Hoh Rain Forest and Ruby Beach

A priority we had for coming to the Olympic Peninsula was to visit Hoh Rain Forest, part of the Olympic National Park.  This particular rain forest is located at the base of Mount Olympus on the west side of the park, prevailing westerly winds from the ocean move inland and with enough moisture to drop 12 feet of rain a year, the valley is a u-shape and stalls the fronts from the ocean and rain and fog continually moisten the forest.  Lots of moss drape the big-leaf maples, giant Sitka spruce trees, Douglas firs, and giant western hemlocks in this area.  Running down along side this valley is the glacier-run off river of Hoh which is white from the pulverized debris of the glacier.  Some of the moss was so thick that the weight of the moss makes the tree sag down like a heavy snowfall would do.  The branches do break off from the weight and it causes the tree to look really weird.  

Drapery Moss

So Much Moss!

We visited the Visitor's Center to get the info on trails and walked the Hall of Mosses trail and then took the 1 1/2 mile trek of the Spruce Nature Trail.  We are getting too sophisticated in our education - we found that the visit to the Lake Quinault Rain Forest of a week ago was prettier, had less people, and much more relaxing.  Probably because Lake Quinault is another hour drive further beyond Hoh and is not feasible for those folks coming from the Seattle area.  Yes, Hoh was dramatic and at times looked like the Munsters were hiding in there, but we both liked Lake Quinault better.  Another item that we noticed - there were many more foreigners at Hoh than anywhere else we have been while at Olympic.

Hoh River - Glacier Fed

Since the day was young and only another 25 miles more to the ocean, we zipped over to Ruby Beach to see it one more time.  There was a tidge bit of fog but that did not stop us from enjoying our picnic lunch/dinner.  This time visiting the Beach there were no people swimming, I guess because it was about 55 degrees out.  Still many people there walking the pebble beach.  Drove 2 hours back to Sequim, again driving along Lake Crescent, one of the prettiest glacier lakes I have ever seen. 

Foggy Ruby Beach and Sea Stacks

Ruby Beach

We will drive this stretch of US 101 westward one more time as we move from Sequim to the Long Beach area, near Astoria, Oregon next week.  But we will sit tight for the next 4 days or so, we are getting the fix on the RV we need - hiring someone to do the work.  Rain is also expected (first time since July 1st) but July is typically their dry month. We wake each morning to heavy fog which burns off by 10 am or so, but that is not enough moisture for the grass.  But I will gladly take this sunny 70 degrees every day, low 50s at night, to what the rest of the country is dealing with.

La Push and Rialto Beach

Lake Crescent

When we were in La Push and Rialto Beach this past Sunday, we did not get to see much due to the fog.  But it didn't stop people from surfing and being on the beach.  I had found a live web cam of various locations around the Peninsula and now we could monitor going to the ocean again but on a clear day.  Yesterday morning was the GO, so off we went.  We just are amazed at the amount and color of the wildflowers that grow along the roadway.  Just so pretty.  And driving through the Olympic National Park's Lake Crescent region is so pleasing to the eye, the sapphire blue of the water and seeing people kayak or sail/boat on it.  Very calming.

Wildflowers along road

One thing we have noticed from day one being here on the Northwest Peninsula, the amount of logging that goes on.  As you drive along Route 101 you see huge swatches of empty land where the trees had been cut down.  Sometimes you see a sign that says when it was harvested, then planted, then harvested again, then replanted.

Harvest Verbage

Fogged in Sunday

Clear - Who Put Those Sea Stacks There?

Fogged in Sunday

Sunny!

First arrived at Rialto Beach, again part of the Olympic NP, and walked the beach for about a mile and half, saw an eagle perched up in the trees and another fly right over our heads and land.  Looking out over the ocean we saw a sea otter just drifting around.  A number of hikers that were traveling along the beach going north towards a Norwegian Memorial about four miles north only reachable by hiking along the beach, then returning. This is a memorial to a sailing vessel that wrecked on the coast in 1902 and 18 died, 2 survived. One thing we did see as we crossed path with the hikers - they were carrying large buckets and found out that this was a bear container for their food - a mandatory item they have to carry.  Cumbersome, but required.  Have to have a backcountry permit from the National Park to do this (camp overnight on the beach).  Would not want to do this at all - the tides would limit some of the beach area and therefore would have to transverse the large tree logs.  Ugh. And have to be prepared for the weather - the water is a chilly 48 degrees and the wind that is constantly blowing - brrrr.  What struck me the most being on the beach was seeing the sea stacks - they were not there on Sunday and now they are!  How did that happen? When we first started our walk northward it was an easy stroll along the waters edge on wet sand but the tide was coming in and we got pushed up onto the rocky beach - very hard to walk on, no sure footing. We returned back to our car and drove to the Quinault Indian town of La Push and looked at the beach where they were surfing on Sunday.  Again - how did those sea stacks get there - they weren't there Sunday?

