Our next stop was one of my favorite places in the world, the Hoh rainforest.
I'd never visited it in the middle of winter with snow, and it was a new and different experience.
With the temperature just below zero, the typical thick, foresty, musty feeling of the air was less apparent.
We got to see salmon swimming upriver to lay their eggs.
This is a natural colonnade of trees formed by a nurselog.
Next, we hiked the Ozette trail to Cape Alava, the westernmost point of the contiguous 48 states. Much of the trail was a boardwalk.
Here are some views of the coast at Cape Alava.
Then we drove up to Hurricane Ridge to get the real snow experience. It's a popular place for skiers but we just tromped around in the snow.
Our next destination was Seattle, which we reached by the Bremerton ferry.
Washington State Ferries is the largest ferry system in North America, and is publicly owned.
It gives a great view of the Seattle skyline.
To get a daylight view, we climbed to the top of the water tower in Volunteer Park, a free alternative to the Space Needle.
Plus, you get to actually see the Space Needle in the skyline this way.
Thanks for your photos of such very beautiful country. Much nicer than boring old Florida. We do have trees similar to those with the moss hanging from their branches though.
ReplyDeleteI'll take our gravelly driftwood-covered beaches over the sands of Florida any day.
DeleteBut Florida gets at least one point for mossy trees!
Most of my family is in Forks, so I've spent a fair amount of time out there on the peninsula. I have to say that the coast of Washington is one of the most lush places I've ever been to, and being such a wet and old forested area, its ridiculously green. Hell, Washington honestly has one of the most diversified climates I've ever seen too. Over by Spokane, you get some of the pine forests of Idaho spilling out just a little bit before hitting the farm lands and dry prairie of the middle of the state, before hitting the mountains and douglas fir forests that in turn become the rainforests.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you've been able to visit the better part of the West Coast again.
This was an excellent post.I really love the photos specially ,"the Seattle skyline"
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