Port Angeles - the Olympic Peninsula - Washington
September 24, 2009
Day 8 of Pacific Northwest Journey
The best way to start the day? Breakfast at a local bakery! It’s an absolute necessity! Early this morning, mom, Penny and I force ourselves to roll out of bed all in the name of coffee! Travis decides that he will forego our bakery run and get thirty minutes extra sleep instead...well each to his own.
Willies Bakery is a locally owned and operated bakery that offers everything from fresh baked muffins and scones to full breakfast plates. We get coffee and a selection of goodies like their cranberry orange muffins...mmm delightful, and hurry back to our hotel. I know it sounds like I’m rushing, but we kind of are...we have another ferry to catch and I don’t want today to be a repeat of what happened in Vancouver. Especially since the next ferry that leaves Victoria for Port Angeles, Washington - the next leg of our amazing road trip - isn’t until 3 this afternoon! Yes, this ferry is a do or get left behind situation! Not that I am eager to get out of Victoria, I mean we only got here yesterday, but time says that we must. Travis is up and ready to go and we hand him his large extra hot mocha - he needs his fuel being he is our driver. Luggage in the Flex, we are ferry bound! This time the situation is a little different, the ferry is actually only five minutes from our hotel so we don’t have to cross a monstrous city to get there, thank GOD! So we arrive in plenty of time. However, the checking in process is a little more hardcore. Remember, we are heading back to the United States meaning we have to go through immigration and answer all of the national security questions.
We are shockingly cleared from the possibilities of being a terrorist and board the ferry promptly with time to spare. I even get a stamp on my passport causing a surge of giddiness to shoot through me...ahh the joyful effects of the travel bug.
Today, we are crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and we are completely engulfed in fog! I have once again braved the deck and everywhere I look is nothing but fog. The eeriness is overwhelming. Every five minutes the foghorn blows warning any other vessels that have braved these treacherous waters of our presence. The bow of the ship is blocked off and two shipmates are ordered to stand watch. The wind is whipping causing the air to feel icy cold. I quickly give up my martyr’s watch and head inside to the warm cabin where Penny and Travis are sitting. Mom is taking advantage of being back in the United States already and is on the phone with my dearest dad who I can tell she is beginning to miss.
Penny and I discuss our amazement of the fog and our plans for today while Travis reads. All of the windows look out onto nothing but a blanket of white. It’s almost as if our boat has been wrapped inside of a white cotton ball.
LAND! LAND! The temptation is too much and I am back out on the deck, the fog is dissipating and Port Angeles is coming into sight. The bow is cleared for observers and I can’t help myself and rush forward. Port Angeles with mountains seeming to stand guard in the distance slowly glides into view.
Our plan today is to drive to Forks, Washington, then onto the Hoh Rainforest and finally explore La Push beach where I will be seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time! That’s the plan, but we are pushing against the daylight.
Somehow, despite our gps being plugged in and ready to go, we take the wrong road and end up exploring Port Angeles’s marina, and eventually end up at a lumber yard.
Remember! When you are traveling, you are never lost, you are simply exploring...
Finally, we strike out on the 101 - a two lane road with an average speed limit of 60mph. This should be interest. The road is littered with timber trucks as our journey has landed us in the middle of logging country. Lake Crescent comes into view causing our four jaws to drop. The dramatic scenery is intensified by the sharply curving roads and the tight hug of the lake. Fifty-five miles per hour suddenly doesn’t feel so slow on this narrow road with camper vans coming at us in the other lane only separated by a double yellow line. I trust Travis’s driving, I do, but I just don’t know about these other individuals on the road. They can be a bit dodgy.
A BIG sign that says, “Welcome to Forks!” tells us that we have arrived. The 101 goes through the center of town, where there’s a hardware store, a diner, a few motels, and a store called Dazzled by Twilight (we’ll get there in a minute), and then before I know it, we’ve passed through town in all of three minutes flat factoring in the stop light.
For those of you who don’t know (and really you would almost have to be living on the international space station not to know - Travis even knows and has watched the film twice much to his chagrin - sorry to make that a public fact, but it’s part of the story), Forks is the home of the international phenomena The Twilight Saga. Yes, this one street town is where Bella supposedly meets Edward and the fairy tale ensues. If only this was real life...ahhh
To say that this town has profited off this franchise is an understatement. Before, Forks was simply known as a logging town, but now it’s the home of TWILIGHT!!!! Something that screaming tweenagers, teenagers, and yes, even me...want a little part of. Everything has been reworded, rebuilt, redesigned to have relevance to Twilight. So much so that it’s a little creepy! The Dazzled by Twilight store is a start. Inside is a tree with a Bella and Edward heart inscription on it, surrounded by every kind of t-shirt, bumper sticker, backpack, and lunch box imaginable with Edward, Bella, and Jacob’s faces plastered all over. The motel signs boast Twilight-themed rooms, the hardware store has a sign saying that this is where Bella supposedly works, the diner has pictures, and the town celebrates Bella’s birthday and the school hosts a Twilight-themed dance! Oh yes. 