Hello George!

Rialto Beach - Tide Coming In

Second Beach 

We had packed a picnic lunch and decided to head over to Second Beach and had to hike about a half mile down to the water's edge - dropping down in zigzag pattern, dropped fast, but dreaded the hike back up. Picked a HUGE tree that had been washed up and sat with our faces to the ocean and had a picnic with the waves crashing, the birds screeching, the wind - very cool.  I have seen the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, Los Angles and San Francisco; seen the Atlantic Ocean from New Brunswick, Canad all the way down to Miami, Florida and been on the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel but I have never seen sea stacks until we came here.  Kinda eerie and at the same time awesome.

I DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE HERE!!!  I have found my new home in the northwest peninsula of Washington.  Maybe, just maybe.

Ride Along The Strait of Juan De Fuca

Canoe

Canoe

Wanted yesterday to be a low key day, decided to take a drive along the Strait, traveling up to Neah Bay again then back down through Olympic National Park's Lake Crescent area and home.  Didn't get going until noonish, delayed that long because of heavy fog.  I found a neat web-cam sight on the internet that shows 12 locations around the Peninsula, showing real-time photos so we can check the weather prior to going. Comes in real handy because it may be very sunny and beautiful here in Sequim but fogged in and 20 degrees cooler by the ocean.

Watch Out for Traffic!

Near Ediz Point - Fogged In

We have to drive west into Port Angeles to continue farther westbound and when we got into Port Angeles I decided to drop down to the harbor and watch the goings on for a bit.  We saw two canoes from the Canoe Journey coming into the beach. At this point there are over 40 canoes with another 30 joining up at the next leg, stopping at Lower Elwah Tribal Center just west of Port Angeles.  The white canoe shown had 15 people - looking closely at it - many look to be just 14 (no younger according to rules).  Fog was pretty heavy but could see Nippon's Paper Mill located right at the banks of the port and there were some very large freighters anchored out waiting to come in while another two were in port.  The picture above - look closely and you can see a freighter in the fog to the right - ghostly.  The Black Ball Ferry had just come in to drop off/pick up passengers headed to Victoria, BC.  Found the road that goes out to Ediz Point and if we weren't snoopy, would have never known about this road.  Had to drive right through Nippon's Wood plant - felt like my days at LTV Steel when I had to drive through the plant to park the car.  Made me a little nervous.

Driving Thru Nippon Plant

Still lots of fog so did not linger long, wondered how in the world the canoeist will traverse this Ediz Point on towards Lower Elwah's landing.  Open water, was white caps, freighter and ferry traffic - very scary.  And we have been in waters that had freighters crossing our path, on a sailboat, but to be in an open canoe, just pulling along, and some without a pilot (safety) boat.  Wow.  There have been two capsizes since the start, one canoe from Victoria, and the other from Seattle - thankfully no one was hurt, and they were rescued by the Coast Guard and able to rejoin the Journey the next day.

Beautiful Pillar Point

Continued westbound and traveled a route that was not recommended to go due to heavy logging trucks using the road.  Very twisty, turny, up and down, along the Strait, back into the forest, in fog, out of fog, passing trucks, thankfully none in front or behind us.  Stopped at Pillar Point - a small state run park that is day use only and has a boat ramp.  Very very pretty, fog lifting up over the point.  The canoeist will stop here next after Elwah.  Drove on into Neah Bay and stopped to get more smoked fish. If you have ever had fresh, smoked fish, it is to die for.  We picked up a nice slab and then some that had been freezer packaged and drove on to Shi-Shi Beach - another beach on the Pacific Ocean known for it's sea stacks.  But - the road was closed and we had to turn around.  Came back to Neah Bay and parked at a public parking area looking out over the marina and ate our fresh fish.  I don't want to leave this area - ever!  Stopped at a lookout on way back near Sekiu - a pod of orcas were feeding off shore and we counted at least 5 coming up to blow. Still could see the fog as it moved northward towards Canada.  So many campgrounds and many are full.  Would love to camp near the water but it's a chore to get the RV here, only to bring it back when done.

Overlook where we saw orcas

Sequim and La Push

Lots of Lavender!

