Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Peninsula, Day Four

Sunday morning was a little cool and rainy, so we had a bit of a lazy morning. We also had home church together and read from Genesis 1 and I John 1. The rain quit, so we tried taking some pictures outside, but I was having a little trouble with the focus and the light. (After seeing the pictures later, however, I was pretty happy with them. Not my best, but not horrible.) Then we headed to Sol Duc, intending to go to the hot springs. However, when we got there it was really crowded and it wasn’t what we had imagined. We had a more natural environment in mind, but it was just a big pool and 3 large hot tubs. We elected not to spend the $50, even though we were all disappointed and our day was not off to a good start.

We ended up stopping at a Vista Point (a place where salmon apparently make their way back upstream at the right time of year)along the Sol Duc River, which turned out to be an awesome adventure! Lots of bouldering, exploring, throwing rocks, wading, and picture-taking turned a bad morning upside down!

Later we stopped back in Forks for a bite to eat at a Mexican place (which wasn’t very good) and then the candy shop for a beach treat. We drove out towards La Push for some tide-pooling and beach fun at Second Beach.

As was par for the course this day, we took the wrong hike at first and ended up at…where else? First Beach. It was a long detour, but at least we found a decent bathroom! After hiking back to the van and then taking the correct hike through the woods, we were greeted by what is quite possibly the most beautiful Washington beach. Driftwood logs, sand, tide pools, sea stacks, and the forest made an incredible setting. What a creative God!

We spent a couple fun hours there exploring the rocks and logs and just generally enjoying each other and the magnificent creation. We ate our candy and watched the sunset. We quickly packed up and hiked back because we didn’t want to be on the trail in the woods in the dark. Then we drove back to First Beach to check out the sunset and the beach there and also saw a beautiful full moon! It was late when we got home, and the day had been a bit frustrating at times, but we had great adventures, anyway!

Peninsula, Day Four

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