Travels in the 2nd half

Having spent a week in and around the Olympic National Park, it was now time to head south, and explore the Washington Coast. My travels were now taking me to Aberdeen Washington.   Lumberjack Statue Aberdeen is a small city of around sixteen thousand residents, sitting on the shore of Grays Harbor. Grays Harbor is a natural bay and protected bay that is 17 miles long and up to 12 miles wide. The first European exploration of the inlet was in 1792, led by Captain Robert Gray. Permanent European settlements were established in the 1870’s as the logging industry moved from east to west and began to grow in the area. Aberdeen and the neighboring towns of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis became the center of the logging industry during the early 1900’s with 37 sawmills at its peak in 1930. Unfortunately, the Depression took a toll on the lumber business, one from which it never fully recovered. Today, while timber is still important, the area also depends on commercial fish...

Hall of Mosses The Olympic Peninsula is green. Some might say that it is “oppressively green.” This greenness is probably best exemplified by a trip to the Hoh Rainforest in the Olympic National Park. So, it was definitely a place to see as I drove south from Forks to Aberdeen Washington. Doe at the Hoh Visitor's Center Fawn following her mother Having Breakfast Hoh Rainforest is thirty-one miles south-east from Forks, about a 50 minute drive. It is one of the largest temperate rainforests, with an average rainfall of 127.8 inches per year. The dominant tree species are the Sitka Spruce and the Western Hemlock. They can grow up to 95 m (320 ft) tall and 7 m (22 ft) in diameter. Western Hemlock - Menchi at the English language Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons Sitka Spruce - By Roland Tanglao from Vancouver, Canada via Wikimedia Commons  Perhaps the biggest draw in the Hoh Rainforest for the casual hiker like me, is the Hal...