G&T's Excellent Adventure

THUR., SEPT. 5th, thru SUN., SEPT. 8th, 2024

We had a gorgeous 88-mile drive along Highway 101 also known as the Olympic Loop Highway, as it’s called in this area. We passed in-and-out of Olympic National Park with spectacular views of Lake Crescent. This pristine lake is 18 miles long and glacially carved thus the reason for its “blue/green” water. The color comes from the glacier flour or sediment that lands in the water. We were driving along side Lake Crescent for quite a few miles. Gary and I were here seven years ago and had a picnic lunch under the tree canopy overlooking this same beautiful blue/green water.

We arrived at Oceanside Resort & RV Park in La Push, Washington on the Quileute Indian Reservation. Our site is a short walk to First Beach with crashing waves, a sandy beach and huge driftwood. We also can see large rock formations off the coast that are called sea stacks. They break down and erode over time due to waves, wind, and water. 

We took a walk on the beach in the afternoon and then another after dinner to see sunset. We are feeling blessed! We’re here for 4 nights before moving further down the Olympic Peninsula coast.

On Friday, Sept. 6th (2024), we visited the Hoh (pronounced Hoe) Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. I was sooo looking forward to this. On the drive in we passed a sign saying parking lot full, expect up to a 2-hour wait. Thankfully that was wrong… although we did grab the last available parking space. Thanks to Gary for doing the 1.5 hour drive each way. Nothing is close in these parts!

As the park says “The trees are the view!” And they were a-mazing! The rain forest gets 12 ft of rain annually and is considered “one of the most spectacular examples of a temperate rain forest in the world.” The trees are absolutely massive and can reach over 300 ft tall and 7 ft in diameter and many are over 600 years old. We also saw the Hoh River which is 50-miles long. Coho Salmon spawn here every year, but we were a little too early and didn’t see any.

We hiked two trails. Initially there were more people on the trail than was ideal, but then it thinned out and the whole experience was otherworldly. We learned several interesting facts: 

• Dead standing trees are called snags and can stay upright for hundreds of years. They support woodpeckers and other species feeding on ants, termites etc. 
• Many of the trees host an abundance of epiphytes (plants growing upon other plants like mosses and lichen) that give the rain forest its characteristic look and ethereal quality. The epiphytes do know harm to the trees. They’re actually good for trees… helping to retain water for use during the dryer season. 
• About 90% of trees in the rain forest have sprouted from a nurse log. Fallen trees called nurse logs get swollen with water over time and act as great sponges supporting other life and the growth of new trees. We saw several instances of this – where the underside of an uprooted tree was now growing huge new trees on top of it. Incredible.

Gary and I had missed seeing the rain forest when we visited Olympic NP seven years ago. This was on my must do list. So grateful to have seen this unique mystical place.

Later in the afternoon, while Gary was cooking dinner for us, I went for a walk on the beach. I am spoiled! lol 

We’re still not done with Olympic National Park! On Saturday, Sept. 7th (2024), we visited Ruby Beach in Forks, WA, one of the many “wilderness beaches” that are part of Olympic. It has a famous rock formation called Gorilla Rock, and does, in fact, look like a gorilla from the right angle. Photos are below. I can’t get enough of these ethereal beaches with their miles of smooth beach stones, glorious sea stacks, and jaw-dropping driftwood, which can look like matchsticks from a distance. I assure you they are anything but! And, I love how people pile up the driftwood in various forms. These beaches are just magnificent! They are almost more magical on a cloudy, foggy day. 

The name Ruby Beach comes from the red minerals supposedly found in the sand here. These minerals are known as ‘almandite’, a type of garnet. Since we visited on a cloudy/foggy day, no red minerals were in sight! Technically, it’s not fog but a “marine layer.”  Simply put, the marine layer is a shallow layer of air near the surface of a body of water where the air temp and dew point temp are very close together and a low-level cloud formation forms. That’s today’s science lesson. You’re welcome.

Because you haven’t seen enough “wilderness beaches” in Olympic, here’s another one… Rialto Beach. And surprise… it was cloudy and foggy again on the day we visited, Sunday, Sept. 8th (2024). But, as always, absolutely magical! 

We did a 3.5 mile round trip hike to Hole-in-the-Wall. It’s at the beach’s northern boundary – a dramatic sea arch that can only be visited during low tide. We hiked over stones, mushy sand and over a mini stream which made our 3.5 mile hike a little more challenging than anticipated! At one point we had to cross a stream to continue walking. Rather than getting my feet wet, I side-stepped the stream by going up an incline and sliding down on my butt. Joe gave me a helping hand. Where is hubby when I need him?!  On the return trip, I used a log to step across with a hand from Gary and a stranger!

After seeing one woman with a bloody knee and chin returning from the arch and EMT’s dealing with another woman who dislocated her knee, Cheryl, Gary and I decided to forego the last 300 ft or so where the slippery rocks were located. Joe persevered and made it all the way to Hole-in-the-Wall unscathed. 

There was primitive camping at the far end of the beach up a hillside. We met three guys lugging all their gear back from their camping adventure before the tide came up. Wow. They are hardier than us. That would be an adventure too far! 

Once again we were rewarded on our walk with driftwood that can only be described as otherworldly, the largest number of sea stacks we’ve encountered thus far and smooth beach stones in every size imaginable. This Olympic Peninsula Coast is a mystical and extraordinary place. One can believe in fairies, wizards and goblins… not to mention vampires and werewolves. (Just like Stephanie Meyer wrote in her Twilight series of books that are set in this part of Washington state.) I love it here!

We had one final pretty sunset to enjoy at First Beach before the marine layer rolled in and obliterated it! Next we move south and leave Olympic National Park behind. At nearly a million acres and spread out across the peninsula, it’s impossible to see it all. We made a good dent though! While the forested green snow-capped mountains are beautiful, in my humble opinion it’s the rainforest, the blue/green glacial water of Lake Crescent, and particularly the wilderness beaches that make this park so majestic! We’d come back here in a heartbeat! So much beauty in these United States.