Peninsula Part 1

So...I thought I'd finally post up some photos from my February trip to the Olympic Peninsula with Miss Brenda. I am sure this is thrilling news to all of you out there in Bloggerland! ;)

We chose to take the ferry over since it was later evening when we set off. Anyway--ferry's are fun! We were told we'd have to wait a full hour for the next boat...luckily this proved false and we were off in a flash!


We stayed at the Forks Motel, which is rather nice. We were off the next morning to see what we could see on Second Beach. For breakfast we stopped over at the Thriftway for some very nourishing donuts :) YUMM!!!

That Saturday happened to be Valentine's Day. On our way into the market we were greeted by an older fellow in a ball cap, a flannel shirt and wranglers (if I wasn't mistaken) with a jovial greeting of: "Happy Valentine's Day, Ladies!!" It was spectacular...and we were off!



As you can see in the above photo as well as the one here...it is truly as green in the rain forest as one might imagine they'd be.

To reach Second Beach, one must park in a small lot off the side of the road and walk 1.3 miles (2.1km) through this lush landscape to reach the beach area.

The tree in the photo above reminded us of a giraffe for some reason. How about you? Giraffe or no???



It was rather wondrous...one moment you're traipsing over a squishy green trail and the next you're looking at this massive pile of driftwood--the entrance to the beach.

I somehow managed not to photograph the very classy outhouse that is standing right by the trail on the forest side of the driftwood mass. It is classic I tell you!





The views were spectacular! The morning was rather overcast, but mild. If you look down in this shot you can see a bit of an opening in the rock face...this, my friends, is where we were headed.




Here is a shot from near the water's edge. The waves were incredible. The beach here was mostly sandy with very (very, very) small pebbles. We would soon learn that the beaches in the area are all made up of a variety of pebbles...some very tiny-yet not quite sand...then there are some much larger-almost what one would call rocks covering large areas of beach!



This was our goal: tide pool! The sky was still rather dark but it was comfortable out. There were lots of barnacles and mosses on the rocks.

There weren't very many large pools to see sea creatures in...but we did find a few :)




As you can see here, the anemones were mint green. I think all that we saw were this color. They have this odd bit on their outsides that makes them look like shite when they are tucked up and afraid.

The sun was out a bit for this shot...much brighter! Now, I'm new to the sea, I found all of this to be unfamiliar and fascinating-WOW!!


As the tide began to rise...we turned to trek back to the trail head. During one bit of darker sky I turned and took this shot of the sea stacks reflected in the rising waters.


Sea stacks--who'd a thunk???



This is the final shot I have for this post.

We spent a bit of time looking at all sorts of driftwood. It is beautiful. This bit took our attention for a few minutes.

What do you see in these bits of wood? Do you often see the art that is nature? How do you capture it?