Hoh & Astoria

For the last week we spent a few days on the eastern side of Olympia NP then headed down to Astoria for a few days. Olympic NP is unusual because it has beach, rainforest and alpine climate all in one national park.

The Hoh rainforest ranger guided tour was interesting. Hoh is a temperate rainforest (as apposed to tropical) which gets 140” of rain per year and has the highest biomass per acre of anywhere in the world. We learned how to identify various tree’s and saw the hall of mosses, a portion of the rainforest where the trees are so covered in moss that it actually forms a cathedral like hall. Weird and very humid.

We also did some more biking. Here’s a picture of an eagle we saw at South Beach in the NP and another of my stepmom and I with an old shipwreck in the background down near Astoria.

Astoria is the oldest continuous settlement west of the Mississippi. It is located at the entrance to the Columbia River which is known as the graveyard of the pacific due to all the shipwrecks which happen here. Literally hundreds of ships over the years have been wrecked due to the frequent 50’ waves, shifting sandbar and fog. The maritime museum is the best I’ve ever visited. The Coast Guard are considered heroes. This is also where the Lewis and Clark expedition first saw the Pacific and set up their winter camp. Here’s a picture of a column which commemorates the expedition as well a view from the base of the column overlooking the river mouth.

Unfortunately, here is also where my Dad and Diane leave us to head back to Reno. It’s been great having you with us Dad and Diane, we’ll miss you.