Hoh, Hoh, Hoh!!!! Like Christmas in August!!!
This may have been my favorite day in Washington state! The weather has broken and it is nice and cool here in the Pacific Northwest. After getting my fangirl on yesterday in Forks, we headed to the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park this morning. I had heard from a local that we needed to get there before 8:00 am or after 4:00 pm or the line to get into the park could be up to a 3 hour wait 😲😲😲. We got up bright and early and didn’t have to wait at all! (Ed. Note – Some of us are not semi-retired and get up then every day!!!!) We stopped at the Trail of Mosses which is an easy hike through old growth pines and a grove of maple trees – many covered in trailing green moss. (Ed. Note – Was honestly not expecting a maple forest in the middle of an evergreen forest, but, there you have it!!!) It was enchanting. This is the only rain forest in the United States and gets up to 14 feet of rain every year – I guess that why everything was so green and big! We saw twisted roots on downed trees almost as tall as me and the ground was covered in lush fern everywhere we looked. It was like being in another world. (Ed. Note – Jurassic World to be exact!!!!)
A different kind of sneaker!!!!
We left the rain forest and drove toward the coast which is part of the Olympic National Park as well. Our first stop was Rialto Beach next to the Quileute Reservation. This beach is not for swimming!!! There is a warning sign telling of “sneaker waves” – rogue waves that would come high on the beach and sweep you out to sea; “rolling logs” – tree trunks that have fallen and been pulled into the water during high tide and roll back in with the waves; and other dangers to watch for. (Ed. Note – She just knew a “sneaker” wave was gonna get us!!!) The beach itself was formed of rocks and the “sand” was pulverized rock. It was also very hard to walk on 😏. Right off the beach is forest and seeing all those green trees behind the gray beach was a sight I’ve never seen before. As you can see from the pictures, the trees along the edge have begun dying off and their trunks turning white. It gave me a feeling of wildness – watching the rough waves, hearing them pounding on the beach and seeing the huge trees on their sides – it was extraordinary.
Indian Native American werewolves!!!!!
We drove around the cove to get to La Push beach (ya know, from Twilight again). It is a swimming and surfing beach and part of the reservation. It was amazing to see the difference in the surf even though the beaches were right next to other. Plus, this beach had real sand!
I crossed my old man back in Oregon, Don’t take me alive!!!!! (apparently, an obscure line from a Steely Dan song…the editor likes his music!)
We left early Sunday morning to head to Oregon. As we drove US 101, the road wound past the coast and, while these beaches were only miles away from Rialto and La Push, they were much wider and even more tame. As you can see from the picture, we got to experience the typical Pacific Northwest weather – cloudy, windy and damp! It was a fabulous day!
