A Forest, An Ocean & A New Direction!

Today was one of our best days yet! I think I've said that before, but it seems each new thing we see surpasses anything that came before. Today really did top them all, though. We left Port Angeles behind and headed out on Rt 101 around the Olympic Peninsula. We passed Lake Crescent, which is surrounded by huge, towering evergreen trees. The sunshine sparkling on the water combined with the reflection of the trees was just beautiful. We passed through the town of Forks and were greeted by a sign saying "You Have Entered the Twilight Zone". Apparently the setting for the book and movie Twilight was based on this area so there are lots of people coming here because of that. I've never read the book or seen the movie, but I think I know some fans!


Our first stop of the day was the Hoh Rain Forest. I didn't realize there was a rain forest in the Pacific Northwest, but there is! It truly is a magical place. There are hiking trails for every ability, and some serious hikers were taking advantage of them! We, on the other hand, took advantage of one of the shorter, easier trails and it was wonderful. The forest is so quiet and peaceful! The play of sunlight through the canopy of branches was so beautiful, yet it was shady everywhere at the same time. The trees in the rain forest are absolutely huge, and some of them hold records for their size. This picture of Rick standing among some of them puts their size into perspective, doesn't it? My camera just doesn't do justice to this amazing place. I wish you all could have seen it with us!

There is the most incredible moss hanging all over the trees, there is no bare ground anywhere, and it really is indescribingly beautiful. You could almost picture fairies and elves flitting around or some fantasy creatures climbing among the trees. The best word I can think of to describe it is lush. After walking through the forest I felt rejuvenated and all my negative feelings from last night were wiped away. I've already said it, but I'll repeat...this really is a magical place and I'm so glad we decided to visit.


On the way out of the park we stopped for coffee at a place down the road called The Hard Rain Cafe, and continued on our way. Not long after that we could feel a definite change in the air, and it was becoming a bit foggy. We rolled the windows down and could smell that salty smell we know so well. Soon we drove around a curve that lead us to our first sighting of the Pacific Ocean...Oh, my!!!! It is so different than any of the beaches at home! We were happy to see a parking area just after we saw the water so we could pull in and take a good look. The sound is amazing...waves just crashing and the view was spectacular. Just down the road we saw a sign for "Beach 1" so we drove into the parking lot. To reach the beach there is a path that goes down a huge hill, and off we went. What a beautiful sight greeted us at the bottom. This is definitely not a swimming beach, but there were people walking or sitting on huge pieces of driftwood, fishermen were surf-casting, and the waves were pounding. Hard as it was, the climb back up was well worth the effort! We drove a little further, stopped for lunch at a campground that was right on the water and continued enjoying our first encounter with the Pacific. We have officially reached the west coast! We are also very happy to be headed south now. It seems like we have been driving west forever, and Rick is glad we're making some more forward progress! Three days in WA was enough for him. Our plan for the afternoon was to try and go to Mount St. Helen. By the time we got to the first visitor center it was 4:30, and we discovered that the first viewing center was almost 50 miles away! We decided our day had been full enough and drove to our hotel instead! Tomorrow morning we'll be in Oregon and will have another state crossed of our list!