The Rain Forest

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The Rain Forest
The ferry terminal is located in Edmonds, and the ferry takes you to a small isthmus, where you disembark. You find your self going though a small town with very narrow streets until you cross over a bridge to the main body of land. You pass through Gardner a picturesque town, resembling a Maine fishing village. There are quaint shops, scenic over looks and harbors, and not to forget very nice homes. You continue on and soon leave the shore line and travel slightly inward along the 101 where the land flattens and the scenery changes to farming. Cattle, horses and crop farming are all along the highway along with Indian Casino’s and large hotels. We come to Sequim a small town where we stop for the night in an RV park. Sequim is adjacent to Port Angeles where you would take the ferry over to Victoria, B.C. which is located on an island. If you had the time the trip would well be worth it, the scenery is magnificent not to mention the quaint buildings. I had the good fortune to have visited years ago and someday would love to revisit, however with our large rig it would have been too cumbersome to try and sight see.

We head out on 101 and soon are in the Olympic National Forrest, suddenly the scenery changes from flat farming to luscious tree covered hills with ferns waist high. We soon are paralleling Lake Crescent a large dark blue lake with cloud shrouded mountains to the north and the road is very narrow, two lanes that wind you precariously close to the lakes edge. We have fog, not heavy but at times almost obscuring the road ahead and adding to the overall charm of this lake. To our left we have large pines and ferns that are covered with the moisture from the steady rain that has been falling since we entered the park. Soon we leave the lake behind and turn slightly inland where we come to a sign post marking the entrance to the "Rain Forrest". I am familiar with the Amazon Rain Forrest but not one in Washington State, so this will be an adventure.

The turn off is very narrow and we take up all of our lane and encroach slightly into the other being very careful around turns. Immediately we are covered by large masses of Sitka Pines and giant western Hemlock that block out most of the sunlight covering us like an umbrella. All around are masses of ferns and moss and the rest of the ground is covered with a ground cover called Bunch Berries that have white flowers. This area is a temperate rain forest and receives about 12 feet of rain each year. While we were traveling though this area, I do believe we experienced about a foot of that moisture. The rain fell so heavy it sounded like ball bearings bouncing off the motor homes roof. At times obscuring all visibility we traveled along following a small meandering stream at times opening up enough to peer through to the opposite side.

There are some small shops dotted through the forest, cafes, gift shops looking like they have been there since the dawn of time. We find a small wide spot, enabling us to turn around and after several minutes are heading again for the entrance, if we had followed this road all the way through we would have emerged down the coast about at Queets and Lake Quinault and missed all the shore line between. Soon we are again on the main road and find evidence of clear cut logging going on. They cut up to about 30 or so feet from the road, leaving you with the impression that the trees go back for miles, alas not so. Although clearing the dead fall is necessary it is sad to see the barren landscape unfold before you. Old growth trees are exempt from this form of logging and they do replant, there are signs attesting to this fact. Cleared in 1936, replanted in 1950, etc. Logging trucks are heavily loaded heading towards the numerous mills dotted along the way.

Again on the coast we stop at an over look to gaze upon the northern waters. They are a cloudy grey color and sand too is a gray cast, large rocks jut out from the water and waves splash up and over creating a frothy foamy spray. Evidence of the wind is present, the spruce are bent and flattened in a magical sort of way. They look much like the sea coast trees along the Monterey coastline. Traveling along this route takes you inland at many points and you can see the mountain sides void of any trees, they cut these into V shapes etched into the landscape they almost look as though they were meant to be there. There are rivers now that have large logs placed into the rivers bed to enable the barges of old to tie off when loaded with logs for the mill. These go on for miles and soon we come to the town of Aberdeen and two old draw bridges that allowed larger vessels passage, they look as thought they have not been utilized in years. Over to the left of one bridge is a swing bridge, part of the structure swings out allowing boats to travel through and when auto traffic needs to cross over it again swings into place.