This past weekend was the Lavender Festival in Sequim (SKWIM), three days of anything and everything lavender.  The climate here in Sequim is perfect for growing lavender, the only other place in the world is in France.  The campground we are staying at became so full that they were parking RVs as well as tent folks on the grass near us.  Felt sorry for those that had to use the restrooms here - had to be constantly refilled with TP and cleaned.  Glad we have our own 'facilities'.








They had expected over 30,000 people every day to visit the farms/businesses and to attend the street fair with vendors hawking food as well as their unique products.  There are 7 major lavender farms and numerous smaller farms.  Some offered free tours while others said - buy a $10 pass and you can tour the 7 major ones.  No brainer for us - we chose one of the smaller farms that was free.  We did not even go into town during this time - the traffic was really bad.  Very pretty to see, surprised I could not smell the flowers but did go into their gift shop displaying products made from the oil of the lavender flower.  I thought that I would like to get something with the sweet smell of the flower but was so surprised by what I sampled - wow, strong and sorta sour smelling.  One of the few times where I wanted to buy something and didn't.  Saved money.

Port of La Push, Quinault Indian Nation

Sea Stacks at Second Beach - La Push

Also on Sunday we decided to drive to La Push, on the Pacific Ocean, where Second Beach and Rialto Beach are located.  These are beaches within the jurisdiction of the Olympic National Park.  About an hour and half drive west of here.  Sunny and cool, about 70, when we left Sequim but got so socked in by the fog once we got to Forks.  Still drove on and did not realize that we visited La Push on the last day of their Quinault Festival - a three day celebration of the Quinault Indian Nation.  They were packing up - we did not get there until 3:30, late.

Surfers/booger boarders

James Island at La Push

Took some pictures, had hoped we would see the famous sea stacks and Hole-in-the-wall but the fog was too heavy.  And it was chilly.  Did see surfers trying to catch a wave, seems there was a class of learners with someone yelling to - get up, paddle, go, go! No thank you - the water was a breezy 48 degrees.  Everyone had on wet suits.  Will go back another day and see this area when it is nice and sunny.  Again, we are drawn to the water.

Dead Crab

This coming Friday over 90 canoes will converge at Second Beach when the Paddle to Quinault celebration comes in.  Would be awesome to see.

Rialto Beach - north of La Push

Twilight Fans!

I will confess, I have not read the Stephenie Meyers Twilight novels about Vampires and Werewolves nor have I seen the movies.  Amazing about not reading the books - I am an avid reader, usually have two or three books being read at the same time.  I do know about the theme of Twilight and what it is about, also reading about the stars of the movies so I do have some working knowledge of this whole phenomenon.  Or so I thought.

The first day of driving into Port Angeles I saw a Bella Italia Restaurant - caught my eye - looked like a good possibility to eat if we get a hankering for Italian food.  Said in sign in window - Bella and Edward at here.  Then a couple days later we drove to Lake Quinault which is on the Pacific Ocean and part of Olympic National Park and as we were driving there, drove through Forks, Washington.  What's this? Chamber of Commerce sign that said to visit to get a brochure on Twilight places; Bella's truck; the Community Hospital where Bella went due to being a klutz; the Police Station where her father was the Chief; Twilight book store? Edward Cullin did not sleep here on a hotel lodging sign. Twilight tour buses.  Huh?  Not until I got back to the RV and read about Forks and the Twilight connection did it all make sense.  The author did not visit the town yet she used many real places in her books. How did she know?

We had to stop on one of our pass-throughs to get pictures for all you Twilight fans. High school where Bella met Edward.  Bella Italia Restaurant where they had their first date.  La Push where Jacob (the werewolf) was from.  As a matter of fact, Sunday when we drove to La Push to see Rialto Beach (another part of Olympic National Park) there were road signs in La Push that said (Quinault Indian Nation) - no vampires allowed, only werewolves!  Hah.

What surprises us is that the town of Forks doesn't play this connection to the movies and books more than the token places.  Why not really cash in on this hysteria??  Regardless, Forks does exist and yes - there are werewolves in La Push - I saw two!  Guess I have to read the books now.

Tour bus

Twilight Central?

Forks High School

Port Angeles Restaurant

Twilight Gift Shop

Werewolves! No, just surfers.

See the Werewolves in the forest?

Paddle To Quinault

Elders on Land Singing to Warriors

Super, spur of the moment day.  Started out by driving about 45 minutes east bound, towards Seattle, to Silverdale, a town that has a Jayco dealer, our 5th wheel manufacturer's dealer.  We needed to talk with Jayco about a concern we have.  Still not sure about the concern and will have 2 more weeks to figure out something, anything, or nothing.  We were not far from a town called Poulsbo (pronounced Pauls - boe) which is a waterfront community on Puget Sound, a Norwegian settlement (they call it Little Norway) and there we would find Sluys' Bakery, a renowned shop with all kinds of yummies.  And they were right - delicious.

