On labor day, September 5th, I had a plane reserved for the morning. I didn't expect it but the weather turned good so Steve and I decide to do the Olympic loop. I head about this from the northwest pilots group: Seattle to Hoquiam, north along the beaches then back, stoping in Port Angeles for gas. Or the other direction, depending on the wind who wants to be on the scenic side of the airplane. Today I decide to go counter clockwise to let the morning clouds clear out a little.
| Also, this gives us a chance to poke over the Olympics to check out a ridge that Steve wants to hike in 2 weeks. |
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We stop at Port Angelis for fuel. My beta calls for a stop in Port Angelis and in Hoquiam though probably only one is needed. I prefer to have the gas for sure as we cruise down the coast.
| From Port Angelis we travel west to Sekiu then cut the corner over to lake Ozette and onto the coast. |
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| At the south end of the beach run we come to Copalis State Airport. This is the only place in the United States where a strip of beach is designated as an airport. When the tide is not full it is possible to land on a wide strip of firm wet sand. This is my second time landing here. |
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It's wild to step out of the airplane and be on the beach. |
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We checked fuel and oil, decided there was enough, and flew straight back to Seattle, getting Steve to work with just minutes to spare.