The hike wasn't bad at all. I say that now, HA! I was definitely breathing hard on one hill, but the views were spectacular. It was chilly, upper 40's, and a very light mist. We came around a bend, and there was snow covering the trail. I had on tennis shoes that had ZERO traction, and I tried crossing the snow once it got deeper, but slipped and I had a vision of a newspaper headline "Inexperienced hiker slides down hill and dies" So I told Andy to keep going. I stayed where I was and just took in the sounds, smells, and scenery, then made my way back to the parking lot. Although I didn't get the full hike in, I still felt pretty good about how far it was. I mean, I was hiking at over 5200'! I blame the altitude for my heavy breathing. : ) Andy said the hike came out at a meadow and he saw tons of marmots as well as a black bear! He had packed a light snack for us to share at the top, bummer for me, but he was nice enough to not eat it all either. Such a good husband.
After he came back to the parking lot, we drove back to the visitor center, and found some picnic tables and ate our little snack then planned our next visit. Here are some pics from Hurricane Ridge and our Hurricane Hill Hike.
After we left Hurricane Ridge, we drove back to Port Angeles, ate lunch at Frugals and then headed off to Forks. Let me preface this by saying I am NOT a Twihard. Have I read all of the Twilight books, Yes. Have I seen the movies. Sorta, I have seen the first 2 and I keep trying to watch the 3rd one onDemand but it has commercials, and I lose interest quickly. But, Forks is on the way to the Hoh Rainforest which I really, really wanted to go to, so what do you do, but stop by Forks and see what it offers. Which is not much. I made Andy stop by the visitor center and, WHOA, was I not prepared for what was inside. Life size cardboard cutouts of the characters, maps of places from the books, t shirts, etc. We drove by the High school and took pictures of the sign. It is a brand new school. I am guessing all the money they were paid for having some scences was enough to build a new school.
So the trucks. One is a replica from what is described in the book, and the other a replica from what is used in the movie, so I was told. The maps are pretty cool. In the past 5 years, the visitor center has had over 270,000 visitors. Before the books came out. 200-500 in a good YEAR. These books/movies are really revitalized this town. I mean, every resident is trying to make a buck and I don't blame them. It's a logging town, not much of an economy right now. There is this tour company that offers Twilight/Bigfoot tours. I mean, what the clientele must be for that. One day it's crazy women and girls, the next burly men and red necks. I found this ad for this cabin and cottage and chuckled how they used names of the books to get people to stay there. Anyways, props to Forks for trying to capitalize on some teen literature and make the most from it.
The Hoh Rainforest, wow. If you didn't already know how into fun facts I am allow me to drop some bombs on you. The Hoh Rainforest is the largest Temperate rainforest on the planet. Also, the ONLY rainforest in the Northern Hemisphere. If you ask Andy, he will tell you that I have told him this fact at least a dozen times. I have been wanting to come here for a long time. I don't remember if I ever came here as a kid, but it was amazing. The drive in to the visitor center, which was closed by the time we got there, was just....wow. The moss that hangs off the trees offer a soft, gentle landscape of what would normally be hard and fierce due to the size of the trees. It was so beautiful. We didn't stay long and took a "hike", It was about 800 feet in a horseshoe shape that my kids could have walked.
Since it was our last night, we decided to go out to eat. I won't bore you with the details, but the food was good, but the service was terrible. And they can't make a martini to save their lives.
On Thursday we headed to Seattle to meet up with my dear friend Amy, whom I have been friends with since 1st grade. Amy is one of my dearest and bestest friends. She is living the fancy life in Seattle, working at a certain non-profit that was run by a former computer billionaire. (care to guess), has the cutest dog ever, and has a social life that makes me jealous. : ) I was driving so Andy asked if I knew the way, of course I said. I followed 101, not noticing the turn off for HWY 16, that would take us to Tacoma. I was happily driving, taking in the scenery, and noticing new towns that I didn't recall on the drive up. Andy then informs me after an hour, that I was on my way to Olympia. F-worddddddddd!!!!!! I was pissed. So after getting to Olympia, had to get on I-5 and drive us all the way to Seattle to be here in time for lunch with Amy. Thank God for HOV lanes am I right?!?! We made it there only 5 minutes later then if I had actually gone the right way. We met Amy at the Cheesecake Factory, mainly because we haven't been to one in over 4 years at least. We got to catch up, laugh, gossip, and just have a good time before we had to say bye to which she went back to work and us to Yakima. I can't believe it, but I didn't even get picture of us together!
We finally got the "bad weather" we expected to get while on the "westside" of the state. It poured rain all the way to Yakima. I made Andy stop in Ellensburg so I could get a shirt at one of my new favorite stores, Respect My Region. A few years ago when I was reading the Herald Republic, they did a story on these 2 guys from Ellensburg who had started a clothing company that celebrates all that is being from the PNW (Pacific North West) I got a shirt from them for Christmas, and I got a this one at this trip. The shop is right downtown, and inside Royal Sports. If you are passing through Ellensburg, I highly recommend this shop. The have great sports stuff, not just from Washington, but other places as well.
All in all we had a great get away just the two of us and can't wait to do another "just us" trip.
