Camping and Rialto Beach
 

TWIL and I went camping last weekend. Nothing very strenuous or exotic, just a trip into the Olympic National Park to Mora Campground (though we stayed elsewhere) and a nice hike on Rialto Beach to Hole In The Wall.

We started in the early afternoon, and the weather was lovely.
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Over the newly rebuilt Hood Canal Bridge.
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On the Olympic Peninsula proper, headed toward Port Townsend.
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It was a really pretty day for a drive, and we saw some really pretty cool cars along the way.

A cherry Chevy Chevelle.
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A gorgeous Plymouth Road Runner. This one sounded like it had escaped from the race track. The driver was justifiably proud of his ride, he posed as I shot the pictures.
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We even saw Mitt Romney's car!
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Just a few shots of the trip on the way to camp.

This is the first peek of Crescent Lake.
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A pretty shady section of the road along the south shore of the lake.
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Approaching the Sol Duc river. We crossed this river a number of times over the course of the weekend.
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At last, on Mora Road, on the way to camp. You can see the sun settling in the west. It promises to be pretty at the beach as the sun sets.
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Mora campground was full, completely full. The ranger saved us the trouble of trolling through the loops of the campground looking for an open site. His greater service to us was to recommend Cycle Camp. It was just up the road (we'd passed it on the way to Mora). Well, we went back up the road and found it. It will be our first choice next time we go to Mora. I give it five stars

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We had almost the whole area to ourselves, and this BIG site was all ours. We didn't stay in the teepee though. A picnic table, some benches around the fire ring, a great table improvised from a giant cable spool, all the free firewood we could burn, flush toilets, washer and dryer, hot shower, microwave, stove, oven. For just $15. What's not to love?
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Except for this bear!!!! (heheh... just kidding)
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TWIL settling in. I joined her just after this shot.
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Some scenic pictures from the beach during the sunset, brought to you with minimal chatter.

James Island and Little James Island at the mouth of the Quileute River just west and north of La Push.
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The back side of dawn in Japan.
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A stitched together "panorama" from James Island to Hole In The Wall. It was prettier in person. Getting stitchable pictures with moving waves is impossible.
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The westernmost edge of the forest was all dead trees, some still standing, some driftwood logs.
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Awww V, you gave away the secret place.

Don't come complaining to me when all the Oregonians and Californians and ... and... come to visit.

This log ("log" seems so inadequate) with me and my 6 1/2 foot wingspan for scale.
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A wide shot to show more of the log for scale. Whoa.
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In this map, you can see approximately where we took these pictures. From the parking lot to Hole In The Wall is 1.5 miles. It's a pretty easy hike, though some of the beach is not hard packed at all making some of it a real slog. In *this* map, you can see more of the park including Mora and Rialto Beach.
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Hole In The Wall is at the point where you see the trees taper off into the water.
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A note. We took off in the afternoon, got to the beach before sunset, took our pictures, then went back to camp. We woke, broke camp, packed up and drove ten minutes to the beach for our hike. You can see the difference in the sky starting in this last picture. It was pretty and sunny when we began, though it would not stay that way.

This is the first big mammal I've ever seen on the beach, excepting humans and dogs. His eyes were gone and he was extremely stinky. He was deposited right on top of the berm of cobbles marking the high tide line. I don't know the significance of the X painted on him, maybe "Noted". It was very big, longer than I am tall plus my arms extended and quite a bit bigger around. I'd guess 500 pounds.
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Here's one of his mates/competitors, though this appears to be a seal and not a sea lion. There were about six or seven of these guys diving and surfacing in this spot. Must have been good hunting.
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Johnathan Livingston taking a little walk.
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We're about halfway there. We'll pass Split Rock, you can see it at the water's edge just ahead.
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Some of the rocks at the base of these sea stacks have been eroded by countless waves, leaving stones in shapes as fluid as the waves that made them.
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A seastack with a little green bow on it from Mother Nature.
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Split Rock. Excellent tidepooling opportunities here.
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We approach the Hole In The Wall.
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Getting around to the actual natural bridge/hole required a bit of mountain goat work. Some took the high road, some took the low road. We went low, partly because some oncoming traffic was already on the high road. But I preferred the low road because it seemed like there was less distance to fall. I did dunk my foot once, having mistaken the rock surface's coefficient of friction. I tried to step on a slanting part of the rock, which might have been ok, but for the algae on the rock. Zwooooploooosh. Ok, lesson learned.
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It's a big hole, it could easily accommodate a double decker bus.
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The tidepools north of the arch.
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On the way home now!
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I don't know what was so tasty but "bird is the word" and it got out, for sure.
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Another giant log.
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Really, really giant. I boggle at the strength of the forces of nature that casually tossed this twig, and hundreds of others like it, meh, up on the beach, anywhere, really. Just... wow.
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He kind of reminds me of the fella from Spy vs Spy.
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Kind of reminds me of pancakes.
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This shot, taken at about 3:40 pm, looks familiar because I took almost the same one earlier. Notice the darker sky and the darker sand. Darker because everything is wet. It was raining due north. I mean, we were being pelted so hard that it felt like we were walking in a hailstorm. It wasn't cold, maybe 60 degrees, maybe warmer. I was warm enough in my t shirt, as long as I kept moving (yes, I had my rain gear in my backpack). It was seriously windy and rainy.
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Same shot, four hours earlier at about 11:40. Notice the blue sky in the upper left hand corner of the frame. For those of you who will visit, please bring your rain gear.
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The beach at La Push, at the end of August. With the emphasis on "gust".Attachment 40350

Another shot of James Island taken from La Push across the Quileute River.
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Thanks for the great pictures Big V. Really awesome!

To get to Mora or La Push, you have to travel through Forks. You've heard of Forks, Washington, right?
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It's where the stories from the Twilight franchise were set. And some people in Forks take FULL advantage of these rabid fans.
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This was scary, especially so close to Vampire Territory.
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Even the restaurant at the Three Rivers Resort gets into the game.
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Not shown were pictures of girls, they were always girls, standing in front of road signs, street signs, restaurant signs, snapping pictures "I was *there*!" I bet the Twilight Tours minibus makes numerous stops at such photo ops.