La Push: Seaside home is where the Quileute heart is

LA PUSH, Clallam County — These rolling waves, soft sand beaches and sunset skies studded with sea stacks have always meant home and solace to the Quileute people, here since time immemorial.

But now, thanks to a major, $1.8 million investment by the Quileute tribe, there is a deluxe home here at the Ocean Park Resort for visitors, too: 15 new cabins, right on the beach.

The resort has been owned and operated by the tribe since 1978. It's a haven for surfers, families and anyone seeking a little solitude and the music of the sea. Accommodations — until now — ranged from rustic to more than rugged. Quaint used to be the high end. Not anymore.

The tribe hired Port Angeles architect Roy Hellwig to design 15 cabins that fit into the seascape and echo the Quileute culture.

Opened just this fall, the cabins offer one of the finest oceanfront getaways in Washington.

The setting is spectacular.

Guests arrive in a sheltering grove of fir, spruce and salal. Lights illuminating a short, level pathway to the cabins are secured to the trees, using flexible rubber ties that can stretch as the trees grow.

The design of the cabins echoes traditional, shed-roofed, wood-planked long houses. Copper sheeting, the symbol of wealth for ancient Quileutes, accents the front doors and rooflines. Copper bands gleam at the tops of posts that rise at the four corners of each cabin like totem poles.

Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows frame ocean views in two directions. Those windows and battalions of silvery driftwood are the only things between you and the pounding sea.

Views of sea stacks and sheer cliffs accent the rolling waves to the south. To the north, James Island, sprouted with tufts of Douglas fir and spruce, studs the pounding Pacific.

The cabins are strung in a line along the sea to a point, cleverly angled so they do not view one another. Strategically placed, massive pieces of silvery driftwood between the cabins also provide privacy.

Each cabin has its own seaside deck, with custom-made Western red cedar Adirondack chairs. There are even benches to put up your feet.

The furniture is custom-made, carved from red cedar. Headboards over the beds feature a lolling gray whale. Sides of the chairs are enlivened with seals. Doors are faced with native Douglas fir. The ceilings are covered with cream-colored grass paper and divided by peeled alder beams.

Each cabin has a full kitchen. Bamboo floors, all new appliances, including a dishwasher; and alder cabinetry stocked with matched dishware and quality wineglasses add to the deluxe feel of these cabins.

Bathrooms are way beyond the ordinary. Each has a two-person soaking tub with Jacuzzi jets, set in a picture window with full-on views of the sea. Why ever get out?

The cabins face due west, and a short path takes you to the soft sand beach that invites long walks. Beach fires are allowed.

We watched surfers and ocean kayakers, the bobbing heads of seals and shore birds riding the wind. We savored the fresh wind on our faces, and the music of booming waves sorting smooth beach stones.

The tribal fishing village of La Push was also a pleasure, with a new restaurant opened last year in a historic building that used to house Coast Guard rescue vessels.

Perched on the Quillayute River, with views of the ocean and islands beyond, the Rivers Edge restaurant had three types of fresh fish — halibut, salmon and snapper — when we visited, as well as fresh, pan-fried oysters.

Breakfasts featured smoked salmon and Quileute hash: chunks of fresh salmon, home fries and sweet onion.

Winter is a great time to visit: The resort's rates are lower, the crowds are gone, and the cabins are a snug seaside spot for winter storm watching.

The tribe also welcomes visitors to its weekly community potluck dinner and drumming circle, held at its new community center on Wednesdays, beginning at 5 p.m. It's a chance to hear the tribe's haunting and hypnotic traditional songs.

Early spring — usually around March — brings gray whales on their northbound migration, cruising just off the beach.

Tribal whalers used to swim around James Island as part of their initiation, whipping themselves first with nettles to combat hypothermia, said DeAnna Hobson, a member of the tribal council.

Most of the sea stacks up and down the coast were named by her grandfather, William Penn. His name came from non-Indian schoolmasters, who re-named village children because they could not pronounce their traditional Indian names.

The tribe decided five years ago to make tourism the heart of its economy, said Russell Woodruff , chairman of the tribal council.

The new restaurant, beach cabins and the Lonesome Creek convenience store, also owned and operated by the tribe, are part of that new beginning, Woodruff said.

The tribe is proud of the results so far, Woodruff said. "I think our ancestors would be pleased with what has happened."

(THE SEATTLE TIMES)