Tuesday I mentioned the signs of vampires in Forks.

The "Twilight" phenomenon has taken over the town. We rolled in a few days after a big celebration in honor of "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer. Sept. 13, the birthday of Meyer's fictional heroine, Isabella "Bella" Swan, apparently was Stephenie Meyer Day in Forks. And the signs are still everywhere.

Readerboards and shop windows all over town bear little hints of the town's infatuation with the book, author and characters who put them on the map.

On the way into Forks on 101 from the north, you'll see this sign:

I'm not sure about the "race fans" reference. Here's the flip side:

In town, the readerboard at the Dew Drop Inn sports these messages:

Sully's Burgers was closed, but these images are still soaped (or shoe polished?) onto the windows:

Sorry about the flash in that first pic. I had to shoot this dry-erase board special through the window, so it's no good either:

There are stacks of "Twilight" novels in the local Thriftway, and I have to tell you about Pacific Pizza. We had some take-out from Pacific in town Wednesday night, and nearly every window in the place still bears a "Twilight" message. They advertise Ed Bread (named after Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire beau), Swan Salad and, my favorite, Bellazagna. I didn't have my camera at the restaurant, but I doubt you really need to see the "I (heart) Edward)" sign or the bloody hand prints. Also, there's a tribute to www.twilightmoms.com, whose members apparently descended upon the town last weekend. How many members? "Like, all 1,000 of them," according to the girl at the counter. I think she might have been exaggerating.

The restaurant was still advertising tours of Forks High School (Bella's school; did I mention this is a young-adult series?) and a "Wolf Dance" at La Push, all of which took place last weekend. The wolf thing is a reference to the werewolves who, according to the novels, inhabit the Quileute Indian Reservation in La Push. Some of the story takes place there on First Beach and in the Quileute cemetery.

We drove by the high school and the police station, which also are mentioned in the books, but there was nothing interesting to shoot. However, we cruised by Forks Community Hospital and snapped this shot:

Dr. Cullen is Edward's father. I believe he treats Bella after a car accident.

By the way, apparently not every establishment in town is on the "Twilight" bandwagon:

Wednesday we hit Neah Bay, Cape Flattery and Shi Shi Beach.

Neah Bay was our staging point. In order to visit the attractions on the Makah reservation you have to purchase a $10 recreation pass, and we got ours from Washburn's store in town. Just go through one of the checkout lines and ask for one.

We stopped for a few minutes to pay our respects at the Diah Veterans Park – Fort Nuñez Gaona historical monument, which opened May 17. It's a tribute to both the late 1700s Spanish military settlement (and its relationship to the Makah tribe) and the tribe members who have served in the United States military.

We also tried our best to snap a photo of Vancouver Island, but the fog (and marked amateurism) hampered us.

After that, it was about a 20-minute drive along a winding road to the Cape Flattery trailhead. Our guide book, "Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula," published in 2007, indicated we would spend about the last five miles on a gravel road, but the entire way is paved now.

We got the feeling this trail was made for us. It's a short hike (less than a mile round trip) to an amazing payoff. Several viewpoint balconies are perched precariously on the edges and at the end of this high peninsula. If you don't like heights, stay away. Every gust of wind feels as though it might whisk you off a cliff, and you can feel the bigger waves reverberate. The final viewing platform is on the very tip of the peninsula, the northwesternmost point in the contiguous United States.

Here's the view to the south from one of the platforms along the trail:

Here's the view to the south from the platform at the trail's end:

Here's the view to the north:

And here's the view straight ahead, toward Tatoosh Island:

And a closer look at the island lighthouse:

It's another half-hour drive to the Shi Shi Beach trailhead to the south. We'd heard such wonderful things about the eight-mile hike along Shi Shi to Point of the Arches and back, but somehow the initial (and VERY muddy) two-mile hike through the forest never came up. Neither did the ridiculously dangerous descent down the side of a cliff at the end of that two-mile forest hike. Seriously, this place needs an elevator, stat!

