Blooms, Mountains, Big Trees, Misty Beaches, and Vampires!

We're on the Olympic Peninsula, staying in an RV park outside Port Angeles, Washington. We did decide to take a day trip over to Victoria, and were able to find an Express Ferry that leaves fairly early in the morning, and returns in the evening.


From the harbor in Victoria you can take a shuttle bus to the butterfly gardens and then on to Butchart Gardens.

The gardens are beautiful! It was sort of a rainy day, but that doesn't keep the people away during the summer season.

This is the Sunken Garden that once was part of a limestone pit. Shows what a little imagination can do!

The hydranga were really beautiful and had quite a range of color from white, pink pale blue all the way to the deepest blues. Roses were in full bloom as were the dahlia. All kinds of dalhia.

We have heard and read a bit about the Olympic National Park being one of the most diverse of the parks. We spent one day going into the mountains visiting Hurricane Ridge. We made it in time to go on another Ranger led walk and learned about how fierce the winters are. There were black tailed deer close to the Visitor's Center that seemed very used to people. They made it a bit hard for the ranger to keep everyone's attention when they came up on the path right by the group.

Then you have the river valleys in the park that get lots of rain and mist and have a whole other look to them. We went to the Hoh Rainforest and walked the Hall of Mosses Trail, and spent one very rainy afternoon walking up to the falls at the Sol Duc Trail.

This was really beautiful. Quite a few people on the trail but they thinned out as we walked. Many puddles that day!

The Hoh Rainforest had a very eerie feel. It reminded us of something from the Everglades.

And then, there is the beach! We drove down the coast, stopping at Ruby Beach in the morning with the fog rolling in. The tide was out and we roamed around on the beach investigating the tide pools. Huge seastars and urchins.

Lots of the beach is rock that has been beaten and rounded by the surf. Some if it is big round rocks, but near the surf are the small smooth pebbles. Great for skipping over the still pools!


Ruby Beach is named because there is garnet in the sand that gives some areas a very pink color.

We continued down the coast, had lunch in the lodge at Kalaloch and headed back. The change was quite something. The sun had come out, and the tide had come in. Where we had walked in the morning was now covered by crashing waves. Cool!

Now, for those of you who are into the popular "Twilight" series, this is where it is all happening! From the RV park in Port Angeles, we went down to Forks, Washington. That's where Bella lives. We went to dinner in Port Angeles the evening after we were in Victoria. Turns out it is the scene of the first date. There are all kinds of Twilight Tours, and shops selling things from the books, and other spots that are related to the books. They have really embraced the popularity

The Visitor's Center in Forks even had a red truck. There were teenage and not so teenage women all over the place! But we didn't notice anyone that looked a bit unusual. At least we don't think so. Hmmm.







We are planning to continue a bit farther down the coast into Oregon and then eastward.

Jim and Sue