Little Creek Casino-Resort

"There is an ancient legend of the Squaxin Island People that connects the humans with the sky people. The story is told of a strong (skookum) young man who had become captivated by the beauty of a young Salish woman; she was equally enraptured by his unusual spirit strength. Her ability to run like the wind was known throughout the land; his ability to help people with his spirit power was know far and wide. The young Salish woman was promised to another man in marriage, she had known this for many years. She went on a spirit quest to the cliffs near her village searching for a way to get out of the arranged marriage. Near the cliffs the young man was singing his power song. Using spirit power the skookum man helped the Salish woman to change into the Red-tailed hawk so she could always be near him. To this day near the Salish cliffs, the beauty of the Red-tailed hawk can be seen and heard, nearby the marine waters of Skookum inlet whisper spirit power to those who will listen."

We stopped at Little Creek Casino and Resort in Kamilche, WA to get some laundry done, charge up the batteries and dump our tanks. Kamilche was the first town that we truly became aware of the impact and influence of the state's Native American culture. We would later see that the Olympic Peninsula is dominated by Native American owned land. Tribal headquarters of the Squaxin Island Tribe are located in this town. Little Creek, a development of the Squaxin Island Tribe, the native people of South Puget Sound. They are descendants of the maritime people who lived and prospered along the Sound’s shores for centuries. Because of the their strong cultural connection with the water, the tribe is known as the People of the Water. Little Creek offers a very nice casino-resort, RV park and golf course. The main draw for us to stop here was it’s very comfortable RV park. And best of all, this was a Passport America Membership Park…so we were offered 50% off the regular nightly rate. We would definitely stay at this park again.

We were able to secure two rv pads right next to each other, strong wi-fi signal, close to the bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities, which made our brief stay very convenient. Plus with the continuing rain, we were out of the mud on large asphalt pads and adjoining plush lawns. And the added bonus was the "All You Can Eat" dinner feed (i.e. unlimited King crap legs) for a very reasonable "seniors only" price point. 

A nice leisurely walk from the rv park was the stunning Salish Cliffs Golf Club, one of the top resort courses in the United States. The entrance to the golf course featured some beautiful Coast Salish carvings and totem poles...so very cool! 

While we were in Kamilche, we took a short drive up to the Squaxin Island Tribe Museum Library and Research Center. Known as the "Home of Sacred Beginnings", the shape of the museum's facade represents Thunderbird, an important character in numerous Coast Salish legends. The building contains exhibits, galleries, classrooms, a library, museum store and administrative offices for the Tribe. As the building is beautiful, so be the landscape and water features surrounding it. Very Zen! The design illustrates the relationship between the Tribe and the environment of the South Puget Sound, as well as the atmosphere of a traditional shoreline village. 

Also displayed on the museum grounds were some Coast Salish canoes under a traditional canoe carving shed built with ancient cedar posts and beams over 430 years old. The black painted canoe was hand carved from a 30’ cedar tree log that was 500 years old.

We enjoyed our brief stay at Little Creek but it was now time to skirt the Sound toward Port Ludlow, Washington.

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