After leaving our camp in Oregon we headed to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington where we set up camp in a small RV park in the town of Hoquiam, WA on the Hoquiam River. We never did really figure out how to pronounce that name since each person we asked said it differently. No fancy amenities at this one but a nice shower and laundry. It's amazing how little it takes to be thankful for when you are on the road. We had a great site right on the river where we enjoyed sitting on the bank watching the river go by...or would have if the wind ever stopped blowing, the sun had come out, and the temperature had risen out of the 50's. It's the middle of June for god sakes! I'm sorry but we have become hopelessly addicted to sunshine after our years spent in Colorado and California.
That given, the Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places on the planet I have been to when the sun is out and the weather is nice. The other 90% of the time it is not my cup of tea, weather wise, but we did enjoy exploring the area. Hoquiam was a good jumping off spot to see some of the beautiful scenery the peninsula has to offer. We day tripped up to Lake Quinault and did a really nice hike thru the Quinault rain forest which was amazing for the amount of life per square foot. The Olympic rainforests are the only temperate rainforests in N. America with the only others being in Japan. [Note: don't quote me on this as I may have made it up]. I grew up in the dense forests of the east coast but this place makes the New Jersey woods look like the Mojave. Every square inch is covered with some kind of life; huge trees, vines, bushes, moss, fungus. It seems as if you laid down for a nap in there you would be devoured by plant life in hours.
Later in the day, we were able to spend a couple hours on one of the WA beaches. We were lucky enough to hit it on a rare sunny afternoon with little wind. Even with temperatures in the mid 50's it was quite nice. Kasha loves chasing frisbee on the beach and running in the shallow surf. She had a great time and wore herself out to the point that she could hardly get back in the car.
We originally planned on spending a bit more time on the Olympic but I'm afraid the aforementioned weather really saps our will to live so we will be pulling up stakes a bit earlier than planned and heading for warmer climes. Next stop will be in the Idaho panhandle where I plan to meet up with my friend, Jim Hayes, from Pagosa and joining him for a 180-mile bike tour while Kelly holds the fort in Coeur d'Alene, ID.
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