Friday, August 1, 2014

Move to Mora

 

We had a wonderful last day at South Beach, with sunny skies and very little fog.

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After breakfast at the Kalaloch Lodge we took a walk on Beach 4 and then went back to Ruby Beach, since Jim had missed the ranger walk the previous day.

Trail to Kalaloch Beach 4.

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Perfect round holes in the rock make by piddock clams.

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Jim even got to see what he missed on the Ranger walk.

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And what a great ending to what might be our last beach campsite for the year.

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Yesterday we moved 50 miles north to Mora, another Olympic National Park campground just west of Forks, WA. We got an early start since our friend Suzanne (Take To The Highway) arrived there the night before and was told by the camp host they would most likely fill up by the end of the day. Kim beat us there and they managed to scope out and find sites we could all fit in on the same loop.

Our generators will be getting a good workout here.

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While Suzanne ran off to the Hoh Rainforest, the rest of us drove a few miles to Rialto Beach to hike about 1.5 miles to Hole-In-The-Wall. We didn’t realize it was nearing high tide, so it was tough walking over many small rocks and driftwood. That’s Chuck leaning on the tree.

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Chuck, Carla, Debbie and Kim at the end of the road. At low tide you can walk through the hole.

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We would have had to swim through it.

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The ranger told us you could continue on and climb up the hill to get a view to the other side, so Jim and I decided to check it out. Lots of steep steps and overgrown vegetation but we made it.

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The other side of the hole.

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After our hike Debbie and I drove 13 miles back to Forks to do laundry and pick up some groceries. For a small town they have quite a nice store, Forks Outfitters, a combination of grocery, sporting goods, clothing, shoes, and hardware. Just about anything you might need while visiting Olympic National Park.

When we got back we had a visit from Karen, of The Back Porch View blog. She arrived at Mora late in the day and snagged one of the last two remaining sites, which just so happened to be in our loop. We have quite a crew here now!

Elvis is enjoying the quiet forest and Sophie is having fun climbing trees. What a life.

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9 comments:

  1. I just love your beach pictures. Never heard of piddock clams, very interesting. Sure hope it's not your last beach campsite for the year. I don't think I've gotten them all written down yet! Can't wait to hear what all of you in this impromptu meet up get in to. This blogging world is a small one. I read all 3 of your blogs.

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  2. Perhaps incorrectly I am assuming that campers can run their noisy generators at all hours of the day except quiet hours at night, say, 10 pm to 7 am or something like that. It would certainly make for a better camping experience if the Park Service was more restrictive in the hours.

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    1. Generator hours are from 8 am to 10 pm but surprisingly we haven't heard much noise. We did have to run ours for awhile yesterday afternoon but we did it when our neighbors were gone. Most national park campgrouinds we've stayed at in the past have much more restrictive hours so we were surprised this was so liberal. We will be happy to get out in the open again. Trees are nice but this darkness is oppressive!
      Gayle

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  3. Thanks for the lesson! I have never heard of piddock clams. I had to go check out a photo. Clever little things! Love the tide pool treasures.

    Enjoy your new spot. Looking forward to new adventures:)

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  4. Looks like another gorgeous stop! We have no plans to make it to that part of the Olympic Peninsula this trip so it will be great to visit through you!

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  5. Love the bridge - all the natural branches make it look like it just sort of "landed" there. You do have quite the gang all together!! I imagine lots of stories and laughter around the camp fire (I'm assuming you can have them there - they're prohibited in CA right now with the drought). Enjoy your last days at the beach.

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  6. Great camping you have had. Trees are nice, but parks like that made me a little crazy. Too dark, too enclosed. I have really enjoyed your trip so far, and thank you for posting!

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    1. Ditto for me on the dark, enclosed feeling. I want out of here and to sunshine and open spaces.

      Jim

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  7. Wow - Olympic National Park looks beautiful! Great pictures

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