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Quinault Rain Forest is famous for its giant trees
  
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By Jim and Jane Whitcomb
Fourteen feet of rain a year keeps the Quinault Rain Forest green, beautiful shades of green, with the majority of these rainfalls between October and April. There is a fog that floats through the mountains and weaves through the cedar forests and ferns creating sticking images so bring your camera!
In the heart of this temperate rainforest is Lake Quinault, a pristine glacier-carved lake that is wonderful for kayaking and sailing as well as trout fishing. A paved highway circles most of Lake Quinault and offers some of the best self-guided rain forest viewing. The South Shore trails encompass several loops of varying lengths for extensive exploration. My favorite is the 25-mile loop drive up-river and around Lake Quinault, which takes visitors through enchanted mossy old-growth forests. There are abundant waterfalls as well as breathtaking vistas. Bring a tripod for the waterfalls.
Quinault Rain Forest is famous for many record-size trees including the World’s Largest Red Cedar and Sitka Spruce. There are six giant trees of Quinault. Be sure to get a map that will guide you to all six. We parked our RV on the shores of Lake Quinault at the Rain Forest Resort Village, home to the world’s largest spruce tree. It was late in the season and we had the whole RV area to ourselves. What a treat to wake and see that rain forest giant only 50 feet away.
Squeek, our cat, was intrigued with the Stellar Jays that hopped throughout the camp foraging for food. To give him a little excitement we sprinkled birdseed outside the RV window. Squeek entertained himself watching the activity. At one point we counted 15 Stellar Jays fighting over the treats. That gave us time to enjoy a fine dilled salmon steak at the Salmon House Restaurant just a short walk from our RV. With windows overlooking the lake we were treated to a beautiful lake sunset and one of the best salmon dinners of our trip.
In the northwest corner of Washington state, between the glacial peaks of the Olympic Mountains and the wild Pacific beaches is Forks, a community of around 5,000. Forks has only one stop light and is a place where people still chat in grocery lines. Most recently the city has found its way into the setting of a unique series of books called the Twilight Series, written by Stephanie Meyer.
Twilight is the first of a series of fantasy/romance/horror novels following the adventures of teenager Bella Swan who moves from Phoenix, Ariz. to Forks, Wash. to live with her father. It doesn’t take long for Bella to find her life turned upside down when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. Twilight is being adapted into a film that will be in movie theaters in December.
With the whole city buzzing over the series, I found myself caught up in the excitement. I had to have my picture taken at the ‘Welcome to Forks’ sign, and I had to purchasing the series of books at the local Thriftway Grocery, where they are stamped with a commemorative stamp. I also purchased a fangs fan club T-shirt. The chamber of commerce has a replica red 53 Chevy pickup truck, the truck that Bella drives in the book, parked outside with license tags “Bella.”
Recently more than 1,000 fans of Twilight converged on Forks for the annual Stephanie Meyer/Bella’s Birthday celebration. They toured the Forks High School, locations mentioned in the book and attended a Wolf Dance around a bonfire at the Quileute Tribe’s Akalat Center in La Push.
La Push is home to the Quileute Indian Reservation. They own the harbor, fishing fleet and cannery and teach Indian culture and language at the new Culture Center. It is well organized and we noticed a brand new luxury RV park and resort being built on the beach. The beaches at La Push are littered with large driftwood but we did see several surfers. Sea stacks and James Island protect the beaches from violent waves and make for some scenic photos.
On the other side of the Quillayute River is Rialto Beach, which is quite different from the La Push side. There are no sandy beaches here. Instead the beaches are black cobbled pebbles. Thousands of large driftwood old growth trees line the beaches after they have washed down river from the rain forests and are pounded by the surf and sun until they turn bleached white. Jim found this a photographer’s dream, fog or sun or no sun it is spectacular! One nice thing about this beach is the handicap accessible path with a Pacific Ocean viewing area.
Join us next week as we explore Yosemite and the Kings Canyon filled with giant Sequoia trees.
