An Olympic-Sized Park, Part III: The Temperate Rain Forest

We were in and out of rain forests throughout our trip.  Our first taste was the Elwha Valley, and we were properly awed.   At the time, we thought these trees were large and moss covered, and they were.  We were but babes in the woods!  

We saw the first of several waterfalls here.

Madison Falls

 This was another poetry walk.  I'm so glad people think like this, and write it down to share! 

 Sol Duc Valley was our second taste, and here we began to see the true nature of the rain forest.

This is what's called a nurse log.  A tree falls down, for whatever reason.  Very soon, all sorts of vegetation pulls up a chair at the table and feasts.  This nurse log has a row of saplings growing upon it.  Over time some will die out and others will live.  Their roots will wrap around the nurse log to the ground.  Forever.  When the nurse log finally deteriorates completely, which can take hundreds of years, the roots stay in the position they originally grew.  Crazy!!!

Another nurse log.  Life and death are inseparable here in a whole different way.  

This would be a nurse stump. 

This is a close-up of a living tree branch.  The ferns and mosses are not parasitic here.  They get their nutrients from rain and ambient moisture.  We're not in Arizona anymore, Toto! 

Sol Duc Falls required crossing over this bridge.  Ron can't help being a nut, taking a picture of me taking a picture of him!

Sol Duc Falls

The Hoh Rain Forest was outstanding!  Fantastic trees and mosses. 

Because there is so much moisture, roots are shallow.  When a tree goes down, the root ball comes right up. 

We took a loop drive around Lake Quinault in the Quinault Rain Forest. 

A view of Lake Quinault

It was more open here, but open is relative to a base-line density which is VERY DENSE!

Ron looking up again.  We all did! 

Scott is just under 6' tall.  This ordinary-sized log was cut to keep the trail clear.

Water, water everywhere.

Merriman Falls

Human influences can be temporary:   

We took the Maple Glen trail to the historic Kestner Homestead.  It's currently being renovated, and had too much of a modern appearance to catch my interest, though the property was originally homesteaded in 1891.  This Chevy truck made a good picture.

In a land of natural wonders, we happened upon a couple more.  According to www.portangeles.com, the Olympic Peninsula is the home to "the highest number of gargantuan trees contained into the smallest area in the whole wide world".  Eight of them are identified for tourism purposes; only two of those are easily accessible.  We saw those two:

The World's Largest Spruce Tree

The World's Largest Red Cedar Tree

A human perspective: 

  Well, I guess this story is told.  Once again, we were reminded of the privilege of living in a country that not only has such a place to visit, but that it's readily available to all of us.  I leave you with this look at the Maple Glen trail: