On day eight of our Pacific Northwest road trip, we headed north from Lake Quinault, first to Kalaloch and Ruby Beach and then to the Hoh Rain Forest. I'd really been looking forward to today. Not a real fast-paced day and not too much driving. I had been wanting to travel to the Hoh for many years. The Hoh is one of the few temperate rain forests in the United States. Taking a few facts from Wikipedia on the Hoh, the dominant species in the Hoh are the Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock; some of which grow to tremendous size. Annual precipitation ranges from 141 to 165 inches! But, more than anything, the place just looked cool! I was excited and ready to go!
Our first stop was Ruby Beach in the Kalaloch area of the Olympic Peninsula. We hiked down a short trail and came upon a lovely beach. It was fairly early in the day, so there were not a lot of people here, although there were a few photographers busy taking photos. We hung out on the beach for probably an hour enjoying the scenery and taking photos.
After we finished at Ruby Beach, we jumped back in the car and headed north again. As you can see from the road sign below, we were nearing Twilight territory. I wonder if we would see any vampires or werewolves?
It drizzled a little bit on and off while we hiked around the Hoh (I just like saying that word, can you tell?), but mostly the weather was kind to us.
The Hoh River.
Off on our hikes!
First we did the Hall of Mosses trail and then the Spruce trail. We really wanted to hike up the Hoh River trail to the quietest square inch in the United States (http://onesquareinch.org/about/), but it was a pretty long hike in (2 hours each way), and we wouldn't have had time for much else. So, we opted for the other two trails. The Hoh Rain Forest, in general, was a very calming and quiet place.
Hall of Mosses Hike
After the amazing Hall of Mosses Trail, we were off on the Spruce Nature Trail. The Hall of Mosses Trail was a bit more dense, but the Spruce Nature Trail had charms all of it's own, including following the Hoh River for a little ways.
This trail was full of beautiful colors.
We discovered this cool moss-covered phone booth outside the Hoh Visitor/Ranger Center.
Wow, the Hoh Rain Forest is an amazing place. I am grateful that I was able to see it. I cannot recommend visiting here enough. It is a truly magical, mystical place. I hope to see you again someday Hoh! After the rain forest, we headed back down south to our hotel. We needed to pack up our stuff in preparation for the next day. After we got back to Lake Quinault Lodge, I went wandering outside a bit to take a few photos. I was really hoping that we would not experience another evening of yipping dogs next door...and, thankfully, we did not. It was a nice relaxing evening.
Peaceful Lake Quinault with the clouds moving in.
Hummingbirds up near the restaurant at the main lodge building. We actually ate dinner here a bit later, and were able to watch all the busy hummingbirds outside. Pretty cool!
Cool wraparound porch at the Lake Quinault Boathouse, where our room was.
Well, it is time to say goodnight to day 8 of our trip. Early tomorrow morning, we are headed north again...up to Neah Bay, Cape Flattery, Shi Shi Beach, Point of Arches and finally to Crescent Lake, where we will stay our next two nights.
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