Hoh Rain Forest - One of the few temperate rainforests in the world. The other few are in Chile, New Zealand, Australia and maybe Japan
This forest makes me feel so small...
We have lots to learn from these trees...
They have been standing here since before Christopher Columbus was born, before this land was "found" and before any of our great great grandparents were born. They share, they live and re-live through the younger ones growing on their decaying body.
I can crawl under!
I ducked my head in there to look at the mushrooms growing under the root. Wonder why the root looks like that?
Fallen decaying trunks called nurse logs are good fertile beds for seedlings to grow. As the small trees grow, their roots grow larger than the decaying log they were on. When the nurse log is finally rotten through one day, they leave behind the mold of their past on the roots.
This is a good picture to show a row of trees that grew on top of one fallen trunk that is now almost rotten through
They used to look like this, many young small trees growing on a nurse log that will decay over its slow death over the next century before they look like those who came before them in the pictures above
Lots of mushrooms!
The clouds going east from the Pacific are blocked by the mountains (a few which you saw in the previous post) making this valley the most rained with about 12-14 feet of rain every year. The forest is so moist that mosses, ferns and lichens grow everywhere, hanging from the trees like a fur coat.
What is it about this place that makes it so unique?
http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/temperate-rain-forests.htm
Two huge fallen trees
A very fertile creek
Chris took many great pictures on this trip so credit for the photos goes to him too
Hello...I need a hairstylist
Ruby Beach
I love my camera too much to have it out in the rain for too long so we decided to get on the road to start our drive south along Pacific Coastal Highway...
I'm sorry officer...
Less than a minute after we switched driver (From Chris to me), I was pulled over for going 50 mph in a small town in south Washington, not long before we crossed to Astoria in Oregon. According to the police officer, there is a sign somewhere (hidden) with a 35 mph sign. That's how the town makes money!
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