Saturday, June 22, 2019

Olympic Day Four: Sol Duc and Hurricane Ridge

After exploring Forks and La Push, I drove past beautiful Crescent Lake to Sol Duc Hot Springs. A hot springs resort in the mountainous wilderness! In other words, sulphuric water piped into concrete pools filled with white tourists.

It was actually very relaxing. I soaked my sore muscles in the hot water and read the novel I'd brought. The air temperature was surprisingly warm (upper 70s) so I ended up moving to the colder pool after just a few minutes. I did not make any friends during my hour at the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort.



Next, I hiked to a waterfall:



bad body language :/

adorable matching hiker-sister-twins (note the cargo shorts and bucket hats)

Later that evening, I drove up to Hurricane Ridge, a scenic viewpoint featuring an incredibly broad range of snow-capped Olympic mountains:




I hiked to Blue Glacier!! 
bear prints in the sidewalk concrete


trail closed due to snow! The temperature was in the mid-60s when I was there.

a beautifully peaceful sunset to end my trip


~golden hour~



I returned to my campsite 12 miles down the road, at a lovely area called Heart O' the Hills. I then slept appx. 4 hours, got up in the middle of the night, packed up my tent and belongings, drove two hours to Seattle, returned the rental car, and then flew (via D.C.) back to Charlotte–where I spent the night with my aunt and uncle before driving my grandmother back to Chapel Hill and then finally to Tarboro. But that's a different story.
Byeeee, Washington </3

Friday, June 21, 2019

Olympic Day Four: Forks

Now, the real reason for the trip: visiting Forks. Home of Bella Swan. And Edward Cullen. The ~vampires~ of Twilight.









Where Bella and Edward met!!!!

This was in a Forks lumber museum that cost $3 to visit.


what a quick way to make some money... 
Bella's truck


so of course I had to drive to Port Angeles and visit the restaurant.


Where Bella and Edward had their first date

Bella ordered the mushroom ravioli, which at that time was not yet called Bella's

I want to write an article called "Twilight in Forks, 15 years later: how rabid vampire hunters linger in a town you’d otherwise never have heard of." Stay tuned for more details.

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Olympic Day Four: Rialto Beach

This is undoubtedly another too-long post. The morning after my long hike to and from the glacier, I spent a relaxed morning exploring Rialto Beach, home of the locally-famous Split Rock and Hole-in-the-Wall.

I moseyed 1.5 miles down the beach to Hole-in-the-Wall and back, snapping photos the whole way. I especially had fun exploring the tide pools!




fellow tourists for scale
They kindly took my photo with this awesome tree
Me trying to warn them the ocean was about to swamp them (it did). 








Split Rock
Hole-in-the-Wall!






Inside Hole-in-the-Wall

Split Rock (can you tell?)

Did this tree grow here? 



I spy with my little eye...




leading lines 
I loved the stark contrast of the white surf against the black sand.