Twilight at La Push and the Outskirts of Forks

Warning to all those headed to La Push and Forks, Washington: The area has been overrun with vampires and werewolves. Or perhaps they were lurking there all along and now we are more aware – or at least, should be aware – read that beware – of their presence!

One stoplight in the town of Forks can hardly handle the 3000 visitors at the Information Bureau last weekend … or so the locals tell me. Others are just glad to see human beings.

La Push beach has long been a favorite surf and picnic spot for our family. It is no longer as easily accessible; the rightful owners have turned the parking area by the baseball field into an RV hookup spot. Such is progress. You can still pay $5 to park at the store and walk to the beach from there.

Seastacks in the mist at La Push’s First Beach

First Beach at La Push is a special place. On this early April day before a full moon, it was an opportunity to watch the spring storms roll in from the outer Pacific on the swell of an incoming high tide.  If you inhale deeply that salty mist, tilt your head to face the wind, and peer across to the seastacks in the distance, who knows who or what you’ll see. Watching the sky turn colors with the changing tide — watching the wind blow the tops of the waves — simply mesmerizing. Hours quickly pass.

Not another lost soul on the beach, although I did see tracks of a very very large dog … perhaps … perhaps not?

Aka’lat Island (also known as James Island) is a safe haven for the spirits of the Quileute Ancestors, and has long been the fortress protecting the Quileute People.

Personally, I love walking the beaches, picking up rocks and driftwood. I love looking at old boats in harbors. Fishers here have seen hard times, and some of the boats have certainly seen better. But people were out sorting through gear, so perhaps hope for a better season and bigger fish are on the horizon.

And for those going to Forks? Yes, a sign out front says it IS indeed the “Home of the Spartans.”

Of course, it’s nothing like the fancy high school in the Twilight movie. In fact, a lot of things aren’t like the Twilight movie. For one thing, no Quileute tribal members are in it, and the movie is not filmed at La Push, Forks, Port Angeles, or places inbetween. Yes, according to legend, the Quileutes are descended from wolves, but werewolves – no thank you. The bit about the “Cold Ones” is fiction from Stephenie Meyer.

There are good things and bad things about turning a place into a movie set. Forks has seen difficult times with the decline of logging. It is experiencing a resurgence, which has been a real boost to the locals, even if some complain of traffic in their once-forgotten town at the edge of the rainforest.

Forks High School: vampires and werewolves, check your backpacks at the door.

My advice is, if you go to Forks, take time to visit La Push as well. It is a magical place steeped in a very rich culture. Support the Quileute economy: stop in at the store, visit with the people, buy something. Be respectful. Keep a check on reality.