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.