Friday June 7th, 2019

 It was only a half hour drive to the Olympic National Park / Hoh Rain Forest and it really lived up to it’s name! It was raining and even JP’s waterproof gear didn’t keep him dry (I have the same gear but I was equipped with an umbrella). The average rainfall here is 140 inches not including the 30 inches created by the condensed mist!

It was lush and beautiful.  There were lots of visitors, all happily ignoring the rain. There were loops of trails and a bustling Visitors Center. Everyone was either geared up for the weather or making due with inexpensive plastic hooded ponchos. There was one charming exception though, a couple who were a little overdressed but obviously happy! We grabbed a shot while they were having their wedding photos taken with the rain forest as their backdrop.

There were  warning signs because – well – BEARS and grumpy ELK. We decided early on that we would let the other hikers pass us. It looked like we were just Seniors that needed a bit more time to make our way up the trail. Little did they know we were sending them ahead to frighten off the BEAR and ELK. That way worst case scenario, the hikers in front of us could encounter the ELK first and JP and I would have been BEAR dessert instead of an appetizer or main course. Cuz that’s how we roll!

We made a quick stop at the Forks Visitor Center to pick up some info and maps and headed out to Cape Flattery in Neah Bay. We made the hike which was about 1.5 miles round-trip down the wooden walkways to three different look out points. The view from the trail overlook is the northwestern-most point in the US. It really was stunningly beautiful. I was a a little worse for the wear at the end of the day though. My fussy knees evidently thought 1.5 miles of plank walk stairs was just a bit too much for them.