Hoh Rain Forest

On Thursday morning we drove north toward the Columbia National Forest. We stopped at the information/ranger station and got a map and lots of good information. They had a wonderful canoe carved from a single log.

They also had a whale skull.

The ranger told us that there was an active eagle's nest at beach access #4 and that they were sometimes seen hanging out at the point. This photo was taken from the top viewing area. Needless to say we didn't walk down nor did we see any eagles but it was still a beautiful place.

From there we drove north again toward Hoh Rain Forest. We crossed lots of rivers like this one along the way.

We learned that one of the things that rain forests have that regular forests don't have as much of is lots of plants growing on plants. This was demonstrated by these downed trees. You can clearly see all the little trees growing on these trees.

The trees also had lots of moss growing everywhere.

The floor of rain forests is covered with small plants and ferns.

I guess we shouldn't have been surprised as we started down a trail that it started to rain. It is a rain forest after all. We didn't get to go far as we had planned because of the rain--my grandchildren always said I couldn't get in the rain because I was so sweet that I would melt. Little do they know!

As we were leaving the park we caught sight of this elk in the river. They estimate that about a tenth of the park's elk live in this rain forest.

We leave Sunday for Kent, WA where we have to have a seal replaced on the slide.

Catch you next week.

Traveling to Pacific Shores and the Northern Washington Coast

We left Puyallup on Sunday morning and drove over to the coast. We saw this yellow hot rod on the way up. We have heard that next weekend there will be a show in Hoquiam.

This is our site at Pacific Beach Resort. It is a military resort/campground at Pacific Beach, WA. There were only two other RVs in the park so we have it mostly to ourselves.

Monday we walked over to the fence and you can see the beach if you look carefully.

There were two places where we could look over.

Here is another view of the motorhome.

We mostly goofed off on Monday. We did drive down to the beach but the tide was coming in and there were no sand dollars. I did get some bi-valves that I can use for angel wings.

Monday morning we went down to the beach early. The covered pagoda that you see at the top of the cliff is on the resort and the RV park is to the left of it.

This morning the beach was covered with sand dollars. I remembered picking up lots of them the last time we were on the Washington coast.

After breakfast we drove down to Ocean Shores and then over to Hoquiam, Aberdeen, and Cosmopolis. This large mural depicts this area's colorful past.

This mural depicts the treaty council between the Coastal Indians and the territorial representatives in 1855.

This plaque describes it better.

This is some of the artwork on the streets of Aberdeen.

This is the Aberdeen Mansion that is a bed and breakfast.

This is Olympic Stadium. It was built in 1938 and is the largest all-wood stadium still standing in the nation.

We went to a real grocery store while we were in Aberdeen and then headed back to Pacific Beach. Tonight they are showing Beverly Hills Chihuahuas at the resort so we are going to the movies.

I'll update my blog in a few days.

Family in Puyallup, WA

On Thursday we stayed in the fairgrounds at Puyallup, WA where we visited some more with Wayne's cousin Raymond and his wife, Karen. We also got to see another cousin, Judy who lives in the area

and Nannette who took the train up from Eugene, OR to see us. We last saw all of these cousins in the summer of 1991 when we came up.

Raymond and Karen fixed a wonderful meal of barbecued ribs. Wayne supervised.

On Friday, Raymond and Wayne took Nannette to the train station and visited until she left. Karen, her daughter, Elizabeth, and her two children, Greta and Austin, took me to Seattle for lunch at Ipanima. Elizabeth's husband, Cameron, joined us there. Wayne and Raymond had other things to do. This is one of the cold tables at Ipanima.

Here is one of the wait people carving a piece of meat for a customer.

Here is another cold table.

Here are the cooks roasting the meat. Notice the ribs on the swords ready to serve. They bring a variety of wonderful meats to your table and cut you off a slice all throughout the dinner.

After lunch Cameron had to go to work so the girls and children left to go to Pike's Market. Outside Ipanima is a giant sculpture that moves.

We walked past the Seattle Stairs that go down to the water.

At the entrance to Pike's Market is this giant piggy bank. I'd love to have the money from this bank.

Here I am in front of Pike's Market. This place has been in several movies including Sleepless in Seattle.

Here is Karen sitting in a pig chair.

There were rows and rows of fresh flowers. Elizabeth got a bouquet of mixed flowers for $5. There were other arrangements for $10-20 and I'm sure they could go higher.

There were also rows of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Look at the size of these lobster tails. Even with the fuzzy picture you can tell how big they are. Also check out the shrimp on the right hand side.

As we were walking back to the car we saw this horse drawn buggy.

Friday night Raymond, Karen, Wayne, and I all went out for Chinese. It's a wonder we could eat after that huge lunch.

Friday night the Fairground RV Park went to the dogs. This particular RV had over 30 dogs. They were mostly Maltese with some Yorkies and dachshunds. We visited with the two women who were there to show the dogs and Wayne said we could get a Maltese when we get back from Alaska. He got their card so that we could figure out how to get in touch with them. It should be easy--they are out of Buda, TX which is very close to Austin where we go for the UT football games.

Saturday morning we drove up to the RV dealership where we will have a seal replaced on the front passenger slide next week. That afternoon we went over to Raymond and Karen's for a family BBQ. Cameron made his famous homemade root beer.

Three out of four of Raymond and Karen's children were there with spouses and children and three out of four of Judy's children were there with their families. Here is part of the group.

Here is another group.

This is one of Raymond and Karen's sons and his wife.

This is one of Judy's daughters, her boyfriend and her daughter visiting with Raymond.

A wonderful time was had by all. Hopefully it won't be another 18 years before we see them again. Sunday we are leaving for the Washington coast. I'll write again soon.

Last few days in Lincoln City

Sunday I went shopping at JoAnn's, the Outlet Mall, and a bead shop. I bought something at each place.

Monday morning we were planning to go site seeing. We drove over to see the Abraham Lincoln Memorial.

We have no idea about why Lincoln City has a memorial to Abraham Lincoln but it does.

We were going to drive around Devil's Lake but it was so cold that we came back and went to the Chinook Winds Casino across the street from the RV park. I lost my money again and Wayne came out even.

After lunch it had warmed up enough to drive over to the lake. It is a pretty little lake with homes built all around it. However, the State Park seemed to be the only place where there was public access.

Tuesday was a much nicer day. It was warmer and the wind wasn't blowing. Wayne took me crabbing again on the beach behind Mo's restaurant.

I had two rigs out--actually Wayne threw them for me--and we caught lots of crabs.
Unfortunately they were all too small to keep. This time we had twice as much bait as the last time and we ran out again. A man who came to crab as we were leaving told me that turkey necks work better. Hopefully I will be able to find a place to crab in Alaska.

Across the inlet there is an area where the seals congregate. There were also lots of pelicans and sea gulls.

Wayne got to rest in between throwing out my crab nets.

We have no idea where this young boy of about 11 came from or where he went when we started packing up but he stayed close by and visited with us for about an hour. He said he had family on the beach but we never saw anyone.

Today is laundry day as we will be visiting family starting tomorrow through Sunday and then we will not have 50 amp service until we get to BC two weeks from now. This afternoon or evening we plan to go back over to the casino for one last try for me to win at blackjack. Wish me luck.

For more crab and seal pictures go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/marynelle/LincolnMemorialAndCrabbing?authkey=Gv1sRgCM6Tvpqs1fW1Vw&feat=directlink