Cruising the Hood Canal

Dock at the park

By Tom Neal
Bigfoot Trails Basecamp | Independent Adventure Media

My wife and I decided to take a little drive up the Hood Canal tonight.

First stop was Hwy 101 to Potlatch State Park. A nice little park with RV spots and camping across the highway, picnic tables, and a play area on the water. The park covers 125 acres with about 5,700 feet of saltwater shoreline.

The water this past week has been a stunning blue-green-turquoise thanks to an algae bloom — absolutely gorgeous.

Wanting more of that blue-green magic, we cruised up Hwy 106 through the small town of Union to Twanoh State Park. Slightly smaller at 182 acres and 3,200 feet of shoreline, Twanoh is one of our favorites.

The water was clear today — almost like we were in Hawai'i... until I touched it.

Yep. Still the Pacific Northwest.

Chilly, crisp, and refreshing — the kind of water that will feel perfect once summer really hits.

After soaking in the view, we kept going up Hwy 106 for a gyro fix. We stopped at a little convenience store rumored to have the best gyros in the area: Sunset Deli.

We'd passed it countless times on the way to races but had never stopped. It looks sketchy from the outside, but don't let that fool you. It was a fun little spot, and yes, the gyros were fantastic.

We joked about the best Greek gyro being served up by a Korean, which reminded me of a former customer at the shop — a Korean lady with a Spanish name who listened to nothing but country music.

Classic.

With bellies full, we took a leisurely drive past Mason Lake and back down into Shelton.

A perfect, low-key evening adventure.

Or what we like to call a “cheap date.”

About the Author

Tom Neal is the founder of Bigfoot Trails Basecamp, an independent adventure media project built around real experiences. He’s spent most of his life around vehicles, motorcycles, racing, travel, and projects that tend to take longer and cost more than originally planned.

After decades of doing all that stuff, he’s learned that the best stories usually aren’t the ones you planned. They’re the people you meet, the places you stumble across, the things that go wrong, and the moments you never expected.

That’s what he wants to capture with BTB.

He doesn’t want to write about adventure from the outside. He wants to go experience it, then tell you what happened.

Bigfoot Trails Basecamp | Independent Adventure Media