Welcome to Clearwater! Thanks for your interest in the Clearwater Guest House. You may have vacationed in a rented private home before and be well beyond the initial concerns about doing so. But, for those new to this type of vacation or get away this guide is meant to give you a good idea about what to expect should you take the plunge and stay. Naturally, if you have further questions about the guest house, we’d be happy to help out via phone or e-mail. The Clearwater Guest House is a home nestled in the Clearwater River Valley 25 miles north of Lake Quinault and 12 miles southeast of Kalaloch. Surrounded by the snowy peaks of the Olympic Mountains and some of the densest virgin forest in the world, Lake Quinault has long been a favorite with vacationers, hikers, fishermen and campers. Kalaloch is a magnet for folks who love the sights, sounds and smells of the North Pacific Coast. Its beaches, rimmed by cliffs clad in gale-blown spruce and strewn with spectacular driftwood, offer visitors the chance to experience the singular thrill created by a roaring ocean surf crashing headlong into rocky shores and headlands. But, as the late-night TV commercials say: ‘Wait! There’s more!’ The hamlet of Clearwater is just outside the Olympic National Park’s Queets River Valley. So, within minutes of the guest house you can be wandering beneath some of the world’s largest trees, gigantic specimens of spruce, hemlock, fir, cedar, alder and maple draped with lush green moss, testimony to the 12 feet plus of rain that falls in the area between the months of October and April. The world’s largest fir-over 18 feet in diameter can be reached by a 2 mile hike up the Queets River Trail* The Clearwater River, itself, flows through the valley and is great for canoeing, fishing and kayaking. Mushrooming is excellent in season and over 100 species of birds make the area adjacent to the guesthouse a birder’s paradise. Eagles, many species of hawks, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, finches, herons, ducks and many other birds are common sights from a chair in the backyard. Now that we’ve worn ourselves out with all these recreational opportunities, we’d better get back to the house, rest up a bit and take stock of what you’ll find within and without. First of all, the home is furnished except for sheets and towels (don’t forget to bring a couple dishtowels and a roll of paper towels), which you must bring yourself unless special arrangements have been made. There are pillows (bring cases) and blankets but, unless you use sleeping bags, be sure to bring your own sheets. There are two single beds in a small bedroom and a queen and double in a large bedroom. The living room sofa is a double hideabed. You’ll find a complete kitchen with a double oven and microwave. There is a large refrigerator. There is no dishwasher so if you wish to minimize that little chore you might bring paper plates, cups, etc. There is one bathroom with a large shower stall. There is fireplace insert and plenty of dry wood is provided in the shed near the house. We encourage visitors to use the fireplace rather than the baseboard heaters if they feel comfortable doing so. Electricity is expensive in Clearwater and we also ask that you turn down all heat when leaving for the day or departing for home. There are thermostats in both bedrooms and the living room. Please turn all three down. *Access to the Queets Campground and Queets River Trail will be via the West Boundary Road beginning in the winter of 2007. This road leaves highway 101 7 miles south of the Queets Valley Road. The Queets Valley Road has a washout 7 miles from highway 101 that will not be repaired. Access to the Queets Valley Trail requires fording the river and should be attempted only during low flow periods, usually from mid-summer until fall. There are lots of books and a variety of fine magazines in the living room as well as some table games. There is no television or phone in the home and radio and cell phone reception is spotty due to our location on the west side of the Olympics. Try 690AM-a Vancouver, B.C. station- if you’d like to hear what’s going on in Canada and the world. Seattle stations come through better at night but will test your hunger for contact with the known world as they come in and crackle out. Cell phones seem to work best outside the house. The backside of the home is kept private for our own use when needing to maintain the house and property. This side has a separate entrance and no facilities are shared when we need to be there while guests are present. Outside the home is a nice yard that includes a large barbecue pit for those interested in getting serious about outdoor cooking. Adjacent to the pit is a sheltered cleaning station with running water. This is the place to clean your razor clams (if you’ve been lucky enough to dig some) but don’t leave entrails around the station since they will attract varmints. All animal waste from fish, clams, etc. should be either carefully packed up in plastic bags and taken home or placed in the garbage cans next to the house. This is very important due to the presence of all manner of wildlife frequenting the immediate area. Not interested in building a cooking fire in the pit? No problem, there’s also a Weber Kettle near the house but you’ll need your own charcoal. The yard is large enough for volleyball, playing catch, etc. and there’s also a basketball hoop and a couple balls in the parking area. The shed across from your entrance to the house has a ping pong table for your use, but bring your own balls as they tend to disappear. This shed is a good place to keep items you don’t need within the house while staying, coolers, bikes, fishing boots, etc. It is also the home base of our Clearwater cat, Pepper. Her dry food is located in an orange plastic cooler and we hope you’ll help her out with a small bowl of this food-and maybe a little leftover cereal milk-while you’re staying. She’s a great defender against demon mouse and very domestic once she knows you’ll be staying over night. There’s a small pond out back and you’ll probably see ducks, herons, and perhaps some otters floating around in the early morning. Beyond the pond is our own little rainforest of very large second-growth trees. This mini-forest will get you warmed up for the Queets, Hoh and Quinault Valleys where it is said the largest amount of biomass per acre grows. Lots of rhodedendrons , azaleas and roses grow around the yard and there is a small kitchen garden, too. Feel free to pick a few things if you’ve forgotten something but please be reasonable. In spring and summer you’ll see lots of flowers in pots around the parking area and on the front patio. If they seem dry we’d appreciate you giving them a little drink. There are a couple new mountain bikes in the shed beneath the yard light for your use but you’ll need your own helmets. A couple trikes are also located in this shed for young children. The woodshed-due to be replaced with a new one in 2008- has lots of dry wood for your use but please