Pebbles by the beach
Today, before we drove to the shore, for our move from Quinault Lodge to
Kalaloch Lodge, we took one more walk,
relatively short, in the Quinault area. Even though the area is
in comparative drought, there was plenty of water to be seen, and
lush vegetation.
(Top image: large, small;
upper right: large, small;
lower left: large, small.)
lower right: large, small.)
And as always, lots of moss-hung trees.
(Large image, small.)
Precisely an hour later than the above picture was taken, we had driven from Quinault to a point on the coast just about two miles south of Kalaloch Lodge, where we’d be staying for the next two nights. Out of the vans and into the woods, and a very different atmosphere it was.
The air was thick with mist, and we passed through a wood where many of the Sitka
spruces carried immense burls.
(Left thumbnail: big image,
small; right: big image,
small.)
Between the wood and the beach there was a band of sea-polished pebbles,
pictured at the top of this page, and overlying
these, at the upper edge of the beach, a region of varying breadth covered with
tumbled timbers. The trees fall into the wild rivers in the winter, and get washed
up on the beaches all along the coast. Here and there are signs warning people
to stay out of the way of the logs when they’re being thrown about by
the surf: real legbreakers, I suppose, and maybe worse.
|
First thumbnail: big image, small;
next: big image, small; last: big image, small. |
It was a beautiful day, gray and misty, ideal for walking along the beach.
In the left picture
(big image, small)
we’re all tramping off into the foggy unknown—except for the people who ran
up forward, that is. But luckily for us laggards, Steve was back in the rear, and
we could get a sampling of his skill at identifying animal tracks.
In the second picture
(big image, small)
are a bunch of tracks that Steve led us through the identification of:
otters here—and not sea otters, mind you, they don’t come onto
land very much, but river otters.
Loads of interesting shapes in the driftwood. In the middle picture
(big image, small),
you can see that this tree trunk has been in place for a long time indeed:
there’s a little patch of vegetation growing on top.
(Leftmost thumbnail: big image,
small; rightmost: big image,
small.)
Steve told us to be careful not to walk beyond the gazebo on the bluff that
marks the entrance to Kalaloch Lodge. Here it is on the left
(big image, small),
and on the right (big image, small),
you can see Mark, Peter Gregory, and John Pineau, meeting up
with Maribeth, who had gone ahead in the van to get everything ready for us at the
Lodge. Then lunch, and then more exploration of the surroundings.
Previous day’s pictures; this afternoon’s pictures; this evening’s pictures; next day’s pictures.
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