Day 5 - Two Rain Forests and an Ocean

Yup, that's right we went to rain forests today!

After checking out of our room at the Pitchwood Inn in Raymond, WA we traveled north toward the Olympic National Park. First stop was the Lake Quinault loop drive around the lake and within the Quinault Rain Forest. This is apparently the lesser of the two rain forests we visited today...but it was by far our favorite. Very primeval!

Primeval, right?

We then went further north to the Hoh National Rain Forest. We were hopeful that it would be even better...but nope. Unless you want to hike in the forest, I'd skip it.

Tonight we are staying at Forks, WA...which is apparently famous for the Twilight book series! Now to plan what were doing tomorrow!

Pitchwood Inn in Raymond, WA

Tree on the Lake Quinault Loop drive.

This reminded me of Spanish Moss in the South.

Cool stop on the Loop Drive

Zoom in on this picture!
There are ferns in the foreground, moss on the trees and
small ferns growing on the trees. Cool!

The first picture of the Pacific!

Just a couple of gals, on a beach, 2,528 miles from home.

The view at Ruby Beach

Another Ruby Beach shot. How cool is that?

On the way into Hoh Rain Forest!

OK...so this tree was huge! See that white disc? That's my hat!

This is another to zoom in on.

It shows the annual rainfall amounts of Hoh Rain Forest as well as other places. Hoh is way behind this year.

When we checked in our hotel the attendant said "It's been so dry. We only got 2 1/2 inches of rain today!" Wow!

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Day 23 last day in South Padre

So sad to say goodbye to the beach. But I'll be back some day. It's less than 15 hours from home...that's totally doable. Here's a link to where we stayed. link This was a perfect place for a late September vacation. Very few of the condos appeared to be occupied. We had the hot tub all to ourselves last night! Today we rented chaise lounge chairs and an umbrella and just enjoyed the beach all day long. We had an amazing dinner at Pier 19 where we were able to see dolphins out the window. Now were getting things ready so we can get up at 4 am and start driving home.

Day 24 - Home - Trip Summary

MILES: 7,780 STATES : 15 Missouri Kansas Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Washington Oregon California Nevada Utah Arizona New Mexico Texas Oklahoma TRIP PHASES: 4 To the west coast Pacific Coast Highway National Parks Beach Vacation FLAT TIRES: 1 ECO SYSTEMS: 20 Prairies Foot Hills Mountains Geysers Sulphur Springs Lakes Continental Divide Rain Forests Ocean Beach - Pacific Ocean Redwood Forests Vineyards Almond groves Yosemite El Capitan OK, not an eco system, but unlike anything else! Sequoia Forest Desert Death Valley (see El Capitan note) Canyons...some of them even grand Gulf of Mexico Beach - Gulf of Mexico NATIONAL PARKS/FORESTS: 15 Yellowstone National Park Olympic National Park Hoh Rain Forest Redwood National Forest Yosemite National Park Stanislaus National Forest Sierra National Forest Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Inyo National Forest Death Valley National Park Zion National

Day 18 Grand Canyon and the end of Phase 3

Today we went to Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks. We are officially done with Phase 3 of our trip - the National Park Phase. And frankly...we're both relieved. The National Parks, while beautiful and awe inspiring...were also kind of a bummer. They were crowded, had limited parking and generally felt like a tourist attraction. Mindy went to several of these when her boys were young...35+ and 20+ years ago. Hearing how the parks have changed over the years was kind of a downer. That being said, I'm so glad I went and was able to this countryside, it is truly unique and majestic. Now that we're done with Phase 3, we both feeling a little energized! We're ready to get up early tomorrow and begin Phase 4...which we've decided to keep secret. If I told you what we're doing, you'd think we're nuts. Better to keep quiet than to confirm that thought! First view of a canyon on the prairie First overlook into Gra

The Adventures of Gypsy-Jackie

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