We took it easy this morning, enjoying our coffee with the doors open. It actually rained a little this morning. I suppose this is not surprising for the Pacific Northwest, but I didn’t pack rain coats as the forecast was for 0% chance of rain during our stay. The weather has been ideal for this trip. We have had crystal clear days and it wouldn’t seem right if we didn’t see some clouds and mist while here.
The girls went on a short walk, but I think that was more to do with the cute boys that moved in next door, than seeing the farm.
Our first stop today was Rialto Beach to hike the Hole in the Wall trail. This hike was on the beach and 3.7 miles with an elevation gain of 135.
We laid eyes on the Pacific Ocean! I had so many questions and thoughts! There were rocks and mountains in the ocean. It was freezing. The sand was darker and coarser. There were no shells but tons of smooth rocks of all sizes. There were huge trees right along the coastline. Why were there no sharks teeth and shells? Why were the pelicans just floating in the water when our pelicans are flying up and down the beach? People camped right on the beach. We were at the beach in August dressed in pants, jackets and hiking boots. It was magnificent.
The eldest teenager was a bit fussy with pictures and the cold!
I will be handing out free hiking fashion advice for all those that are interested...
What might this be? A squid, an octopus, a giant sea monster? We later learned it was sea kelp.
The eldest teenager is smiling now that she is a bit warmer and can take picturesque selfies!
This “trail” (I don’t think of beaches as trails or hiking) is known for its tide pools filled with sea creatures at low tide. I have been picturing the large tide pools we have at Folly made by depressions in the sand. These pools were made by crevices and crags in the rock formations and were all shapes and sizes. They were filled with beautiful sea creatures. The sea anemones were bright green and open when they were in the pool and closed when they were out of the pool. When you touched the inside, it was sticky and would start to draw up around your finger.
I took these videos of my explorers in action (and just in case there would be a plunge in the frigid waters)!
We saw red sea stars – what is the difference between a sea star and a star fish? These were fatter than the star fish we see on the east coast. They were hard to spot at first, but once you saw one, your eye would catch more and more. We found one spot full of red ones with one very special orange one that I know was there just for me to see! Some sections were covered in algea (or kelp?) that would pop when you stepped on it. It was also crazy slippery.
Lily couldn't get enough. She climbed every surface and touched every creature she could. She is a nature girl through and through.
We almost forgot to take a picture of the hole in the wall that the hike is named for.
The "sand" was so different than the east coast.
We loved exploring these pools and climbing the rocks! Not only is God the master landscaper, He is the master sculptor. The mountains, the trees, the creatures – all breathtaking. We were in awe of the patterns and colors in some of the rocks, large and small.
We made our way back to the “trailhead” petting a few pups along the way. We drove down a little ways and found a spot by the river to eat our picnic lunch. PB&J and chips – we love packing a simple lunch. It frees us up to eat when and where we want, especially when there are not that many food options in this area. We watched the 3 men fishing down by the river in hopes we would see a catch. No luck. After a while, they made their way towards and we realized they were women. Rock on fisherwomen!!
Next stop was La Push. This is also an area featured in the Twilight series. This is where the werewolves live. It was pretty cute to see a sign that read “Treaty line: no vampires, werewolves only.” First Beach is located on the Quinalt Indian reservation. We stopped to walk on the beach for a minute. This beach had finer sand than Rialto. There were even surfers despite the small waves.
Someone had mentioned how different the beaches were from one another, so we wanted to check out Second Beach as well. We parked, but then realized it was about a mile hike to even get to the beach. We asked a family at the trail head if it was worth it. They hadn’t seen the other beaches so they couldn’t compare, but the mom didn’t think it was worth it. We wanted to get to the Hoh rainforest today as well, so we skipped this one.
James was getting tired, and we debated on doing the Hoh or heading back to enjoy the farm for the afternoon. It was about an hour drive from where we were. The Hoh Rainforest is ranked as the #1 thing to do in ONP, so how do you not go see it when we are so close. It is interesting to me how these drives always seem so much shorter. The scenery is different from what we normally see that we really enjoy these rides. We stopped in Forks for some coffee and smoothies to gear us up for the rest of our day. On the way, I began reading reviews on the All Trails app for the Hall of Mosses trail at Hoh. The recent reviews, even one from yesterday, were low for the trail. It has been a very dry season and many were disappointed at the amount of brown and dryness along the trail. They also mentioned an hour long wait to even get in the gate. We started second guessing again, but then decided to go for it with no regrets. We are so glad we did! The ride alone was worth it. At one point, the trees towered over the road almost forming a tunnel above us. We did have to wait about thirty minutes in line, but we even enjoyed that time as much of it was by the river. We used the time to edit and share our pictures of the day.
The girls needed to interview a ranger for their junior ranger booklets, so we interviewed the ranger at the entrance since we had to wait for the next car to come out anyway. My question was “Why is Hurricane Ridge called that when they do not have hurricanes here?” It is because they often have hurricane force winds along the ridge. SE asked how long she had been a ranger and if she liked it. She had only been a ranger for a few months. She quit her 10 hour a day job, sold everything she had and became a park ranger. She now lives in a small camper at the park. How cool it that?
Interviewing the ranger allowed the girls to complete their booklets, so we got their badge while at the visitor center. This ranger was cute in that he meticulously went through the booklet and explained the things they had incorrect.
The reviews of this trail were correct in that there was a lot of brown, but it was still magnificent. Being on the east coast, we don’t see trees this massive. It was well worth the drive and wait to see another of God’s magnificent creations.
On our Mt. Rainier tour, Joel taught us that the Washington state tree is the Western Hemlock and the fascinating way in which they grow. The seedlings are unable to grow in the tangled forest floor so they take root and get nutrients from a fallen tree called a nurse log. The roots eventually make it to the soil and as the nurse log decays, the trees appear as if they are on stilts.
Once we were done at the Hoh, we headed back to Forks to find dinner. Most things close at 7, but we did find a drive through burger place. We picked it up and ate at a picnic table at a local ball field. The burger and fries were great. Four boys were playing baseball and we loved watching them. One kid was really good and the other kids got tired of chasing down all of his home-runs over the fence. Small town, burgers, kids playing baseball - America at it's finest!
We made our way back to our farm for our last evening there. James and I wanted to do a short hike on the other side of the property. The girls were hiked out and I am pretty sure wanted to hang around to see if the cute neighbors were out and about. We set out on the trail and soon started to see big poop droppings. It was most likely elk, but then James starts mentioning other animals. "I wonder if they have coyote? I feel sure they have snakes at this elevation? John did mention a bear." Really dude????? Did I mention that it was dusk and the trail was pretty dark. We came to a section where all the limbs on the trees had been cut off leaving a thick canopy at the top. The stillness, the mist, these trees - mama was spooked!! This is exactly where the vampires live!!
We stopped by for a quick chat with the chickens. I never thought I would say this, but the chickens were pretty cute!
Once back at our cabin, we played poker. This was SE's first time playing and she won! She will make Papa so proud!!
