Olympic National Park Day. We camped 1.5 hours south (campgrounds were very booked up any closer), but on the way to the Park in the morning, we discovered the adorable vacation town of Seabrook. There was a small farmer’s market, a great bookstore, and a yummy bakery. It felt like the west coast version of Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls reference) and Spencer wants to move here and work at the bookstore when he grows up.
Once we tore ourselves away from the town, we headed to Hoh Rainforest. So much green! Such huge trees! I could have spent days there walking through those giants and taking photos and breathing in all that green. But alas, we had to leave because we wanted to go to Ruby Beach at low tide so we could explore the tide pools there. Jeff and I first discovered Ruby Beach when we were on our first road trip in 2005 and then again a couple years later when we stayed near there for our 10th Anniversary. We all loved climbing around over the huge logs and beach area. Tons more people than there was the previous times we were there, but it was still really cool and the boys loved it too.
About 200 people live in this planned vacation town. The houses and buildings all have the same type of look to them and it was very dog friendly. “Mom! Look at the doggie! Mom, another doggie!” Love it! 
Olympic National Park is my favorite out of all the ones I’ve ever visited. You can see glaciers and alpine meadows (we are skipping that part), temperate rainforests, and coastal beaches all in one day. 
The drive to actually get far enough into the park to get to the visitor center of the rainforest portion took forever, though the drive was gorgeous. 
There is such competition on the floor of a rainforest that plants will start growing on “nurselogs”, fallen trees that other plants and trees start growing on. 
I believe these are big-leaf maples and the moss growing on them are airplants. The Moss gets enough moisture out of the air and 12ft of rain that falls here each year so it doesn’t need soil. 
Here you can see that the nurse log is pretty decomposed and the trees that grew on top of them have an intricate root system that is reaching towards the ground. 
Signs all over to stay on the path not to keep the area pristine, but also because there were yellow jackets nests around. 
These ferns were all over too. Called Western Sword ferns. 
Carson and I trying to hug the tree and take a selfie. Physically impossible to do. 
Here the nurse log is all decomposed. There were signs saying some of the trees in this forest were up to 1000 years old and up to 300 feet tall. Wow! 
This tree must have fallen across the path at some point. The diameter was up to my neck. 
Plants grow on plants which grow on plants here. Here is some lichen growing on moss, growing on a log. 
And it surprises me but some of the huge, huge trees result from 1” pinecones like this! 
I think I found the only thing in the rainforest that isn’t green (or brown with stuff growing on it). 
Close up of the big fern 
Once the family dragged me (and to some extent Spencer who also loved the trees) away from the Hoh Rainforest, we went to Ruby Beach. A couple minutes hiking downhill from here to get us there. The tide pools are by the sea stacks, which are the big rocks on the right of this photo. 
Logs from the rainforest are washed down river and out to the ocean which then pushed them back onto shore during storms where they pile up. Notices are posted to be very careful because the logs can shift and move after high tide. 
The boys contemplated life as they looked out over the ocean. 
Both boys loved parkouring around on the rocks looking into the tide pools. 
Barnacles and sea anemones (I think) 
Mussels, small crab bones, shells. Also sea anenomes, and starfish! Discovered in the tide pool 
We found a sea star!! 
Carson was “surfing” as the tide came in 
None of the birds were too near to us because there were so many people around. But I did find this feather. 
There was driftwood everywhere, from pieces that could be picked up to huge tree sized pieces that you had to climb over. If we could have stayed longer, we could have built a small bonfire, but we had 1.5 hours to drive to get back to the campsite so that will have to wait until our next visit. 
We got hotdogs for lunch and it actually wasn’t too high priced for a tourist place. And the hotdogs were delicious! 
Such a quaint town and everyone was so friendly. Spencer announced that he loved this town and wanted to move here. Very high praise for sure! 
Family selfie in the rainforest. 
Jeff got romantic. 
Ruby Beach is another place where I could have stayed for hours and hours to take pictures. 
Kline Road Trips 