Roger and I decided to spend Memorial Day weekend visiting our friend Wayne in Portland, Oregon. The weather was surprisingly summer-like when we arrived, and we spent a couple of days enjoying Wayne's beautiful gardens, eating and drinking delicious beer and wine, and taking advantage of the plentiful sunshine at Rooster Rock along the Columbia River. On Monday, Roger, Wayne, and I headed north to
Olympic National Park to spend a week exploring a portion of the very expansive park. Our first destination within the park was
Kalaloch Beach, where we spent two nights in a cabin overlooking the ocean. We arrived late in the afternoon and spent some time walking along the beach, a vast stretch of sand littered with white drift logs extending south as far as the eye could see. At sunset, we enjoyed a great dinner inside the lodge with panoramic views of the ocean and surrounding bluffs.
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| Kalaloch Beach |
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| Roger on a drift log at Kalaloch Beach |
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| Roger on Kalaloch Beach |
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| Kalaloch Beach |
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| At our cabin on Kalaloch Beach |
We decided to make Tuesday a coastal day, and explored several beaches north of Kalaloch Beach. Our first stop was Beach 4, a short but steep walk down through a dense forest from the parking lot above. It was a beautiful beach with numerous tide pools scattered between the rocks, just north of the beach entrance. It was amazing to see the rocks completely covered in various organisms, all patiently waiting for the ocean to return at high tide.
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| Tide pool at Beach 4 |
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| Tide pool at Beach 4 |
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| Wayne and Roger exploring Beach 4 |
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| Starfish at Beach 4 |
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| Tide pool at Beach 4 |
Continuing north, our next stop was Ruby Beach. This beach featured some amazing sea stacks, as well as a thick wall of drift logs along the bluff. One of the more popular beaches within the park, we encountered more people here than at peaceful Kalaloch Beach.
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| Walking down to Ruby Beach |
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| Drift logs at Ruby Beach |
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| Ruby Beach |
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| Sea stack at Ruby Beach |
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| Roger and Wayne on Ruby Beach |
After a rest stop in Forks, a town made famous by the Twilight book and movie series, we made our final stop of the day at Second Beach. The trail to the beach was longer than our previous stops, winding through a forest of moss covered trees and giant ferns. We had the beach to ourselves, and the numerous sea stacks at this beach made it especially scenic.
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| Wayne and Roger on Second Beach |
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| Second Beach - Olympic National Park |
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| Wayne on Second Beach |
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| Second Beach |
On Wednesday, we headed north again, this time to a more interior location within Olympic National Park. A one hour drive from Kalaloch brought us to one of the most popular spots in the park, the
Hoh Rain Forest. The Hoh is one of the largest temperate rain forests in the United States and receives approximately 12 to 14 feet of rain each year. We hiked the short Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature Trails, along with a portion of the Hoh River Trail, to experience the exceptional beauty of the moss covered trees and lush plant life in the forest.
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| Hall of Mosses - Hoh Rain Forest |
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| Roger in the Hoh Rain Forest |
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| Hoh Rain Forest |
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| Roger and Wayne at the Hoh River |
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| Hoh Rain Forest |
On Wednesday, we said goodbye to the ocean and made our way south to
Lake Quinault, a picturesque lake surrounded by rain forests and rolling mountains. We spent two nights at the historic Lake Quinault Lodge where we especially enjoyed the beautiful lobby, complete with a fireplace, board games, and cocktails. The lawn overlooking the lake was also a perfect place to play Frisbee.
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| Lake Quinault Lodge |
Canoes and kayaks could be rented at the lake, but the weather was not very inviting for a float on the open water. Instead, we opted for a hike to Irely Lake. The drive to the trail head was almost as scenic as the hike itself, and the lake was a peaceful place to watch the fog roll across the mountains and raindrops dance on the water. The longer we sat still, the more wildlife we saw.
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| Along the trail to Irely Lake |
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| Along the trail to Irely Lake |
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| Along the trail to Irely Lake |
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| Roger hiking to Irely Lake |
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| Irely Lake |
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| Irely Lake |
Back at the lodge, we decided to do a bit more hiking before calling it a day. The Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail loops around the rain forest immediately surrounding the lodge and campground. Although the hiking was easy, the scenery was spectacular and rivaled the Hoh Rain Forest. Several large waterfalls were visible along the trail, in addition to many enormous tress draped with moss.
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| Lake Quinault |
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| Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail |
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| Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail |
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| Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail |
We headed back to warmer, sunnier Portland on Friday after a great week in Olympic National Park. On Saturday, we met up with Keith and Melissa who took us on a fun biking tour of several breweries in downtown Portland. On Sunday, before heading to the airport to fly back to Salt Lake, Keith and Melissa took me on a great hike to Angel's Rest in the Columbia River Gorge. The weather was amazing and the views were spectacular. It was a great ending to a wonderful trip to the Pacific Northwest.
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| Keith and Melissa hiking to Angel's Rest |
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| Keith at Angel's Rest |
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| Columbia River Gorge from Angel's Rest |
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| Keith and Tonic enjoying a break on Angel's Rest |
