On Sept. 24, Rachel Wakefield of Taholah became the 50,000th person to visit the Museum of the North Beach.

Despite driving past the museum regularly, she had never stopped there before.

In early September, she noticed the marquee out front that said they expected their 50,000th visitor to sign the book that month. She considered stopping in at that point, but needed to be somewhere else; so she drove past it as usual.

Then, on Sept. 24, she drove to Hoquiam to pick up a friend’s daughter, Zoe Urquilla, from school. On their way back to Taholah, she saw the sign had been changed to read: “15th visitor TODAY wins big!”

“I looked at her, I looked at the clock, and I said: ‘I have a feeling. Let’s go back,’” said Wakefield.

She turned around, pulled into the parking lot and rushed inside with Zoe. Her phone showed it was just 2 minutes before the museum’s 4 p.m. closing time.

A docent greeted them and asked if they had a moment to talk. It seems the pair represented Nos. 49,999 and 50,000, so they had to decide between them which one would be the big winner.

“Zoe ran over and signed right away,” Wakefield laughed. “She said, ‘Nope, not me!’”

Soon, museum director Kelly Calhoun and society president Lee Marriott arrived to congratulate her in person.

The prize package included a lifetime membership in the Moclips by the Sea Historical Society; a 2018 edition Lichen float from Avalon Glassworks, with a stand made by local blacksmith Clayton Tupper; a lighted museum pen; a cookbook titled “Eat & Explore Washington”; and a gift certificate for a night’s stay at the Ocean Crest Resort.

“It’s an ocean-view room with a fireplace, and what’s really exciting is there are no blackout dates,” she said. “It’s legit good from now through 10/1/19!”

And she will most certainly be using that lifetime membership.

“It’s a darling place,” she said. “I can’t wait to go back and explore it more when they’re not getting ready to close!”