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Despite a week of terrible, cold downpours and generally gloomy weather...I finally got out and went camping at Dash Point State Park this weekend. I had been planning on checking this place out for ages, intrigued by the fact there was a state park in Federal Way of all places. Plus, according to the State Parks website, this is also the nearest campground to my house...close enough to actually go to after work. Which is what I did.Happily, I seem to have found a new camping buddy, and general hang out and seek random adventures pal. E. is a member of my bookgroup whom I had not met until this last month, as we always seem to go when the other one isn't there. But we hit it right off, and I decided to see if she liked camping. She does, and not just car camping, but has experience as a river rafting guide and has done some backpacking too. Hooray!
So she picked me up after work Saturday and we drove down to Federal Way not really knowing what to expect. Neither of us had been to Dash Point. And for that matter, we really didn't know each other beyond name and a few mutual friends. A true adventure indeed. But it was GREAT. Dash Point is your typical Washington State Parks campground. Lots of cozy little campsites, each with a parking space, fire pit, picnic table, and room for at least one tent, depending on the spot you got. I paid the extra $7 to make an advanced reservation (just in case it was nice weather and everyone decided to go camping...ha!), and the spot we were assigned was too small for two tents, right next to a large group, and pretty exposed to the road. So we drove around until we found a few better candidates and drove back to the check in booth to see if we could switch. No problem! So we got a nice spacious spot, just a short straight shot to the bathrooms, and very close to the path to the beach (spot #20 if you are thinking about going here).
We quickly set up camp, ate dinner, and took the half mile hike down to the beach. And were very surprised to find how tiny it was. I made a joke that the sand dollars on the park's logo were almost as big as the beach. It was dusk, so we decided to head back to camp and check out the beach again in the morning...maybe it would be bigger when the tide went out?
Back at camp E. got a nice little fire going, and we drank beer and made smores. I remembered my camp chairs this time, so we were pretty comfortable. E. is great company...smart, funny, and lots of stories to tell. As the fire died down, we realized it wasn't really that dark. If you are wanting to go start gazing, this is not the place...the lights of Tacoma are very near!
Got up in the morning and drank tea and read. Went back down to the beach, and surprise! It was suddenly a HUGE mudflat. We eagerly wandered out to check things out. We wondered why more people weren't exploring it. It was terrific! We saw something neither of us had seen before...a live sand dollar! And another. And another. And we wandered on a bit and noticed some buried mostly in the sand. And then looked around and realized there were EVERYWHERE. And suddenly we both freaked out about stepping on them and hurting them, so we made as hasty and careful retreat as we could. It was both agonizing and hilarious. Then we stuck to the shore and picked up some trash, then headed back to the truck.
After we left the campground we decided to look for yard sales. We found one that was completely
played out, so next decided to follow the suggestion of a sign that said "Explore Federal Way - check out the Bonsai Collection". But on the way we were lured into Big Lots, and also got some burnt espresso at the place across the parking lot. The Bonsai Collection was pretty cool...although it is hard for me to not think of it as part of the fanciest PR piece ever. Weyerhaeuser has this as part of their Federal Way complex...which has one of my favorite office building ever! And a collection of rhododendrons, fields of lupin, and many running paths for the public to enjoy. Oh that all businesses did so many nice things for the public. But it makes you wonder, why do they feel they have to? I recommend reading the book The Good Rain by Timothy Egan to get more insight on this...it is an awesome book.Overall, a great weekend. If you are looking for a quick fix of trees, forest, slugs and camping...Dash Point
State Park is terrific!
