Rainforests, Seastacks, Waterfalls

Olympic Peninsula in the northwest Washington state is a strange landscape. There are lakes, waterfalls, rainforests, snow-capped mountains, rugged beaches with towering rock stacks, and a climate dominated by rain. I spent the Christmas of 2018 driving around the Olympic National Park. I took some of the most interesting photos that I have ever taken. Here's a showcase of some of them.

The national park itself can be split in three regions: rainforests, coasts, and mountains. The mountains were inaccessible due to snow when I went there. I got to visit Hoh and Quinault rainforests. Rialto, Second, and Ruby beaches. And also spent a few days in nearby Seattle.

A map of Olympic National Park. I circumnavigated the park starting from Seattle.

Photo of Hoh River and surrounding forest covered in mist. Winter 2018.

I wasn't able to go inside the Hoh Rainforest due to closures related to the government shutdown. But right at the park boundary in the Hoh section, I got this shot of forest covered in mist. Winter 2018.

Sea stacks are formed by the action of water on larger rocks where the portion connecting them to the mainland has eroded away. The Olympic coast is dotted with sea stacks. Some are large enough so that they are essentially islands. I was able to go to three places that have sea stacks: Rialto Beach, Second Beach, and Ruby Beach. These beaches are filled with drift wood, which makes hiking there a bit of a challenge.

Photo of a seastack near Second Beach. Winter 2018.

A seastack near Second Beach in the La Push section of Olympic. Winter 2018.

A seastack at Ruby Beach. Winter 2018.

Beacuse of abundant rain, there are many waterfalls in Olympic National Park. The most popular and probably the grandest waterfall is the Marymere Falls. It's in the northern part of the park; a short hike away from the Lake Cresent Lodge. The other waterfall that I saw was an unnamed waterfall near Quinault Lake. There were countless cascades in different parts of the park due to abundant rain in December.

Marymere Falls near Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park. Winter 2018.

A cascade near Marymere Falls, Olympic National Park. Winter 2018.

A waterfall near Quinault Lake, Olympic National Park. Winter 2018.

Seattle is beautiful in any season. And Kerry Park is probably the best place to see the skyline. Generally you can see Mt. Rainier in the background, but on that particular evening, it was obscured by clouds.

Photo of the Seattle skyline from Kerry Park. Winter 2018.

Seattle skyline from Kerry Park. Unfortunately, Mt. Rainier was behind the clouds. Sunset. Winter 2018.