Penny and I check out another store where we both swear the clerk is trying to become a vampire. He is super pale, unnaturally pale, and has yellowish contacts in. Apparently he and his sister moved all the way here from South Africa to become a part of the Twilight craze...so yeah...we hurry out but only after Penny purchases a pair of fangs...she couldn’t help herself, and they were only $.50! Which makes her happy. Travis has already returned to the car to read his book, he feels that he cannot in good conscience explore this Twilight-crazed town. There is something inside of him that prevents him from wanting to even look. Mischievously, Penny slips the fangs in and runs and knocks on the driver’s window. He jumps up and yells, and we can help but burst out laughing. The vampire craze is even getting to him now.We wave goodbye to Edward and Bella and continue south to explore the Hoh Rainforest. Now you’re thinking a rain forest this far north? Rain forest usually brings images of tropical birds, poisonous snakes, swinging monkeys, and ridiculous heat! But, rain forests aren’t only located in sweltering heat ranges close to the equator. Here, in the Olympic Peninsula, the Hoh Rainforest can be found and is classified as a rain forest due to it’s annual twelve feet of precipitation. An amazing change of scenery in one day, if you ask me. We’ve gone from the British-infused Victoria, to the fog blanketed Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the vampire crazed town of Forks, and now, we are headed to a rain forest. What a day! And we aren’t even finished yet.
Entering the park, I am overwhelmed by the green. Everything is in every shade of green imaginable. It’s different from Mount Rainier National Park, it’s different from Whistler, this green is a brighter green, a richer green...an edible green? After parking the car, we reference the little map we were given at the entrance station, and decide upon the Hall of Mosses Trail. The name speaks for itself.
The very first thing we come upon is a pond with green seaweed littering the bottom. The sun is beaming onto it perfectly between the trees, ducks are paddling around; its so picturesque it’s almost unreal. Climbing further up the trail, we happen upon giant trees with branches reaching in every direction completely wrapped in moss. It’s breathtaking. Again this reminds me of something out of Tolkien’s world. It’s almost as if Tolkien stirred this up in his mind and then spat it out, took a paint brush and finished off all the little extra moss touches. Of course, we know that Tolkien didn’t imagine this into existence rather God did. And again on this trip, I am overpowered by the beauty of God’s nature. He did this, and He did this so beautifully, so creatively. There isn’t a single detail he seemed to have left out. Rather, he paid intricate attention to each and every detail. It’s awe-inspiring and humbling.
The next trail, we venture down is the Spruce Nature Trail. A sign warns us of the dangers of elk. Apparently, there have been elk attacks in this park in the past few months. The poster warns that they are temperamental and should not be looked directly in the eyes. Interesting...in other rain forests, you have to watch out for snakes, in this rain forest, it’s the elk! Penny and mom instantly begin discussing what we should do if we actually do come across an elk.
I am split.
A big part of me would love to see this creature in it’s natural habitat, but the sensible side of me doesn’t want to be pierced with its sharp antlers. Good enough reason, I’d say.
Colorful mushrooms litter the ground around us, saplings are pushing forth for new life, fallen trunks are decaying back into the ground. Everywhere I seem to turn there is a feast for my eyes. Turning the corner, they catch two fallen logs lining our pathway. The urge is too great, so I hop on and quickly run up to the top. My plan is to get to the top on one and attempt to jump to the other until a voice rings out in the forest.
“Don’t even think about it!” Yep...it’s mom.
“What?” I spin around asking her.
“Don’t get hurt. Not here.” She replies sternly.
Well, ok, but I do get her to smile for a necessary photo. These trees are too luscious to pass up.
The Hoh River comes into view, and Penny and I take a respite on a log bench and stare out across the water...still no elk, we muse to ourselves.
The break is cut short with the sun racing to set before we get a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. Piling into the car, we encourage Travis to hurry, we actually have to go back up to Forks and then cut west to the Quileute Indian Reservation. Like a miracle from God, just as we are driving out of the park, Penny catches sight of an elk...two elks standing proudly in the water below. I am thankful that we are safely in our car and not within charging range of these beasts.
My anticipation is building, growing stronger and stronger by every mile we cover. For you see, I have never in my twenty years seen the Pacific Ocean in person. This will be my first time, and what better time than at sunset?
Passing into the Indian reservation, we see a sign that reads, “Treaty Line - Werewolves only; no Vampires!” I can’t help but laugh. Sure enough, the Twilight theme has spread all the way out here. The road begins to hug the tree-lined forest and then suddenly the trees break, and I gasp as I catch the powerful, magnificent Pacific Ocean! Giant, rock haystacks are piercing out of the deep-blue water, the sun is setting in pinks and oranges on the horizon, and I am overcome by the beauty. The reservation is sadly run down. A lot of money could go to use here in refurbishments. It is amazing to me that just over the hill lies one of the most beautiful sights in creation. We park the car, and I hurry over the hill, down the tree strewn beach, racing to the waters edge. I have to be careful in my descent as the tree stumps can be slippery. My eyes soak in everything, savoring ever color, every figure. The Pacific seems greater, vaster than the Atlantic, the colors seem richer. The haystacks stand proudly in the distance, birds fly overhead, the sun is going to rest now on the horizon, and all seems at peace in the world. Giddy like a child, I run around the beach picking up pebbles to throw into the water. Penny and mom are standing at the top of the hill not wanting to brave crossing the washed up tree trunks, but Travis joins me in my joy. Penny finally can’t stand it any longer and joins us on the beach. We laugh together as we celebrate my first Pacific sighting as the moon comes out and graces us with her presence. Mom is wary up on the horizon. She isn’t sure about the neighborhood behind us, but that’s what moms are for, to look out and pay attention to the greater details when their daughter’s are too caught up in exalting moments.
Of course, I know that this could all be given over to the fact that is new in my mind, but regardless of it’s freshness in my sight of things, I am loving, or more like adoring every single thing around me, and this night will go down as one of the greatest nights of my life.
~ This is why I travel to experience exalting moments like these.
Until Tomorrow...
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