Blogs from Forks, Washington, United States, North America

We decided to take a winter trip around the Olympic Peninsula, and started out on Monday with a ferry ride to Port Townsend, where we stayed overnight with our friends Nancy and Mark. Our visit was great: a delightful dinner party, much excellent conversation, and a walk around their neighborhood.... On Tuesday, we drove along the Strait of Juan de Fuca for a few hours and then headed south to the Quileute Reservation, to spend two nights in La Push, on the beach. On the way, we stopped to see the newly restored Elwa River. The dam that completely blocked the salmon's access was taken down a few years ago and the wild salmon runs have come back! More info and history: http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm Our room here on the second floor of the hotel part of the ... read more

Our third day in Seattle was to be spent in many locations other than Seattle. Terry's friend, Rose, joined by her daughter Nikki, had arrived at the hotel Wednesday evening in preparation for an excursion around the Olympic Peninsula. We had planned on meeting in the lobby for a 5:30 a.m. departure. Rose had planned breakfast in Poulsbo on Bainsbridge Island, so we loaded into the 4Runner and headed to the ferry dock for the 6:10 departure. The ride over took about 45 minutes on a ferry that carried cars, trucks (and I mean semis), RVs and of course, people. We were deposited within 5 minutes of breakfast. Poulsbo is a great little town influenced by early Scandinavian settlers. There were great little bakeries and restaurants; fresh flowers on each lamp post and corner. Rose had ... read more

Today I explored something that harkens, in its own way, back to my earliest childhood. In first grade, my class was divided into groups that had to create a presentation on a National Park. I was part of the group that got Olympic. For me, the highlight of the project was getting mail from a place far away; I suspect my wonder lust was triggered even back then. My memories of the final presentation have faded at this point, except for a striking picture of trees absolutely covered in hanging moss. I’m pretty sure it was taken at a spot I’m seeing today, the Hall of Mosses in the Hoh rain forest. The drive to the forest perfectly illustrates the contrasts of this peninsula. The outer part was all tree farms, with clear cuts in places ... read more

Well, my flight from Raleigh arrived on time in Seattle on Saturday the 22nd. It was a long eight hour flight but fun as well. Getting to see the earth from the air is amazing, it is so big. I love flying because seeing how big the earth is reminds me how HUGE God is. I was able to see Mount Ranier in the distance. It was the only mountain visable above the clouds on my flight from Spokane to Seattle. My brother Jesse picked me up at the airport and we went to a mall in Seattle and had drinks and appetizers at a Thai restaurant called Racha with his friends Becca and Royden from the Coast Guard. Jesse then drove me around Seattle and showed me several places including an Episcopal cathedral with ... read more

7/7/2008 This whole trip Clay was waiting to go deep sea fishing. To the point where it was very annoying. Well my dad set up a charter to take us out on Sunday. The problem was that you are not able to fish salmon on Sunday or Monday. We were ok with that Clay just wanted to get out there. When we got there our skipper said it would be a rough day. We still went out and you could tell that Clay was sooo excited. Well my mom knew that she would get sea sick before we went out so she curled up into a ball on the couch. Clay soon followed suit and so they were both curled on the couch. Including the sickness the waves were scattering the fish so we didn't catch ... read more