Interactive RV trip
Continue to follow the Whitcombs’ travels online at www.imagehouseusa.com. Join them next week as they explore Yosemite and the Kings Canyon filled with giant Sequoia trees
In the heart of this temperate rainforest is Lake Quinault, a pristine glacier-carved lake that is wonderful for kayaking and sailing as well as trout fishing. A paved highway circles most of Lake Quinault and offers some of the best self-guided rain forest viewing. The South Shore trails encompass several loops of varying lengths for extensive exploration. My favorite is the 25-mile loop drive up-river and around Lake Quinault, which takes visitors through enchanted mossy old-growth forests. There are abundant waterfalls as well as breathtaking vistas. Bring a tripod for the waterfalls.
Quinault Rain Forest is famous for many record-size trees including the World’s Largest Red Cedar and Sitka Spruce. There are six giant trees of Quinault. Be sure to get a map that will guide you to all six. We parked our RV on the shores of Lake Quinault at the Rain Forest Resort Village, home to the world’s largest spruce tree. It was late in the season and we had the whole RV area to ourselves. What a treat to wake and see that rain forest giant only 50 feet away.
Squeek, our cat, was intrigued with the Stellar Jays that hopped throughout the camp foraging for food. To give him a little excitement we sprinkled birdseed outside the RV window. Squeek entertained himself watching the activity. At one point we counted 15 Stellar Jays fighting over the treats. That gave us time to enjoy a fine dilled salmon steak at the Salmon House Restaurant just a short walk from our RV. With windows overlooking the lake we were treated to a beautiful lake sunset and one of the best salmon dinners of our trip.
In the northwest corner of Washington state, between the glacial peaks of the Olympic Mountains and the wild Pacific beaches is Forks, a community of around 5,000. Forks has only one stop light and is a place where people still chat in grocery lines. Most recently the city has found its way into the setting of a unique series of books called the Twilight Series, written by Stephanie Meyer.
Twilight is the first of a series of fantasy/romance/horror novels following the adventures of teenager Bella Swan who moves from Phoenix, Ariz. to Forks, Wash. to live with her father. It doesn’t take long for Bella to find her life turned upside down when she falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. Twilight is being adapted into a film that will be in movie theaters in December.
With the whole city buzzing over the series, I found myself caught up in the excitement. I had to have my picture taken at the ‘Welcome to Forks’ sign, and I had to purchasing the series of books at the local Thriftway Grocery, where they are stamped with a commemorative stamp. I also purchased a fangs fan club T-shirt. The chamber of commerce has a replica red 53 Chevy pickup truck, the truck that Bella drives in the book, parked outside with license tags “Bella.”
Recently more than 1,000 fans of Twilight converged on Forks for the annual Stephanie Meyer/Bella’s Birthday celebration. They toured the Forks High School, locations mentioned in the book and attended a Wolf Dance around a bonfire at the Quileute Tribe’s Akalat Center in La Push.
La Push is home to the Quileute Indian Reservation. They own the harbor, fishing fleet and cannery and teach Indian culture and language at the new Culture Center. It is well organized and we noticed a brand new luxury RV park and resort being built on the beach. The beaches at La Push are littered with large driftwood but we did see several surfers. Sea stacks and James Island protect the beaches from violent waves and make for some scenic photos.
On the other side of the Quillayute River is Rialto Beach, which is quite different from the La Push side. There are no sandy beaches here. Instead the beaches are black cobbled pebbles. Thousands of large driftwood old growth trees line the beaches after they have washed down river from the rain forests and are pounded by the surf and sun until they turn bleached white. Jim found this a photographer’s dream, fog or sun or no sun it is spectacular! One nice thing about this beach is the handicap accessible path with a Pacific Ocean viewing area.
Join us next week as we explore Yosemite and the Kings Canyon filled with giant Sequoia trees.
Interactive RV trip
Continue to follow the Whitcombs’ travels online at www.imagehouseusa.com. Join them next week as they explore Yosemite and the Kings Canyon filled with giant Sequoia trees
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