Regardless of the difficulty, we'll definitely head back to Shi Shi on our next trip around the loop. We got there too late in the day to do the full hike (and climb) and still get back through the forest before dark. I did get this shot from one of the overlook points just before the big descent. It's a look south toward Point of the Arches.

Port Townsend seems to be the place people always go through en route to somewhere else. But Craig Hill found there is plenty of things to do for adventurers, including kayaking, cycling and parks.

I'm writing about the effort of the Washington State Parks Foundation to raise $4 million. The money will be used on four projects and programs to assist the State Parks Department.

Anglers will be interested in a couple of proposed changes in fishing regulations for the 2009-10 seasons. The biggest impacts locally are on Chambers and Ohop creeks.

We got that and more in tomorrow's Adventure section.

Bart Smith is less than 300 miles from fulfilling his goal of hiking the 16,000 miles of the National Scenic Trail system.

I talked with the Lakewood man this morning. He called from the lone phone booth in Wisdom, Mont.

Bart Smith

Smith has 290 miles of the Continental Divide Trail to complete. He’s hoping to finish his journey in Island Park, Idaho, by Sept. 30.

That’s because he’s scheduled to fly Oct. 1 from Bozeman, Mont., to Washington, D.C., so he can attend a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the National Trail System Act on Oct. 2. Smith has been asked to give a slide presentation of his 16-year journey at a ceremony at the National Museum of Natural History.

“It’s going to be close. There is still two weeks left to do the last 250 miles.
And it’s not easy hiking, it’s going to be going through another rugged stretch,” Smith said.

This last stretch through Montana has been filled with challenges, including four inches of snow as he was walking out of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Another day he hiked through icy rain for three hours before stopping when he realized he was getting hypothermic.

“The challenge has been just the remoteness. It requires that I carry a lot of food. In the Bob Marshall, I had to ration food for a couple of days. It’s a little disconcerting when you realize ‘It’s up to me to get out of this. ’ ”

The 49-year-old hiker admits he’s relieved to leave the Bob Marshall Wilderness and its large population of grizzly bears behind.

“It’s reassuring to be out of grizzly country. Walking solo you have to be a little more careful. I got tired of singing, I got so tired of hearing my own voice,” he said.

For no particular reason, Smith said he found himself singing “She’ll be coming around the mountain” as he approached blind turns in the trail, to avoid spooking a grizzly.

“It seemed to work. I also ran into another woman on the trail and she was singing the same song.”

Smith said he has seen three bears on his adventure, including a sow and cub in Glacier National Park.

“It’s tough because I want to get a photo, but I’m also hiking solo and don’t want to have an encounter with the bear.”

With the end so near, Smith said this trek through 35 states over the eight National Scenic Trails has been remarkable.

“It’s been a fantastic journey, but certainly a challenge.”

I’ll have more about Smith and his journey in next week’s Adventure section.

Since 1966, the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center has been a focal point of the Paradise complex at Mount Rainier National Park.

The building, described by some as looking like a space ship, has been a place to learn about the park, get tips for hikes and snowshoe treks, get a bite to eat and watch climbers en route to Camp Muir and just sit and admire the mountain.

Now, after five decades, the center is being replaced.

The new Jackson visitor center, built in the upper parking lot closer to Paradise Inn, will open Oct. 10. Some time next year, the old building will be torn down.

But park crews need time to clear out the old center, so it’s last day of operation will be Sept. 28.
As we prepare our coverage for the new center to open, we want readers to share their thoughts and favorite memories about the current building. You can tell us what about the current building will you miss, what didn’t you like about the structure or share your favorite memory from a visit there.

You can send your comments in an e-mail to me at jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com or by mail to Jeffrey P. Mayor, Adventure Editor, The News Tribune, 1950 S. State St., Tacoma, WA 98405.