Circling the Peninsula

9/5/2015 We departed from our redneck base camp at Salt Creek RV and joined the rat race along 101. First we back tracked to Port Angeles and then around Lake Crescent again before finally getting to new road. Now before we left Whidbey, I had a discussion with Tom Law about the 101 loop. He said don't take it, it's nothing but trees and its not the prettiest drive. I read that it was rated #6 on the top drives list. We took it because we wanted to stop in Hoh Rain forest. I have to agree with Tom, the drive is nothing special except that brief glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.

 First a stop for gas and a picture at Forks. Literally, "the fork in the road." Also, for you Twilight fans, this is where they filmed some of those movies.

 We turned onto Lower Hoh Road, which became Upper Hoh Road and ran along the Hoh River. This is some of the scenery. Becky described it as creepy.

The Hoh River

The road to Hoh.

 The visitors center was actually very small and did not have any exhibits about the rain forest. We collected the stamp and watched the endless stream of hikers come and go while we ate lunch. 

Big tree by the visitors center.

 There is a pull off simply labeled "Big Tree." Unfortunately last year the big tree fell over in a wind storm and now its just a "Big Trunk."

Your hostess as comparison.

The trunk is nearly 5 foot in diameter.

 101 bent west to the coast and we got our first big views of the Pacific.

These things tasted like caramel corn but were soft inside.

We ended the evening in Elma, WA. We stopped at a 50s diner and had great milkshakes but the food was not so good. It was the worst open face roast beef sandwich I have ever had. Elma RV park provided us with a place to stay and I watched some college football on this very first day of the season! Go Bucks!

9/6/2015 We woke up to wet and it rained most of the day. No pics because I was grumpy and ready to pack it in and go home. Base camp is the Portland Fairview RV Park in Fairview, OR. We will be here until til the 11th. Lots of good pics to come!