Have Camera, Will Travel.: Sol Duc Rain Forest and Rialto Beach July 5

July 5
We headed West from Port Angeles to explore other areas of Olympic National Park.

Crescent Lake

A short drive brought us to Crescent Lake and an opportunity for Sonaa to have a swim. Golden Retrievers are great swimmers and Sonaa paddled into the middle of the lake to fetch her ball.

Sonaa in Lake Crescent

Moments in Time Trail

Along the lake shore was a nice walking trail entitled "Moments in Time".

We enjoyed the tranquility of this short nature walk through the lowland forest.

There were several informative sign posts along the way which explained the flora, fauna and history of the area.

It always amazed us to see burnt out hollow tree trunks which were still supporting the living trees above.

Forest Canopy

We continued along the Olympic Highway then followed the Sol Duc River into the Sol Duc Rain Forest.

From the Sol Duc Visitor Center, we took the three mile round trip hike to Sol Duc Falls.

Emma was good to go and burst out of the RV and started power walking up the trail to the falls.

It was a magical experience to be immersed in the middle of an old growth temperate rain forest.

There were few flowers in the green darkness of the forest floor but this Foamflower found a way to thrive

Foamflower

Sol Duc River

After a 2 kilometer hike we arrived at Sol Duc Falls.

Sol Duc Falls

Emma at Sol Duc Falls

Sol Duc Falls

The three pronged Sol Duc Falls were not large but they were charming The setting in the middle of the rain forest made it a special experience..

We took out time on the way back so we could revel in the quiet majesty of the forest.

Oxeye Daisy

In the afternoon, we arrived at Rialto Beach.

Driftwood was piled up above the high tide line and we had to do some maneuvering to get Sonaa onto the beach.

From the beach, several islands were just off shore. These small islands were called haystacks.

The driftwood on the beach came in all shapes and sizes.

We were headed to "Hole in the Wall" which as a few kilometers down the beach. It was slow going as it always was when we hike in sand.

It was interesting to spend the morning in a temperate raiforest ecosystem and the afternoon in an intertidal ecosystem.

We had to keep a close eye on Sonna as she was always looking for something edible. Unfortunately for us, Sonaa thought just about everything was edible. The intertidal ecosystem was a veritable smorgasbord for Sonaa but her adventurous appetite did not work well with her sensitive stomach.

At last we arrived at "Hole in the Wall" The name was an accurate and literal description of the place.

The tide was coming in and it was getting tricky to continue beyond "Hole in the Wall".

However, I really got into the moment and forged ahead taking lots of pictures. On looking back I realized that Emma and Sonaa were ready to return to the RV.