the west. Interstate 90 across the pass is the largest of the three east-west mountain routes across Washington state which are kept open year-round.
Snoqualmie Falls is a 268 foot waterfall on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City. It is one of Washington’s most popular scenic attractions, but is perhaps best known internationally for its appearance in the cult television series “Twin Peaks”. For the Snoqualmie People, who have lived for centuries in the Snoqualmie Valley in western Washington, Snoqualmie Falls is central to their culture, beliefs, and spirituality. A traditional burial site, to the Snoqualmie, the falls are “the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer” and “where prayers were carried up to the Creator by great mists that rise from the powerful flow.” The mists rising from the base of the waterfall serve to connect Heaven and Earth.

The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to 4,000 feet deep, the canyon stretches for over 80 miles as the river winds from westward through the Cascade Range forming the boundary between the State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. The Columbia Gorge American Viticultural Area is located in both states.

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