Rain Forest Over-Nighter

We decided to divide and conquer by staying over night in the town of Forks, Wa. It allowed us to see as much of the western side of the Olympic Pennisula as we wanted. The drive to Forks was about 3 hours, but because we took some detours, up the Elwha Valley and near lake Crescent it took longer than that. We took a little room in Forks, which turned out to be lucky because by the time we returned to town, every place was "No Vacancy."
We got right back on the road and headed for the Hoh Rain Forest. The valley is on the western side of the Olympic Range and is at an elevation of about 570'. Annual rainfall is 142". The ride in is eerie. As in the south, moss hangs like a shroud on every surface including limbs, bark and rocks. The forest floor is fern covered and littered with ancient logs, mostly covered with moss and ferns also. Trees over 250' tall loom over the landscape. Some areas are so dense that almost no light reaches inside the canopy. Occasional groves of maples have a glow. The moss covers all the limbs almost to the exclusion of leaves. The entire area is an amazing tree growing machine. Lots of moisture and fertile, well draining soils provide a perfect enviroment for firs, spruces, cedars and hemlocks to thrive. The National Park has some virgin forest areas, but most of the pennisula has been logged, some areas multiple times. These areas seem to be closely monitored and many are labelled as to when they were last harvested, replanted, and when the next harvest is anticipated.
We headed back to Forks and then out to Rialto Beach. Bought some smoked salmon in Mora. Hope it's as good as the samples.
Friday we got up and drove around the south side of the park. Stopped at Ruby Beach, a gorgeous spot just off Rt. 101. Another spot with abundant washed up trees along the shore line. The rest of the ride was mile after mile of forests in various stages of growth. It appears that 20 years yields about 25 to 30 feet of verticle. Drove in aways to view a couple huge old trees, one about 20' in diameter. About 1900 years old. Amazing.