Olympic National Park: Hoh Valley

After our visit to Forks, we drove up the valley of the river Hoh. We had passed through Olympic NP some time around the turn of the century/millennium, perhaps in too much a hurry to get back to Missoula from a Western Directors' meeting in Point Reyes. Anyhow, we have memories of Olympic, mostly of the rain forest bit, but so far on this 2018 trip had not visited anything we remembered. We figured it was probably the Hoh Valley we visited back in 1999/2000. Hoh is indeed the place to go for the rain forest thing, low down and on the west side. Only thing was, it hadn't rained in some days, and the sunny, dry weather we have been carrying with us continued. I think they may have actually moved the fire danger gauge from "you've got to be kidding...this is a rain forest" to "highly improbable."

Our encampment in the Hoh campground

Original 1970 sign, hand-lettered by Vicki; we've carried it with us on many of our
US trips, but never much used it until now

Embarking on one of the several short hikes in the "rain" forest

In the Hall of Mosses (and lichens and epiphytes, etc.)

Although crisp, clear, and dry, it was a bit chilly

Successful nurse log

Big trees all around, mostly firs and Sitkas but also some huge
maples

Driving out the next morning, we were treated to a passing bull elk and friends

Forks

On October 12th we drove into Forks, the center of Mormon vampirism in North America. In preparation, Vicki had re-read one or more of the Twilight novels and re-viewed one or more of the movies. Despite this, and despite the fact that we are among the very few to now have visited both Forks and Volterra (the European vampire headquarters (in Italy, not Transylvania, BTW)) (see http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/volterra-1.html; and http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/volterra-crossbow-tournament.html; and http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2011/06/volterra-2.html), nothing could have prepared us for what followed.

There is ample Twilight stuff all around, gift shoppes, etc.

Thus

And thus

The police station

The high school

Alas, we learned, at length, that although the initial novel is set in Forks, which
has benefited greatly from the touristic attention, not a frame of the movie was
shot here; indeed the movie antedates both the police station and high school in
any case; I am afraid our reputation at set-jetters will now take a hit... 

Olympic National Park: Rialto Beach And La Push

After Sol Duc we drove on to the mouth of the Sol Duc River, to Rialto Beach and, on the other side, the town and harbor of La Push. We camped at the Mora campground and then drove on to Rialto Beach, one of the more stunningly beautiful coastal scenes in our experience.

Thus

One of the larger stacks

Late afternoon, looking toward La Push

In La Push, a reservation town that values the salmon

Fishing harbor

Favored by seagulls

Looking further south from La Push

Forests of drift wood--drift logs--all over

Our campsite at Mora

We drove back to Rialto the next morning for better light...but the fog had rolled
in

Incredible place, nonetheless

Olympic National Park: Sol Duc

From Hurricane Ridge we drove on, around the Strait and down into the peninsula, to the Sol Duc area, a hot springs and rain forest central. There we spent a couple days and nights, resting and then doing the hike to Sol Duc Falls.

Camping among the big trees; mostly Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce

Trail to Sol Duc Falls

Angel Wings fungi

Angels with dirty faces?

A nice morel pokes through; well, I think it was a morel; maybe I should stick
to Safeway's produce selections...

Rain forest

We poked all around the Park and peninsula and rain forest for a week and never
saw a drop of rain...

Sol Duc River

In a day or two, we'd be visiting Forks, WA, ground zero for Mormon Vampirism;
here, Vicki is reviewing Twilight or one of its sequels

Back on the trail; note interesting change in spelling...

Dry creek

Cleft downstream from the falls

Sole Duck Falls

Certainly among the top 1,000 we've seen recently

More scary mushrooms