Jude's Page
(turn on your speakers)
August 2002
 |
The last leg
of our trip. Here Jude enjoys a beautiful hand-carved bench made by a
local artist in Forks, Washington. Forks calls itself the Logging Capital
of the World. There are also many woodworkers and wood artists in the
area. Another happy find in Forks was the bead store. Kate was already well into the craft but the joys of beading were a new experience for Jude. Below Jude waits outside for the shop to open on the second day they were there. She had already used all the beads purchased the afternoon before. |
 |
 |
 |
Next they hit the beaches. It was far too chilly to swim but the scenery was marvelous. To the left top, Kate walks over a neat little bridge with driftwood log railings. Signs in the area warned "BEWARE! Driftwood Kills!"
To the left bottom, are stone outcropping called "sea stacks". Below, Kate takes pictures of the creatures seen in the many tide pools in the area. There were loads of anemones, starfish, barnacles. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
They were able to get very close to these two starfish clinging to a rock. The skins of the starfish felt hard, like fingernails. Jude tried to pry one from the rock but couldn't budge it even a little bit.
|
 |
 |
| Driving between beaches, they went back into the forest periodically to view various trees claiming to be the largest in the area. To the right, Kate is actually standing up inside one of the trees. Trees in the area were mostly western red cedar, Douglas fir, and western hemlock. |
 |
This is Mount St. Helen, where the mountain/volcano blew its top in May 1980, blowing the timber down on the surrounding mountains for 17 miles around. Even though the eruption occurred over 20 years ago, there is still a dearth of vegetation in the area. Some of the trees blown down were let lay intentionally so that visitors could get a better idea of the extent of the destruction. It was astounding! |
 |
 |
 |
| Above Kate points to their final destination: Mt Ranier. At the end of the road was the Paradise Visitors Center and Lodge. There the snow was 14 feet deep. Kate began a trail in the snow toward the mountain as Jude visited the gift shops. After lunch at the scenic lodge, the girls did a bit more hiking in the park at lower elevations. |
 |
They were lucky to have visited Ranier on this particular day. Park workers said this was the first clear day there had been in over two weeks. All too soon their time was up and the girls were forced to leave this Pacific Northwest paradise. What a great trip! |
To see Jude's Page Archives click
here.
To see Pete's page click
here.
To see Instant Iguana's page click
here.