Filled up on pastry and coffee and while at the shop a women said - go see the long boats in Suquamish today - they arrive sometime after 2.  Huh? Well now!! Did not know anything about this - but what the heck.  We were planning on seeing Chief Seattle's grave and touring the Suquamish Museum anyhow so why not check this out while in town?

Canoes coming in - asking permission to land

Wow, Wow, Wow!!!!!  We stood on the land with all the other Suquamish Indians and who knows who else and watched as each long boat (canoe) came in.  It is so hard to describe this event - proud for the Suquamish of hosting this leg of the event; envious of so deep a culture and connection these people have to each other; and humbled that we were allowed to watch this celebration.  As each canoe came in, the warriors on board would chant a song while the elders on land would also sing back to them.  At one point the head warrior would sing to the chief elder and ask permission to land.  After talk back and forth, they are granted permission and there is shouting of happiness from all.  The warriors have given their last year to a drug free, alcohol free, clean living as they train for this ardous task of pulling (not rowing) 500 miles to the conclusion.  These canoes are heavy and it literally takes a town to lift them up and out of the water.  The warriors are hosted to food, entertainment and laughter, dancing, story telling, then the next morning they have a ceremony and off they go to the next stop.  Very ceremonious, dating back hundreds of years.

see YouTube clip     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zslwYuwemjw

Here's the website for more info.....     www.paddletoquinault.org

So dazzled that two hours prior to being in Suquamish we hadn't a clue this was going on.  Sensory overload.  As it was, we saw 10 canoes come in, 3 had already arrived, 2 more were coming after we left - and they were being joined each leg of the journey by more and more.  Over 90 canoes from Canada, US, and New Zealand are participating in this journey as they started from the southern part of Puget Sound (Olympia) to the upper reaches of British Columbia and from New Zealand, converging at Elwah which is just west of Port Angeles where all 90 will continue on around the northern peninsula (Neah Bay)  south to Quinault 500 miles from start of Olympia to Quinault.

Bringing Canoe on Land - Need Lots of Help

Each hosting tribe raises the money to house, feed, and educate other tribes as well as the general public.  No monies come from any government.  By the time they get to Quinault (we were there last week), there will be over 15,000 people visiting each day that the celebration goes on.  And tall ships will escort the canoes as they come in starting August 1 through the 6th.  Amazing, amazing day!

Friday Harbor and San Juan Islands

Glacier Spirit - our PSE Cruise Ship

For as long as I remember I have always wanted to visit Friday Harbor located in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. I had put it in my bucket list of things to do in my lifetime. Almost gave up trying to get there because the logistics of figuring out how to get there without spending a good part of the day driving, get on a ferry, then driving again, then getting on another ferry just to get to Friday Harbor was too time consuming, until we found out about the Puget Sound Express cruise service. The PSE is a whale watch cruise boat that travels Puget Sound and stops at Friday Harbor for 2 hours, then continues cruising around the islands and heading back. Allows those that want to get off for a couple of days to do so, and then reboard at a later time (with prior commitment as to date).  San Juan Islands encompasses several larger islands (Orcas, Lopez, San Juan, Shaw) and a number of smaller ones. We picked up the PSE cruise boat out of Port Townsend and left the dock at 9am.  On board we met Ron and Carol from Toronto and had a great friendly day chatting with them while on board, they were meeting family at Friday Harbor but would return back with us.  Buzzed north to the western side of the San Juan Island (Friday Harbor is located on this island) to view orcas feeding.  Pretty neat to see.  A mom and her two sons.   Part of a pod that frequents this area of the Sound. These orcas are numbered and closely watched and the naturalist on board knew the names and number of each orca (J, K, and L pods are known to be in this area).

Orca Spotted!

Funny to watch all the other cruise/whale watch boats clamor to get the best viewing of these huge marine mammals.  They all stay far back to avoid harming them and to keep them safe.  But, you could tell when there was a spotting - the boat would list to one side with the people going to that side of the boat to see and photograph them.  Now I have seen orcas/whales off of the Maine coast, off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, now in the Puget Sound, and also in the San Diego area.

Orca!

The day was clear up to mid afternoon when clouds came in, but was a great day.  Docked at Friday Harbor around noon and had 2 1/2 hours to do whatever.  Huge, huge marina with all kinds of boat activity with ferries coming in dropping off people and vehicles, ferries going out, large sailing boats moored out on the bay, power boats coming and going.  Could sit all day and just watch.

