19 October 2003
This Is Why We Love It Here
| [19 Oct 2003] It's often cloudy, overcast, and grey out here, but all those clouds make for some spectacular sunsets. |
 |
Surf City
| [19 Oct 2003] This pictures doesn't really give the full experience of ten foot waves crashing on the shore and ssssssssssssssing back out to sea. |
 |
Stormwatcher's Delight
| [19 Oct 2003] Mora Beach would be a spectacular place to watch (experience, really) a storm front come through. This particular chunk of real estate would be the perfect place to build a small fortress that just dares Mother Nature to do her worst! |
 |
The Best Beach In Washington
| [19 Oct 2003] That long hike through the Hoh did a good job of tiring us out, but there was one more place on our itinerary: Mora Beach. Rob thinks it's the best beach in Washington, and we have to agree. It's right on the Pacific coastline and has everything we look for in a beach: crashing waves, cool scenery, and just a little bit of driftwood. |
 |
The Long Walk
| [19 Oct 2003] Eight-plus miles is a long walk, but it's especially long when you're not that tall. Michael and Rob took turns carrying Andy on their shoulders most of the way, but Andy walked the last mile all by himself! |
 |
Danger, Danger, Will Robinson
[19 Oct 2003] When we finally got to the Hoh rain forest, its gates were closed! We saw some people returning from a hike into the park, so we asked them why the road was closed. They said the road had washed out about four miles in. Disappointed we wouldn't get into the forest itself, we decided to walk in and see what was preventing us from doing so.
About three-and-a-half-miles in, we saw evidence of some major water activity to the side and across the road, and tried to reconstruct what had happened. After another half mile we no longer had to guess what had happened -- we could see for ourselves! The river bed curves right here, but this area had had huge amounts of rain the week before and swollen the river so much it couldn't make the turn. Half the road was indeed completely gone, and other half was largely undercut. |
|
Baby Trees
| [19 Oct 2003] Remember how the Hoh gets gobs of rain and so has big trees? Make that huge trees! |
|
Furry Tree
| [19 Oct 2003] Our primary goal this time was the Hoh rain forest. A World Heritage Site, the Hoh receives over 150 inches of rain each year. All that rain makes for abundant growth, and being part of the national park system it's all protected from logging, so it has trees over a thousand years old. Older creatures tend to get cold easily, so Mother Nature provides the trees with a green fuzzy overcoat. |
 |
Glacier-fed Wading Pool
| [19 Oct 2003] Our next Guy Day was a trip to the western reaches of the Olympics. (Kaylyn tagged along, by special permission from Andy.) Along the way we passed Lake Crescent, a small puddle eight-and-a-half miles long and over one thousand feet deep. And cold. |
|
|
