We started early today to get to the Hoh Rain Forest. It is a popular location in Olympic National Park that fills up early.
In many ways, the Hoh Rain Forest is like any other forest. It has rivers and streams, trails to walk, and lots of trees.
In other ways, it is a very different place. Gnarled tree roots grow above the ground. Trees grow in strange directions. They grow so thick that they block the sun. Twisted wood is everywhere. Huge trees lie on the ground with their shallow roots exposed, and the moss is very thick. It could be a very scary place in the evening and at night. Rain Forests could be the source of some of the fairy tales about being lost in the woods.
Today we learned how the root systems grow above the ground. A rain forest is a natural place of recycling. When the large trees die and fall down, new trees and plants begin to grow on top of them. Their roots grow into the existing wood. As the wood from the dead tree is used as a nutrient source, it slowly disappears. When it is totally used up, the roots of the new trees and plant are magically above ground. That is why some trees grow in groups and in straight lines as you can see in these pictures. In the third picture, you can only see part of the line of trees that followed this pattern. The path cuts across the line of trees. The full line of trees extends off the picture in both directions.
We also learned, as we left, that we were glad we arrived early. The line of cars waiting to get in was over a mile long. So if you go to the Hoh Rain Forest, get there early or spend your day sitting in line.
We spent our afternoon at Rialto Beach. Rialto Beach is a long, rocky beach with numerous natural attractions.
One of the main attractions is the numerous rock formations right up by the beach. They come in all shapes and sizes.
The main attraction at the beach is the The Hole in the Wall. It is a long hike to the Hole in the Wall. The first reason is that it is almost two miles down the beach from the parking lot. The second reason is that the forest comes right up to the beach at some places. There are also lots and lots of driftwood logs piled up on the beach. To actually get close to the arch requires a scramble over rocks and dead trees. If you come at a very low tide, it is sometimes possible to get around the arch. Otherwise, unless you brought mountain climbing gear, the beach stops at the arch.
Another attraction at Rialto beach is the pelicans. They fly and they float on the surf. Sometimes in small groups.
And some times in larger groups. Today there were hundreds of them resting in the surf and sometimes fishing in the surf.
Olympic National Park has a wide variety of things to see. So far we have seen the ocean, mountains, waterfalls, rugged coast line, beaches, rainforests, and many different kinds of animals. And we still have one more day here.