Olympic Peninsula and Rain Forests

August 11, 2014

Sunny and dry - 80 degrees

Lat/Lon 47.28N 123.52 W

Lake Quinault and the Olympic Rain Forests

Olympic Peninsula, WA

Chawley and Elby (L Bea) check out the view at Lake Quinault

I found a sailboat.

The Quinalt rain forest averages 154" of rain a year. Thats over 12 feet of rain!
By comparison, Tillamook Oregon averages 87" a year, Seattle about 40", and Boise about 12" per year.

Fun Fungi

Sword ferns covering the bank above the trail.  You can see the trail heads off into that dark hole ahead.

Playing follow the leader.

This skunk cabbage, growing in a tiny creek, was about 3 feet across.  HUGE!

Pretty waterfall!  Look at all that moss and the ferns!

Closer view of the waterfall.

It was a pretty warm day, so splashing in the little creek at the foot of the waterfall felt pretty good!

BIG fallen snag

Pretty maidenhair fern.

Skinny squatch?

Another waterfall

The Little Pink Glasses made their first appearance in a long time.
I think the last we saw of them was in Arizona last winter.


I thought I saw Nancy, but as I got closer I realized this lady had gray hair. It was not pretty silver like Frosty's hair.

I love, love, love the forests in the Pacific Northwest!

BY THE WAY, (It's a little known fact,....)  moss and ferns are not parasitic plants like ivy and mistletoe.  They do not take nutrition from, or strangle, their 'host' tree.  They are epiphytes, meaning they merely cling to the rough surface of the tree to catch water and organic matter that falls from above.  Mosses and ferns don't harm the trees.
These are healthy trees.

Note: Ivy and mistletoe not only strangle a tree, but their modified roots bore through the bark, to the actively growing cambium layer, (outer layer), of the tree.  There, they tap into the tree's life resources, eventually killing it.

Now THIS is a Mossy Skag!!!  

(My family will get it.)

~ ~ ~

In other news, another outing to the beach produced the closest thing to a 'squatch we've seen yet.

and we found this guy that I'm pretty sure was trying to contact aliens with this strange devise.

~ ~ ~

I'd like to take Charley to see Mount Saint Helens before we head north next Monday, but we will see what happens. Once we are up north, we're hoping to get a tour of the BIG Coast Guard base up in Port Angeles, from a retired Coastie friend. (Teri's brother in law.)  After that, we're not sure which direction we will go.  We will return to Boise at some point before we head to Casa Grande AZ to sell pumpkins and Christmas trees.

Pacific Northwest - Hoquiam River

August 2nd, 2014
Overcast,  76 degrees
Lat/Lon  46.6N 123.5W

Sweet Spot - Hoquiam River 

Charley enjoying a good book in the shade of the big Alder trees.

Everytime I see the tiny 'cones' from an alder, I am quickly take back to my childhood. Growing up on Alder Creek in Garden Valley, ID, I would pick these up by the hundreds and make things out of them.

The peaceful Hoquiam River. 

We are just a couple of miles upstream from Gray's Harbor, so the river rises and falls about 8 feet with the tides.   

 

The pictures above are high tide, the picture below is low tide.  Between the sun and the tides, the river is constantly changing. I've noticed that different birds and animals show up according to the tides.  The river otters and great blue herons show up during lower tides, the king fisher and seal show up at high tide.

There is a great trail that takes off from the edge of the RV park.  The trail runs along the river and then into the woods a ways.

There are some old train tracks that still exist along part of the trail.

In this pic, both metal rails are still visible along the forest floor, but there is so much underbrush and overgrowth that they are hard to see.

The trail comes out near town, not too far from the little mom and pop drive in that has awesome soft ice cream cones.

Pacific Northwest - Washington!

July 30th, 2014
Clear, sunny, 74 degrees
Lat/Lon 46.2N 124.0W

Cape Disappointment

We went out to Cape Disappointment in hopes of seeing the Coast Guard base there. 

(This is a public marina at Cape Disappointment.)

Alas, we were not able to see the base, entry gates were locked up tight.  But we did see a Coast Guard helicopter cruising around the beach.

There were a lot of brown pelicans.

Beautiful beaches at Cape Disappointment.

It was a bit of a disappointment that the Coast Guard eluded us.  

