Venture to the Olympic Peninsula - Day 2

Take a big, deep breath. You're gonna need it! Here are the rest of our trip pictures from last weekend and there are plenty to go around. Enjoy them, peruse them, but don't say I didn't warn you. ;)

Good morning, Forks!

We were up bright and early Sunday, eager to continue our adventures. I didn't take many pictures of Forks; mostly because we weren't there very long and also because the town is so stinkin' tiny, there's not much to take pictures OF. However, I saw these signs hanging above the waitress station at the restaurant we ate at Saturday night, so I figured what the heck. When in Forks, do as the natives do. And the natives do Twilight. In a big way. :)

On to the Hoh Rain Forest!

I love the moss growing on this phone booth.

(If you seem to notice discrepencies in the coloring/lighting of these photos, I assure you you're not losing your vision; the lighting in the forest that day wrecked havoc with our cameras, so in some cases, I've had to digitally alter the pics using my scrapbook software. I have tried to alter the photos so that they look as close to what we saw as possible. No, I am not trying to con you. ;)

The Hall of Mosses trail:

Jason called this one the "Ent Moot" and I agreed. This forest could have been Fangorn; I half expected to see Tree Beard.

Do you see the monkey? (No, it's not a real monkey, and NO, it's not Bigfoot).

After nearly two hours at Hoh, we packed ourselves back into the van and headed out. Lake Crescent was our next destination, a gorgeous, huge lake nestled in the mountains. I had to restrain myself along the way, because the views of the Olypmic Mountains in the morning sunshine were breath-taking, but the camera was getting full. This bumper sticker I found pretty much sums it up for me:

A tiny piece of Lake Crescent, as we headed down the trail to Marymere Falls. I believe the mountain sloping up to the right is known as the Storm King.

A better view of the lake.

Marymere Falls, at last!

Below the falls, a stream that Caleb found. I had another Lord of the Rings moment here, imagining the end of the Fellowship as the Uruk Hai attacked and Frodo tried to leave without Sam.

Good-bye, Lake Crescent! Jason and I liked the area so well, we want to go back in the spring when the snow begins to melt. We think the falls will be even more spectacular then, and we'd also like to spend a little more time at the lake.

On our way out, we spotted this deer. Just a few feet from the car. Munch, munch, munch. La dee da dee da. Not a worry in the world. Humans? What are those?

Riding the ferry back to Whidbey Island, we got to watch the sun set behind the very mountains we'd been visiting all weekend.

This last photo was not altered, I'll have you know. Mom took it with her camera, and this is how it came out. Point-and-click.

From the ferry, we could see Mount Baker with all its glaciers, the Olympic Mountains behind us, and for a few mintues, we could just glimpse Mount Reineer far to the south as the last rays of the sun shone upon it. It was a glorious sunset.

So ended a wonderful weekend. :) Rather an appropriate end, don't you think?