The Hoh Rainforest

After leaving the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park we headed over the Astoria Bridge into Washington.

Bill did not enjoy the drive over the bridge, not one bit.  It was something about the bridge being too tall, pouring rain, construction on the bridge, driving at water level and the ever present wind on the water.  It was a white knuckle type of border crossing.

We continued meandering up Highway 101 through Washington, although the further north we go the highway seems to get smaller and more twisty and the logging trucks are out in force.  It rained most of the day and we finally settled in at beautiful Lake Quinault for the night.  The Quinault Valley is also known as the Valley of the Rainforest Giants and has six champion conifer trees (largest Western Red Cedar, largest Sitka Spruce, largest Douglas Fir, largest Yellow Cedar, largest Mountain Hemlock, and the largest Western Hemlock).

 The lake is absolutely beautiful and as the evening and rain continued the views kept changing.

The next morning we headed to the Olympic National Park, our second national park on this trip.  The park has several distinct areas which include the coast, forests and the mountains.  Highway 101 took us through the coastal section of the park for more spectacular ocean scenery. 

 We then turned inland and discovered a magical place.

The pictures cannot capture the beauty or the feeling of being in the rain forest.  Despite the rain, or maybe because of the rain, the charm of the rain forest captured our hearts and imagination.

Yes, they really were this close.  They bedded down right next to the trail.

This is a beautiful and mystical part of the park and we are so glad we traveled the 18 miles off of 101 to experience it, and yes, the roads can get smaller.

Today's 3 Fun Facts:

1. The American Forest Association has a point system to rate trees.  The formula to calculate the total points for a tree is Trunk Circumference (inches) + Height (feet) + ¼ Average Crown Spread (feet) = Total Points.
2. President Roosevelt supported the efforts to create the Olympic National Park because of a sign he saw while touring the area.  School children held up a sign that said "Please Mr. President, we children need your help.  Give us our Olympic National Park."
3. The Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center has a really cool banana slug stamp for your passport.