Beach and mountains 8/4/2011

Sea stacks at Rialto Beach

At Rialto Beach

Last night we stayed at a motel in Forks, WA, just down the road from the Hoh Rain Forest. After breakfast this morning, we headed for Rialto Beach, part of Olympic NP. It was mostly cloudy when we set out, but it looked like it was clearing, and while we started out wearing our jackets, those were shed a short time into our walk. Down on the beach, the fog thickened and thinned for the entire 3 miles of our walk up to and back from the "Hole in the Wall". But what a jewel this beach is! You can't actually see the beach from the parking lot, but you can hear the waves crashing. You walk a short distance, make your way through a few pieces of driftwood, and the view opens up to a beautiful beach. There are hundreds of unique, sometimes massive pieces of driftwood, and the beach is literally covered with smooth, oval blue-grey pebbles. We spent our time exploring the driftwood and starngely shaped rocks sculpted by the sea, and marveling at how the light was always changing with the fog movement. We saw tide pools with lovely sea anemones, and starfish. We managed to leave the Hole in the Wall rock formation just as the tide was starting to come back in.

Hole in the Wall at Rialto Beach

On our way back, we met a man who was just starting his walk. He asked if the beach had been foggy all afternoon ( we had been there for about 3 hours). When we answered that yes, the fog had been there all day, he was amazed, saying that just 100 yards inland, it was a clear, sunny day.

After our beach excursion, we headed for Sol Duc Falls, a short 2 mile hike through old growth forest, and over cascading streams to a lovely waterfall.

Sol Duc Falls

We ended our day by checking into the Port Angeles KOA. We'll be here for 3 nights, as we explore more of Olympic NP.
PS: One last bit of housekeeping: We did laundry tonight, hoping that we can last without doing another til we get home.