Hoh Rainforest, Ruby Beach, Kalaloch

We drove up yet another long valley to the Hoh Rainforest, the most popular place in Olympic National Park.  On the way is a sign saying "Big Spruce".

Yep, that's a big Sitka Spruce

We popped into the Hoh Rainforest visitor centre and strolled along a short loop trail.  Again, the weather was amazing, and it was probably one of the very few days each year that it wasn't raining there.  Seattle gets around 34-37 inches of rain per year.  The Hoh Rainforest gets 140 inches.  (Up higher at Mt. Olympus it's about 200+ inches per year.)

Sarah in front of an uprooted tree root system overgrown with flora.

After Hoh, we noticed "Big Cedar" marked on our map.  Well, we already saw "Big Spruce," so clearly we had to go to this too.  We turned off at a sign for Big Cedar:

Unfortunately, my navigator (Sarah) didn't notice that this turnoff wasn't at the Big Cedar spot marked on the map.  So we ended up going down several kilometres of very active logging road, dodging fully-loaded logging trucks, before giving up and heading back to the main road.

Apparently there's a big cedar somewhere down this road, but who knows how far away?

Several kilometres down the road, we see a proper sign for the "real" Big Cedar marked on the map, and it's just off the main road.  Aha!

Unfortunately, they should have called it the Big Dead Cedar, or the Huge Cedar Stump.  Interesting root system, but probably not worth the dog poo I got on my shoes while viewing it.

Next, we stopped at Ruby Beach.  It didn't have the ruby-coloured stones claimed, but was nonetheless a fantastic little spot.

Who is dressed for the beach, and who is dressed for Newfoundland in November?

Next up was Kalaloch, our final camping stop of the trip.  It is a huge campground, but popular enough that all the oceanside campsites were full.  Next door is Kalaloch Lodge, featuring cabins overlooking the beach and a lodge with a restaurant.

Kalaloch Lodge

View from Kalaloch Lodge

Great beach at low tide

Some Kalaloch cabins

Chef at work in the campsite

We went down to the beach at sunset, and it was gorgeous.

A super eager fetching dog conveniently posed for this shot.

And a person kindly provided a silhouette for this shot

Mist, fire smoke and people walking

The next morning, Sarah enthusiastically cleaned her last round of camping dishes