don’t waste wood with day-long campfires in the barbecue pit. To the north is a heavily forested wetland(that’s where those otters and herons come from) and to the west is a fenced farm pasture where you’ll occasionally see herds of elk grazing. To the south is a shingled storage shed and a trailer which we own and maintain. To the east is a hardwood forest. Across from the mailbox you’ll see a road which crosses a logged off property. This road leads to the Clearwater River. It is blocked to vehicles but, as of the fall of 2007, was still open to folks out for a five minute hike to the river. During the summer months you may wish to take a swim in the river. If you have an inner tube it’s a two mile float downriver to the Pioneer Bar. Though the river is quite low and seemingly safe to float in the summer it’s very important to be careful and parents should always accompany children. And, if you do make this drift, be sure to leave the river at the Pioneer Bar because below that point you’ll enter the Quinault Indian Reservation which is off limits to non-Indians without permission. Now, a few details that have nothing to do with having fun… We do not ask for damage deposits from visitors, having found that nearly all our visitors are respectful of the home and property. This is very much an “honor” situation, one in which visitors are expected to treat things as their own while present. Cleaning supplies are provided as well as plastic garbage bags. We hope visitors will do a first class job of cleaning before leaving and that’s precisely what nearly all of them do. Having said this, it’s important to note that not everyone is as fastidious as we might like and, though we do have a friend walk through the house to check for obvious problems after each visitor departs, it’s impossible to catch every little problem prior to the next guest. This is not the Waldorf Astoria, just a home. If you would like to have someone clean up after your stay it is often possible for us to arrange for a professional cleaner to do so. Ask about this service if you’re willing to pay a little more to leave a little earlier. There is a compost bin on the north side of the “ping pong” shed and we hope visitors will place vegetable garbage, eggshells, coffee grounds, etc. in this plastic bin. Dry cardboard boxes can be placed in the ping pong room for later disposal by us. They occupy too much space in the garbage cans and can be burned by us later. Aluminum cans can be compressed and placed in the round, black plastic garbage can behind the house. We give them to the local school for recycling. Please don’t place anything but aluminum cans in this container. Two other plastic cans are available for regular garbage. If you happen to make lots of it and have a large vehicle/truck with lots of space, how about taking some of it with you. We have pickup twice a month and during the very busy months those two cans get a little crowded. The electrical service to the home is in the closet of the small bedroom. Water to the home comes from a well and should the power be interrupted there will be no running water until power is restored. However, there is a plastic rain barrel next to the shed across from the house which can be tapped to flush the toilet during such an outing. Should power to the pump ever need to be turned off (broken pipe, etc.) the breaker switch to the pump is located in the greenhouse to the east of the house. It is marked “pump breaker”. Speaking of power outages: Clearwater is over 62 miles from the Aberdeen/Hoquiam area, which is our source of electricity. Within that distance there are hundreds of thousands of trees, any one of which may just decide to fall over during a windstorm, snowfall, etc. This means that visitors-especially those coming from mid-fall through spring-should always bring flashlights or lanterns with them as well as a couple gallons of drinking/cooking water for use during an outage. A camping stove would also be a great asset in such an event. Be prepared. The woodstove will provide you with heat in such an event but lights and water will be up to you. Speaking of water, the tap water is treated with a water softener but let the faucet run a few seconds prior filling your glass or pot and there’ll be no “iron” taste. Should there be an emergency during your stay please contact Fred or Betty Emmett who live about a half mile toward highway 101 from the house. Their single wide mobile with adjoining garage is on the west side of the Clearwater Road and their name is on the mailbox. But, please, only contact them in emergencies. Address: 2333 Clearwater Road If you are a fisherman looking for someone to spot your rig downriver, Mr. Fred Emmett can often help out. Let us know if you’re interested in his service. For non-guesthouse emergencies the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office is about 200 yards from the guesthouse. Phone: 360.962.2512 That’s probably more information than you really need but if there’s something we’ve missed just ask and we’ll try to fill in the blanks for you. Now, on to the details regarding prices and reservations. Getting to Clearwater From the Seattle area take I-5 south and turn west at Olympia toward Aberdeen/Hoquiam. Drive through Aberdeen/Hoquiam following the signs that direct you toward Quinault, Forks and Port Angeles(U.S. highway 101). Be sure not to take state highway 109 toward Ocean Shores as this will add an hour or more to your trip. As you reach the north side of Hoquiam you’ll drive by a large Shell gas station/convenience store. From this point you’re about 62 miles from the house. Continue north on highway 101 through Humptulips and Amanda Park(Lake Quinault). About 59 miles north of the Shell station you’ll see the large Queets-Cleawater School on your right. It’s now time to start paying attention because about a half mile beyond this school you’ll be turning right onto the Clearwater Road. While the road is marked “Clearwater Road”, and the turnoff lighted, it does sneak up on drivers as there is no large highway sign or flashing light. The Clearwater Guesthouse is 3.1 miles from this turnoff. You’ll know you’re very close when you pass the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office. The address of the house is 3192 Clearwater Road. The house is set back about 50 yards from the road. Drive up to the concrete steps, unload your gear, re-park in the parking areas and enjoy your stay. Rates* Between Labor Day and Memorial Day: $50 each for nights 1 & 2 (two night minimum say) $40 each for additional nights Memorial Day through Labor Day $60 each for nights 1 & 2 $50 each for additional nights *2007 rates, based upon 5 visitors or less. Additional visitors for $5@ per night with permission by owner. Returning visitors receive a 10% discount. Reservations Call us at 253.759.8738 or e-mail www.clearwaterguesthouse.com. Then, mail in your non-refundable first night’s rent of either $50 or $60 within one week to confirm your reservation. All checks should be made payable to Joe Novak.