Olympic Peninsula

Guy Miner

Master Loader
Apr 6, 2006
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I live in central Washington, where we get about 8" - 9" of rain a year. Very lightly populated area. Love it here! Work took me to Seattle on Friday, then on to the Olympic Peninsula, all the way to Forks, Washington. That's about 325 miles, and a good 7+ hour drive. Longer if there is a backup for the Ferry or if the two mountain passes have significant snow or ice. This was a pretty easy drive. Icy on one pass, then just rain on the other. Got my work done in a few hours in Seattle, and instantly bogged down in terrible traffic getting to the ferry dock. Then sat there for over an hour. Finally got across to the Peninsula and right into a rain & snowstorm! :) Forks by the way, gets about TEN FEET of rain every year... Ya, ten feet...


I didn't have a lot of goof-off time this weekend, but managed to take a few photos that I thought I'd share:


14,411' Mount Rainier rises above Seattle & Tacoma. Took this photo from the Ferry. These Cascade volcanoes are really impressive with their bulk, and Rainier is really something since it rises essentially from sea level. It's so tall, when that moist Pacific air hits it, the mountain creates it's own weather. A good buddy of mine fell to his death on that mountain, roped up with two other climbers. Sad.
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I took the Kingston Ferry to get out of the Seattle mess on onto the much more rural & beautiful Olympic Peninsula:
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Beaver Falls, near Forks, Washington:
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Rialto Beach - those are huge logs on the beach:
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Fishing for steelhead & salmon tends to be very good. There are also trout, including some sea-run cutthroat! Very cool. Roosevelt elk, black bear and blacktail deer tempt the big game hunter, but simply moving through that rain forest is a tough job, let alone hunting!

Thought I'd share, as I seldom get over to that very beautiful part of Washington.

Regards, Guy
 
I never did enjoy driving through Seattle. When I lived in the Lower Mainland of BC, conferences and speaking engagements took me to and through Seattle at least three times each year. Traffic could be horrendous. The Olympic Peninsula is lovely, for sure. The coastal region of Washington above Seattle has always been a great excursion for my wife and me.
 
Seattle would be tolerable if it had 50% of the people it does today. There doesn't seem to be a decent time to drive through there anymore. The Olympic Penninsula has some terrific scenery. I have the luxury of seeing Mt Rainier from my house.....when the weather is clear :mrgreen:
 

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