Into the Twilight Zone

Of all the strange places that I am sure to encounter along this trip, Forks, WA is bound to rank right up there with the strangest. Forks had it's beginning as a sleepy little logging town in the mid-20th century, and remained that way until publication of a certain young-adult vampire fiction series turned the place into a tourist destination, especially for young girls. In fact, tourism has increased 600% (Yeah, really) since the release of the first book. Truly baffling to me. I mean, I have read a few books, but not once have I thought, 'I need to go to this town', especially a place like Forks. There's nothing here! Unless you are interested in collecting Twilight items from every store in town. And every store does have the stuff. There are a few stores dedicated to Twilight crap, but even the grocery store has a HUGE display when you walk in the front door. Ridiculous! Even the little four page "Forks Forum" on the table in the restaurant had Twilight Trivia in it. Strange.

I am learning that people are more than willing to tell me how it is that I am supposed to take this trip. The man controlling traffic getting onto the ferry told me exactly where I should head inland from the coast in Oregon. "It's boring and full of people after that," he said. The coffee lady in Sequim wanted me to know that I shouldn't have come out to the peninsula at all. Well, guess what, they're not taking the trip!

I had an interesting little revelation once I got off the ferry and away from the cities. The farther one gets from cities the more road names are given based on what is nearby. Chicken Coop Rd, Mt. such-and-such Rd, So-and-so Lake Rd, Hooker Rd, and Kitchen-Dick Rd. Now, I looked for the kitchen-dick, but I couldn't find one. However, I have to admit that I have no idea what a kitchen-dick is, but I am certain that if one had been around I would have found it.

The sun has yet to shine on me on the road, but that's because I am still in the Northwest. There have been moments where the sun has threatened to shine, but it's always followed by even darker clouds moving in.

Despite the darkness, and a brief moment of sadness directly related to listening to mellow piano music, I had a wonderful first day on the road that included one of those rare feeling that this is where I am supposed to be right now. I was riding past Lake Crescent, and had just stopped at a little turnout to look at the lake and have a smoke. I wandered a bit and found that the trees at this little park were popular places to carve initials and other things:

I'm not really sure what to do with that, I don't know that philosophical advice from the lead singer of Tool is something I want to make mine.

The road was winding back and forth in those perfect rideable arcs, and the lake was to the right, and the forest to the left. It was then that I thought, 'This is unbelievable, I am actually doing this!' and had the sense that this was what I am supposed to be doing. All that panic, and then this…

The meeting was the How It Works group at the recreation center in Forks. The group was welcoming, and I think pretty excited to have someone from out of town. The format was loose, and the atmosphere comfortable, even the silence felt OK. And Jim was more than willing to give direction to campsites, and the grocery store. Thanks How It Works Group!

Well, there you have it, day one in the books. Off to the next one…

P.S. For those of you wondering, No, I didn't see any vampires.