Road Trip to Washington - Day 5

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I left off in  the last post going to sleep in the mostly dry truck listening to the rain.IMG_9737View from the sleeping bag.IMG_9739This is where we stayed. We didn't have a good look at it the night before when it was raining and dark.DSC_3744More of my slow-moving wildlife subjects. We had spent the previous day on the east and north sides of Olympic National Park. We wanted to see the rainforest areas which are on the west side. The place we camped was near Lake Quinault and there are several access points to the Park along the road that follows the Quinault River.IMG_9745We started with the Rain Forest Nature Trail that leads to Willaby  Creek Falls, one of the points on the Waterfall Trail we were following. IMG_9751Everywhere you look there are trees rooted over fallen trees. Every surface seems covered with something growing.IMG_9755The park protects the largest old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest. Rainfall varies from 12 feet (!) in the temperate rain forests on the west side to 40" on the east side. IMG_9753More of the Devils Club with a good view of he spines on the leaves.IMG_9757Did I mention that this was a walk through the rain forest? And rain it did. We stood for awhile under the umbrella because is was raining so hard. On our way back this path was filled with water.IMG_9767The forest was just beautiful.IMG_9773

DSC_3749Lots of fungus in addition to the ferns, shrubs, and trees.

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DSC_3765Some of these photos were taken on the trails to Falls Creek and Gatton Creek waterfalls  on creeks that flow into the lake. The next stop was at the World's Largest Spruce Tree.IMG_9799This Stika spruce is 58', 11" in circumference and 1000 years old.IMG_9805It is 191' tall and is one of six record breaking trees in the Park.IMG_9809Sulightn was coming through the clouds as we drove down the road on the north side of the Quinault River.DSC_3784It gave a special glow to the moss covered trees in the flatland along the river.DSC_3783A wildlife shot of something other than a banana slug! Can you see the second fawn? I didn't even see it until I was looking through my photos.IMG_9818We left the rain forest and the Park and headed for the southwest corner of Washington and Cape Disappointment State Park where we hoped to spend the night. DSC_3793There were campsites available so we reserved one and then walked took one of the Park trails that follows the coastline to one of two lighthouses in the Park. This is the breakwater constructed on the north of where the Columbia River flows into the Pacific.DSC_3796Looking south from the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center you can see the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse and the Oregon coast in the distance, across the mouth of the Columbia River. DSC_3801The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was built in the 1850's. There is a Coast Guard Station nearby. According to Wikipedia: "The lighthouse had several shortcomings. The fog bell was sometimes inaudible due to the roar of ocean waves. It was discontinued in 1881 and moved ... Also, the light was not visible to ships approaching from the north. This problem was corrected by building a lighthouse at North Head, two miles from Cape Disappointment. The first-order lens was moved to North Head ... The lighthouse was electrified in 1937. In 1956, the Coast Guard intended to close the station, but retained the light when the Columbia River bar pilots protested. The light was automated in 1973. An observation deck has been built for the Coast Guard to monitor traffic and bar conditions."

DSC_3804This is the view looking back north to the Interpretive Center (which we visited the next day). Also visible is the small cove called Waikiki Beach. The campsites were beyond that. We got back to camp about dark, our usual M.O., and ate an unexciting dinner, and went to bed.