My parents came out to visit the last week I was in Seattle. I took a long weekend and went out to the Olympic Peninsula with them before going back to work for one last week.
The first day, we stopped and did the Hurricane Hill trail. We really lucked out with weather and enjoyed a nice short hike.
Looking back on the trail we were on. It kind of looks like the Swiss Alps!
Yours truly, caught on camera by her father...
But there is payback, since I got a picture of him!
The wildflowers were pretty amazing out there.
So, that evening, we arrived in La Push, on the West Coast of the Olympic Peninsula. We were staying in a hotel right on this beach. I've never seen a beach quite like this - cold water, piles of driftwood, and these headlands sticking out of the water. I guess the Quileute tribe once survived on the headlands in order to wait out an attack from a neighboring tribe.
I'm really proud of this picture...
The next day, for more contrast, we went to the South Fork trail in the Hoh rainforest. This isn't the most accessible of trails, but it was pretty cool to be in a rainforest and only encounter one other person.
The trees are huge!
Also, the trees are covered in moss.
More evidence that the trees are huge! My mother is quite amazing at putting up with her daughter and husband who like to take pictures...
The Hoh River was pretty low at this point as well, but we got an idea of its power from the size of trees and rocks in the riverbed.
As we hiked, the sun gradually came out. We didn't get any rain in the rainforest (the day started with a little mist, but that burned off in a few hours).
More trees! You can see the buttresses at the bottom that result from the tree growing out of a fallen log (a nurse log). So cool!
And that evening, back in La Push, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the beach.
Another view of the beach...
The next morning, we went out for a hike on Second Beach (we were staying at First Beach). The hike is only really possible at low tide, so we again were pretty lucky with our timing.
These are called the "needles," sticking up out of the water.
The tide pool life was pretty interesting, too.
And finally - one last contrast - we stopped by Crescent Lake, a clear glacial lake on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula. Again, the fog and mist had cleared by the afternoon.
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