Day 6 - The Hoh Rainforest and rugged beaches

To the rainforest! This morning we drove from Forks to the Hoh Rainforest entrance of Olympic National Park. Before we got to the entrance we had our first sighting of Roosevelt Elk. There was a small herd including cows and calves in a meadow about 1 mile before the entrance to the park. The Visitor's Center at this entrance is very nice. It has quite a few interpretive displays and a small gift shop. There are short trails that loop from the Visitor's Center. One of these trails is the Hall of Mosses. This is a must see - a nice walk through old growth rainforest. We also hiked the Spruce Nature Trail which was a little longer and provided a little more solitude. After all this walking we were ready to relax and re-fuel. We had a picnic lunch packed, so we found ourselves a table in the adjoining picnic ground. We ate some lunch and soaked up the warm afternoon sun. 

We headed out of the rainforest and back to the beach. Ruby Beach is another rugged north-coast beach. A fog bank had rolled in the rain was beginning to drizzle down. We hiked around the beach and I picked out a couple vantage points that I wanted to return to at sunset. Before getting too wet we drove back to Forks and our hotel room for a short, restful nap. Dinner at The Smoke House, a local favorite, was wonderful. I don't think the salmon gets much fresher than this. We filled our appetite and drove back down to Ruby Beach. There were still some remnants of the afternoon's clouds, but the evening winds were quickly dispersing them. The time right after a breaking storm is probably my favorite to photograph. The light is often challenging, but the effects are almost always very rewarding. The misty air picked up the oranges and reds filtering in from the setting sun. The dramatic rock formations and crashing water made perfect foreground silhouettes. And I wasn't the only lucky photographer making images here. But I don't mind sharing the beauty!