Rainforest Writing Retreat, Part 2

Tuesday, October 7, I was almost set for starting the literary portion of my writing retreat. (For my first post on the rainforest writing retreat, click here.) Side trips to the Elwha Dam removal project, Chief Seattle’s grave and the Elwha Rez (to see the mouth of the river) were part of the incubation for me. Rainforest Hostel proprietor Joe Conomos was beginning to develop a certain level of comfort with me and me with him on my second day there.

Seeing his poster for Ehren Watada and his Democracy Now bumper sticker made me wonder how his “Lefty Politics” went over in clear cut country. He said he does not make a big deal out of his politics and there are folks that share a similar sentiment in the Forks area. I had caught part of the previous day’s Democracy Now broadcast on World Indigenous Day and I think that opened up a window for Jim to be more at ease with me.

He also had informed me that there were chores to be done. This is part of the hostel’s ethos and I have done chores at other hostels as well. If it helps keep the rate at $10 to $20, bring it on. He did. Day one had me help him move some 2 x 4s around. Chores day two, three and four involved helping him in his effort to build a greenhouse next to the garage. Jim told me that he was making it from all salvaged materials: cedar timbers that had been on the property for 20 years, windows donated and some material taken from the salvage of the valley’s oldest house.

Jim Conomos and the Rainforest Hostel Greenhouse October, 11, 2012

Well, I had to tell him that this greenhouse was beautiful. His whole ethos of providing a low-cost retreat for folks to experience the rainforest, making a greenhouse out of salvaged materials and watching him commune with a couple of resident ravens was quite inspiring.

With the first of my chores done, I headed into Forks to finish the Duncan book (Ambassador From Venus) and get some lunch. On my way to Forks, I just had to stop when I saw a sign for the World’s Largest Western Cedar named, of all things The Duncan Cedar! I turned off the road and followed the long series of turns, some on gravel roads, to the sign and the tree.

Duncan Cedar Sign

Before I saw the sign, I saw the tree and was stunned. It was like a ghost tree. It looked, at first site, like the world’s largest cedar snag and was a little spooky. As I approached the sign and then the tree, I saw that someone had scratched something into the sign about how the tree would not be dying if other trees around there were not being cut down, something like trees need a family. That it was scratched into the sign was rather shitty, I thought. Perhaps a sign stuck to the wooden sign, but I get the intent and it did make me think. Here is my best shot of the Duncan Cedar.

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