The towns though out this area resemble towns of the 30's or 40's and have remained un changed through the passage of time. We come to Raymond and again the river is dotted with barge tie offs and obsolete draw bridges. We wind through the main part of town and fish shanties are dotted along the road side and cottage style houses sit like movie props. We travel down to towns called South Bend, Chipook and soon see the mighty Columbia River open like an ocean its self. And of course to cross over to Oregon one must cross the Columbia, no easy task. You cross over on the Astoria Bridge, completed in 1966 it is the world’s longest continueous truss bridge with a span of 1232 feet. The over all length of the entire bridge is 4 miles with a swing portion of the bridge measuring 545 feet. I cannot say how impressive this sight is as you are coming down the highway and this mighty structure stretches out before you. Once you start on the bridge you soon see a sight that makes you believe you are having an optical allusion.
Usually bridges are long, narrow and do not rise over the main body of water, not so the Astoria bridge. What you see coming before you is an elevated portion of the bridge that rises above the main bridge by 200 feet. You simply climb up to the top and continue to cross this mighty river until you reach Astoria, where you then spiral down 360 degrees clockwise into the town itself. One needs to try this once in your life, originally this was a toll bridge, but so many people crossed this span that the tolls paid off the cost of the bridge two years early and now passage is free.

We traveled down the highway to a town called Warrington and spent the night, the GPS was kind to us and did indeed lead us to a campground. It started to rain and did not let up all night and soon lulled us to a sound sleep. Upon waking to daylight and some sun we soon discovered that most of our fellow campers were set up for a long stay. This is the only RV camp that we stayed in that had it’s own Crab cookers. Located at the main entrance to the camp, a covered area is devoted to fish and sea food cleaning and cooking. So one had all the benefits of being inland and at the wharf at the same time. At each stop we figure our gas consumption, mileage and over all MPH. Coming through the Yukon we averaged about 35 MPH, British Columbia about 45 or 50 give or take some. Now during our trek through the rain forest the GPS kept losing the satellite signal, so for most of our journey it did not log our progress so when it calculated our mileage and hours spent driving we did 185 MPH, lookout Indie 500 here we come.

Now when you cross over the bridge you will see signs about Lewis and Clark, they over wintered here and then went east at spring time. There is also Fort Clatsop another adventure to take if only we had the time to linger. Here too are signs that the area is a moist and humid area, the trees had moss growing on them. Just like the moss covering the trees in the southern parts of the states this moss hangs down from the branches and covers anything in its path. Since we had spent so much time coming through the Yukon and British Columbia we now must decide if we are to continue down the coast highway or perhaps turn inland and pick up the 5 to make up time. We decide to continue down the coast through Oregon to the California border and down through the Red Wood Forrest.
The highway swings inland a bit and soon we are passing though lower fertile valleys. We come into a town called Tillamook and yes this is where the cheese comes from. There are dairy cattle as far as the eye can see, lush pastures dot the road side and fat lazy milk cows lazily graze and chew their way though the day. The cheese factory is on the left as you pass through town, not hard to guess what the major occupation is here. He we spot a Fred Meyer that has a parking lot amble enough to allow us to get in and out again without much effort. After purchasing some supplies we return to the motor home and allow the dogs to walk along some of the bordering pasture land. There they are allowed to see and smell some of the local occupants as well as visually inspect them.

Before this trip all I knew about motor homes was, well nothing. Now I can say I do know a little more than I did and that even though they are fun to travel in and afford one allot of convenience they do take some maintenance. You need special toilet paper, one must buy special black tank enzymes and deodorizers, you need to monitor the tank levels, remember to turn on or off the water pump,, always remember to disconnect the water lines, electrical lines, sewer hoses. How to empty the tanks, purge the lines, always remember to check to see if the step retracted when the engine was engaged. That and you always need to remember to duck whenever opening the overhead cupboards after traveling. That one I continually forget!
Continuing down the 101 we come to the coast again where we stop for some photos and a light lunch, that is a perk of traveling in a motor home, you can have your lunch while enjoying the scenery all at the same time. We pass through places called Otter Rock, Newport, Florence where the sea lion caves are located. You enter an elevator or stairs and go down about 200 feet into the caves and there are over a thousand noisy and I must add smelly lions lounging around on the rocks and shelter afforded them by the cave. Oregon Dunes comes up next and for miles stretch vast white sand dunes, moving and changing with each gust of wind and encroaching on the town. They butt up against the buildings and along the streets. I can only imagine how it must look during a windstorm. We pass through craggy hillsides, some covered with dense fog and through tunnels through tree studded mountains. To our right is a straight drop to the sea below.

