This morning we headed into Forks so we could stop by the ranger station and get some info on Shi Shi Beach. We picked up a copy of the tide chart and then headed to the other beaches within the Olympic NP boundaries. En route, we followed a kickin' RV... ;P
We wanted to take the Boys to Rialto Beach – a rare opportunity for them to be allowed on the beach on NPS land. The weather was less than stellar, but we made the most of it and off we went on their Pacific Coast beach adventure.
We had repeatedly read warnings about the drift logs injuring and killing people on the beach. Everywhere you go, big warning signs abound. They should really show more than just cartoon representations of the dangers of drift wood cuz if you’ve never seen what they’re talking about, it’s hard to imagine a log “sneaking up” on someone in the surf and then hitting and killing them while they’re on the beach. How is this even possible?
Once we crested the hill and I got a view of the beach, I now understood how this could happen. The drift logs are HUGE and they’re everywhere.
Not to mention that if you watch the ocean long enough, you can see the logs floating in the surf. I suppose they’re like icebergs – you only see the very top of them and have no idea that a monster log is about to be launched from the water, hurled with amazing force onto the beach only to crush you like a little bug. Ow, that would hurt. “Never turn your back on the ocean.” You don’t say?
After our initial scouting, we headed back to the truck to get the Boys. We were stopped by 3 separate groups of people as we walked through the parking lot. “Excuse me. What kind of dogs are those?” If we had a dollar for every time we heard that, we’d be SO rich. One older couple asked if they could take pictures of them. We said sure. Later, I noticed them taking a video of us walking the dogs along the access trail. Bill asked the guy if we’d be famous. He just laughed and kept on filming. Color me paranoid, but that’s just weird. Pictures are one thing – taking a video of people is kind of creepy.
Since the weather was so yucky, there were few people around so we let the Boys off lead to get a few runs up and down the beach.
It wasn’t enough to wear them out, but it took the edge off and they were far more manageable on lead after that. So much so that we paused for a photo opportunity with them. ;)
While they haven’t been to the West coast before, they live at a lake with a beach – where we let them off lead to run – so now they assume any open, sandy beach is theirs for the taking. They are mistaken of course, but it’s difficult to explain this concept to them. :)
With few things to see and do at this particular beach, we decided to hop in the truck and check out the others that dotted the Park's coastline.
Our next stop was Ruby Beach. Wow. Now this beach was cool.
Unfortunately, it was much more popular and not suitable for maintaining happy dog paws so the Boys had to stay in the truck.
An interesting aspect of this park is the diversity of it and the proximity of the various ecosystems to each other. The alpine streams run from the craggy peaks and empty themselves on the beaches and into the Pacific ocean. It’s cool to see where the fresh, alpine water streams meet with the salt and the froth of the ocean.
The rocks on the beach were awesome. There were thousands of perfect skipping stones – we know this because we chucked hundreds of them into the stream. (We would pay for this later with sore shoulder, tricep and back muscles.) :)
We spent a few hours at Ruby Beach. While initially foggy and overcast, the sky lightened up and we were able to see an amazingly blue and pink sky. Made for some great shots...
Skipping stones, climbing along the sea stacks, peeking at the tide pools, looking for the perfect rock and watching the waves crash along the shore was enough to keep us both content. If not for having to get back to the Boys, we would have stayed much longer.
We ate our picnic lunch (nearly dinner at this point) on the tailgate of the truck and then headed to Beach #1, #2, #3 and #4. Yes, they’re actually numbered beaches without names. I do not know why.
The Boys were able to play at Beach 4. No one was there so we had the whole place to ourselves, but the water was gross – brackish and foamy.
Some of the other beaches were inaccessible because of high tide, but the views were nice so we snapped off some pics and moved on.
We can't seem to get away from the banana slugs. Some of them were GINORMOUS.
Not sure what kind this little guy is...
Our last stop was at a beach picnic area/campground that had just closed for the season.
By just closed, I mean at noon. Unfortunately, there were no spigots and the Boys were getting pretty thirsty so we had to head back to the truck to give them some water.
It was getting a little late at this point and sunset was upon us so we just headed back up 101 to the campsite. It was a good day and despite the not so pleasant weather, we had a lot of fun.
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