Hoh Rain Forest

During our stay in the Olympic National Park we visited the Hoh Rain Forest. It was a long twisty journey down Hwy 101 and then another 18 miles on a narrow, even twistier road to get to the campground.

Hwy 101, often at speed limits of 35 mph

the road into the park, which is also...you guessed it...open range, so it was even slower

I would have loved to share this with you right away, but there was no internet....or electricity...or water...or sewer...or satellite reception....well you get the idea.  We were camping, or as close as one can get to that in a motorhome.

We pulled up with a view of the river running past our RV so we could enjoy both the sight and the sound.

This was the view out our windshield, or as we refer to it our "front window"

Again we find that although being in the middle of nature's beauty is remarkable, we miss our comforts.  At about 8:00 pm we found ourselves going to bed because it's so completely dark you literally cannot see your hand in front of your face and there's not much to do. 

 But all the grousing aside, it is truly a magical place to visit.

This posting will be mostly photos with the remaining photos on my Facebook page for those who want even more.

Not sure if this phone booth is operational any more

Left Brain is there to show the size of these trees

this is truly a moss lovers paradise

There are so many types of mushrooms, all very interesting

the moss draping over the branches is called club moss

There are so many fungi to enjoy

Each one more beautiful than the next.

this fungi was my favorite

Or was this fun guy my favorite?   get so confused

This row of trees is the result of a nurse log.
When a tree falls over, it acts as a nursery for more trees to grow right out of it.

This is called lettuce lichen, because it looks like, well...lettuce.
Just be glad you weren't there to hear Left Brain sing "Lettuce entertain you..."

The maple leaves are about 12 inches or more across.  He's so handy to have along on a hike.

It's always interesting to walk under these fallen trees.

One of the slugs we met along the way.  Left Brain put his hand there for a size comparison...
I know I wasn't going to put my fingers any where near it.

Any wonder that the Twilight Series was filmed in nearby Forks with this kind of forest around?

A nice natural arch made of a tree

more moss

Another slug - that's the toe of my shoe...I was that brave at least

I trust these have never crashed down and killed anyone....right?

 I had to crawl under a branch to get a good photo of this one.  That's where I noticed what looks like a den
under the trees.  

We were warned about mountain lions and I'm just happy to say nobody was home.
I guess I need to take those keep on the path signs to heart.

Long Live the Queen of Damp and Dark Places