We think of ourselves as living on the West Coast of the US, and our house does face west looking at salt water. But, the actual Pacific Coast is 100 miles west of Seattle. So, we drove out to the coast to visit Washington's temperate rain forests and celebrate the rain that makes them possible. We stayed at the rustic Kalaloch Lodge and, unexpectedly considering our goal, there was a beautiful sunest the evening we arrived.
Sunset on the Pacific Coast
News & Notes
Our trip to the coast was to celebrate L's November birthday. November is the sort of month when the chance of rain on the coast is 100%. Every day. The average annual rainfall is more than 12 feet (4 m) in each of the Hoh River, Queets River and Lake Quinault rain forests. We were headed for the Hoh.
The Hoh River In The Rain
The goal was to experience the rain forest in the rain, so we walked the Hall of Mosses. It was impressive. Of course there were moss covered logs and ferns and lichens everywhere, but there were also enormous trees - Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock, mostly.
We especially liked the nurse logs -- fallen trees covered with moss that are so huge that lying down they are 3-4 feet (1 m) above the forest floor. Young trees start growing on the mossy logs, and because the light is better they thrive compared to forest floor seedlings. (How many hemlock seedlings can you find on this log?) Nurse logs were common in the rain forest and apparently they always have been. This row of trees all started on a nurse log - now rotted to soil - as the straight line and exposed roots prove.
Evidence of Expert Nursing
After the US presidential election there was considerable dispair in Seattle, a city that voted more than 92% against Trump. So, a few people organized a demonstration of solidarity with their fellow citizens at the Greenlake Park. Enough people joined the demonstration that holding hands we circled the lake's 2.7 mile perimeter. It didn't change anything, of course, but each person knew that others shared the view that Trump doesn't represent our values.
Our Christmas trees are up. The balcony tree - about 21' (7 m) this year - came from the Mt. Baker
Snoqualmie National Forest in WA. Our living
room tree came from the Kootenai National Forest in MT.
What a perfect excuse to be in the forest in the Winter.
We visited Libby MT to see Jim and Julie again. The siblings decided it was a good time to make spaetzle.
Speaking of German specialties, Vancouver has in recent years been developing a Christmas Market tradition along the lines of those in European countries. Scattered among the nut cracker and ornament shops, food stalls offer our favorite treats. Classics such as glüwein, our main winter-warmer in Zürich and Budapest, paired nicely with the "German pizza" flatbread we practically lived on in Berlin. And, it's Canada. So the snow dusted everything beautifully.
Christmas Market in Downtown Vancouver