We come to Coos Bay and soon find our selves off 101, not by choice however. The signs either were cleverly hidden or missing all together thus affording us the opportunity of taking a rather large vehicle and trailer up and around some of the most narrow streets yet encountered. Soon we come to the end of the road we are on and we started to turn right, however a brief glimpse of a end road sign soon has us swinging long and wide to the left and heading down hill. We did get some rather unusual looks from the local residents. Soon we find signs leading us to 101 and are again on our way towards another bridge. This one too is a draw bridge built sometime during the 30-40's it is old, rusted, no longer in use and narrow, did I mention narrow.

This is the type of narrow that affords you just inches from engaging the on coming traffic, and once I caught my breath we continued on through this charming town. Sad to say that during our trip down the 101 many new portions of this once scenic drive have been diverted inland into two or three lanes each way losing much of the little towns and overlooks once afforded the 101 traveler. You skirt the town all together and are able to see the roof tops as you drive by or miss it totally only noting it’s passage if you happen to see it on the map. We note that the next town coming up is called Denmark perhaps another Solvang? Nope we see the sign stating you are entering Denmark, and a building or two, a couple of side streets and just as quickly as you entered you have left it. I must say however it does have one redeeming feature, the side street was named Knapp and if you look at the map it’s almost directly west of Pocatello.

There is also the West Coast Big Game Park Safari, featuring African big game. Another tour if we had the time, but we continue on we have another 3-4 hrs to travel and its already a quarter past five. Up we swing back onto the coast where we stop and allow the dogs and ourselves a romp on the beach. The sand is lightly packed and walking is hard until you reach the tide line. There is some scant sea weed and traces of sand crabs but no shells, this remember its still to far up the coast to afford the gathering of "pretty" shells. We spot a hooch(crudely made temporary shelter) made perhaps by a hiker or road person, we did give it a wide birth to avoid encroaching on his territory. The dogs stepped in the water and soon found out it was nasty tasting stuff. Back into the coach and off again towards the California border.

It’s about 7:30 and we arrive in Brookings and stop to gas up. You pull up and get out of the cab and try to race the attendant to the pump. Since 1951 we found out the Oregon legislature had passed a law that all gas must be dispensed by the station attendant. This was for both safety and to help ease unemployment. The service is considered a soft, full serve meaning they pump your gas but do not wash your windows or check your oil. Oddly in the Yukon and British Columbia they also have both full and self serve pumps. We are still about thirty miles from the border and our light is quickly vanishing.

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Photos

A Lumber Mill - Kit Cabins
A lumber mill off the side of the road making kit log cabins.

Sometimes Desolate and Remote
The lands between the scattered settlements and farms can be desolate and remote.

Lake Near Kamloops
A beautiful lake near Kamloops with no name.

Seattle Space Needle
A view of downtown Seattle and the Space Needle.

Auto Ferry Across The Sound
Waiting to load on the ferry to cross Puget Sound.

Traffic Circle Bridge
Quite a thrill, a traffic circle on a bridge.

Crescent Lake
Overook of Crescent Lake in Washington.

Mountain Mist
A mystical place where your imagination can play tricks on you.

Temperate Rain Forest
Brillent green and lush ferns grace the landscape as you drive through this part of the park.

Rocky Coast Line
The coastline cold and gray, while having a beauty all it's own.

First Sight of Astoria Bridge
Driving the coastline of Washington you notice in the distance the impressive Astoria Bridge.

A Massive Structure Over the Columbia River
At first glance you think this is a normal bridge, but once you are about a quarter way you notice a surprise ahead of you.

A Seemingly Verticle Roadway
From a level bridge you climb up to cross the large vessel channel and then down to the town of Astoria.

High Above the Columbia River
view of the small boat harbor while descending the bridge on a corkscrew ramp.

A Rocky Sentinel
Massive rocks dot the coastline.

A Foggy Road
Driving can be dangerous at times.

Lonesome Pine Tree
A lone pine tree stands guard over looking a small inlet.