Last August, the girlfriend, dog, and I sailed up the coastline of Washington State, taking 3 days to beat our way against the wind from Astoria to Neah Bay. As we approached the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we could see the surf crashing into the sea cliffs of Cape Flattery, the northwestern most point of the continental United States. It looked beautiful, but being a place of surf, currents, cliffs, and rocks, we didn’t dare venture too close.

Once we had anchored in Neah Bay, we considered trying to get out to the cliffs, but without a vehicle it would be a long hike, and we were exhausted after our time at sea. After a restful two days, we continued our journey down the Strait, never having seen the cape up close. A little less than a year later, we remedied that by taking the ferry to the Olympic peninsula and driving out to the Makah reservation to spend the night at the cape.