Busy Friday Harbor

We had packed our lunch because we did not know what facilities there were and didn't want to spend time sitting in a restaurant.  Instead, sat at picnic tables overlooking the bay and then went on a quick tour of town.  Very touristy.  Lots and lots of money all around us - looked at a real estate window where homes are listed - million bucks for a peek at the water!  Got back on the boat and cast off by 2:30 and the captain decided to go a different route around the islands to get back to Port Townsend.  Saw bald eagle, sea stars, porpoises, lots of waterfowl, deer grazing on islands, and again - tons of boats.  And homes built on the cliffs of the islands staring down at you.  Only way to get to the homes was by boat, some islands had ferry service, by sea plane (saw a number of those), or live there full time.

Mt. Baker, Sailing Home

As I reflect on yesterday some things stay with me:  Friday Harbor is so much like Annapolis - very much a sailing center catering to tourists; would require strategic planning if you live there because you would be dependent on ferries or sea planes or private boats to get on and off; and weird we did not see any freighter traffic having been on the water in the middle of the channel for hours.  And last - when we crossed into Strait of Juan De Fuca (deeper part of the Sound and the freighter channel) what was a big wow to us - calm water and fairly warm to choppy water and a big drop in temperature - you could clearly see where the deeper water started just by looking at the wind pattern on the water- almost like a wall.  The waters are from 48 to 54 degrees depending on time of year and where you are on the Sound.  Water pushes in with the tides from the ocean through the Strait and then back out.

The day very eye-appealing, was light on our purse since we brought our lunch, got to the island without much pain - no traveling/ferry/traveling/ferry to get there, and got to see a part of the world I have always wanted to see.  We would recommend PSE cruise boat - they treated us great and what a splendid way to spend the day! And yes, I could live on one of those islands, not San Juan but one of the others.

Visit to Port Townsend

We have made whale watch boat plans for tomorrow and we wanted to do a trial run to get to Port Townsend where we board the boat, to see where the place is, where we park, how long it will take us to get there (in rush hour) and also to see the town - if it was worth our time to come back another day and browse.

Wooden boats in marina

Glad we did the trial - would have been very unnerving tomorrow morning to try to find the place, as it was, we road around for a bit then I called the cruise company and asked specifically how to get to them, we are lost!  Found them. After stopping in to talk with them, we drove around the waterfront and found a parking spot, got some ice cream and then visited a wooden boat shop.  That was pretty cool to see the wooden boats all lined up and some in stages of repair. Heck with shop looking - we want the water.  We are drawn to the water it seems, so many years spent sailing on Lake Erie still has a big heart tug for us.  As we walked one of the piers, we noticed some kids getting ready to head out on their Optimum little sailboats and struck up a conversation with a gentleman on the pier intent on staring at the kids and their progress to get into the water.  His grandson was one of the students, second year in that sailing school, and he was concerned that he still won't "get it" after this stint of school.  Being a native of Seattle area, he said he has 10 boats, sees one he likes and gets it.  Just keeps adding to his collection.  He couldn't leave the area - the water means so much to him.

Mt. Baker in background

In the distance across the bay, looking north, we could see Mt. Baker rising above - looked like it was floating in air and continuing looking to the east we could see the Cascade Mountains.  In front of us (to the east) we saw Mt. Rainier.  As we were watching various boats out in the bay sailing, our eye caught one particular one - the same sailboat design that we had.  Makes sense since that sailboat was built in California, seems natural for the ocean which it was built for.  Took some great pictures to remember, then started our drive back.  But first stopped in the very active Port Townsend boat yard.  Some very massive boats with various stages of work being done.  Even saw our sailboat up on jack stands.  Ahhhhh.  Drove to the back of the yard and saw where they were scrapping (scuttling) a couple of boats - one looked like it had sunk.

Sailing school - Optimums

Drove up in the upper street where all the Victorian homes are.  Port Townsend is called the city of dreams - the railroad magnets back at the turn of the century thought that Port Townsend would be the ideal deep water bay and bought all kinds of property and put these big Victorian homes on it, anticipating that Port Townsend would one day be the 'place to be'.  Then when the powers that be said - nope, Seattle was going to be the center, Port Townsend fell into disrepair.  Revival of these homes is complete and the town is a tourist mecca.  Art galleries, boutiques, fancy this and that shops, restaurants, all catering to the people coming and going on ferries out of Port Townsend.  We saw enough to say enough.  Will have to go back tomorrow to catch our boat ride but that will be it for Port Townsend.  As they say, after tomorrow - been there, done that.

Our boat!

And another our boat!

Being scuttled - wonder what happened