Aberdeen, Washington, is a gritty harbour town on the grey, rain-soaked edge of the continent, and it is not trying to impress anyone. It sits at the head of Grays Harbor, where the Chehalis and Wishkah rivers empty into a broad, shallow bay, and its fortunes have always followed the timber. In the early twentieth century this was one of the biggest lumber ports in the world, with dozens of mills, and the old waterfront still shows traces of that heyday: wooden pilings, rusty gantries and brick storefronts that have seen better decades. Rain falls here for much of the year, more than two metres of it, and everything wears a coat of moss.
Its most famous son is Kurt Cobain, who was born in Aberdeen in 1967 and spent his boyhood in the town, and the sign at the entrance reading Come As You Are borrows a Nirvana song title. Fans make the journey to see the bridge beneath which he is said to have spent time and the small memorial park by the river, and the town has made peace with the attention. Down at the dock, the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport is home to a replica of the Lady Washington, a tall ship that the state uses as its official ambassador, and when it is in port it makes a fine sight. The harbour itself was found by the American captain Robert Gray in 1792, who also gave his name to the great bay to the south.
For riders, Aberdeen is a junction on the long loop of US 101 around the Olympic Peninsula, with Hoquiam, its twin, sharing the same waterfront. The highway here is flat and busy, running past mills and mudflats, but the interest lies on either side. West of the town, a road leads to the Pacific beaches of Ocean Shores and Westport, with huge skies and driftwood, and on the other side, the road runs north toward the rainforest valleys of the Quinault and Hoh. Expect wet roads, mist, logging trucks and long straight stretches, with tight curves in the hills. Bring a good rain suit.
Aberdeen has sixteen thousand people, so fuel, groceries, motels and cafes are all easy to find. The coffee is strong, and the seafood, notably Dungeness crab and razor clams in season, is excellent. Cosmopolis, a short way upriver, is a quiet place for a break. In summer, the days are long and cool, and the best weather arrives late, in August and September.