Silly me, I asked Charley why it was locked up.  After a 45 minute long 'Charley' explanation that included references to WWI, the Grassy Knoll, and stem cell debates, ... he 'basically' said, (my wording now) "Coast Guard bases are not 'populated' as much as the other military bases we've visited. They don't man the guard station all the time."

                                                                                      ... Oh, okay.

We didn't get to see the Coast Guard Base at Cape Disappointment, but I think I've hoodwinked Teri's brother in law, Jim, (who is a retired Coastie living in Squim, WA), into giving us a tour of the CG base at Port Angelos, WA. 

Drift wood and pelicans

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

This is the area where Lewis and Clark first saw the Pacific Ocean in November 1805.

 One of the beaches we walked on was covered with these things.  It has 3 flaps or sides to it. I thought it was some kind of jellyfish, but I can't find anything that looks like it.  Any ideas?

 After leaving Cape Disappointment, we north to Hoquiam,

 where we found this lovely campsite right on the Hoquiam River.

Coastal Pacific Northwest - Oregon!

July 27th
Sunny and 71 degrees

Lat/Lon 45.5N 123.36W

Our destination for the trip west was the Washington coast.  

We've both spent quite a bit of time on the Oregon coast, and almost none in the Olympic peninsula of Washington.  In the spirit of exploration, we need to see something new. 

On the way, we went through St. Helens, Oregon to see Teri & Dave Stoffer.

They have a big lot with plenty of shade and room for a motorhome!

Every morning, Teri and I had coffee on her front porch.

(only once did we both have our BSU robes on.)

Charley and Dave are like two peas in a pod.  Charley had a great time!

Teri and I on the other hand,....  just a couple of grumps! 

Saturday, Teri was going to be working her "Dangerous Crossroads" booth at the Columbia County Fair, so I went along to 'help'.   Dangerous Crossroads is a traffic safety committee in Columbia County that educates the public on the dangers along Highway 30, and 'encourages' Oregon Dept. of Transportation to make improvements to laws and intersections in that area. 

Six years ago, Teri's son, Jeff, was killed on Highway 30, (about half a mile from Teri's home), by a pole truck whose load extended 36 feet beyond the end of the truck.  When the truck turned at an intersection, that long load swung into the next lane, demolishing the truck Jeff was riding in.
(center pic in collage below)

The traumatic loss of her son prompted Teri to take on the task of making sure it didn't happen to anyone else.  (Jeff's accident was the 2nd of 3 accidents that happened in the same way, in the same area, in about a 4 month period.)  The Oregon Department of Transportation, the trucking company, and the driver of the truck, all met with the wrath of a grieving mother, (imagine a cross between a grizzly, a badger, and a rattle snake).

I am pleased to say that Teri and Dave's efforts have been significant in making changes in the area, but there is still more to be done.

Even though the theme of the booth was a sober one, we still had a lot of fun.  

I even found a birdy at the fair!  This is a pineapple conjure.  He was a sweet little guy. I didn't want to give him back.  (I miss my Gracie Bird!)

While in the area, I also went to visit buddy, Mike, (my old boss at Dennis 7 Dees in Portland whom I absolutely adore), and Erin.  I even got to have lunch with Bob.  

 Charley and I had a great visit with Teri and Dave.  However, after a week of invading their privacy, it was time to head out to Astroria.

~ ~ ~

The plants in Oregon absolutely amaze me!

I'm not sure if this is clethera or itea, but it was so pretty!

And the hydrangeas!  I'd forgotten how they grow like weeds here!  OMG!!!

BIG container ship on the Columbia at Astoria.

This cool Coast Guard Cutter was at the dock in Astoria.  Chawley was really checking it out!

 ~ ~ ~

 This old shipwreck is on the Beach at Ft. Stevens State Park.
It was a British bark called the Peter Iredale.


This is the bow.
Pieces of the gunwale and the stern protrude out of the sand way down the beach.

I found this plaque with a picture of the ship when I was at the maritime museum in Astoria.

I love seeing my feet in the waves.  Odd sea obsession??

Red, Right, Return!

 Back to Astoria and the Columbia.

Astoria and the Columbia River as seen from the bridge.  

On to Washington.

~ ~ ~