September 25, 2024
Is it “farther north…” or “further north…”? Initially I thought “further” because it’s acting like an adverb(?). As I wrote the last post I hemmed and hawed and dilly dallied. I decided to look it up; most of the definitions line up with the Britannica dictionary: Farther means “at a greater distance” (e.g. It’s farther away than I thought); whereas further means “more” (e.g. further research is needed). When I’m writing about going north and west from Portland do I mean “at greater distance north and west” or “more north and west.” The article goes on to say – and this is how I’ve always thought of it – when using an adverb you can use “further” even though you mean a greater distance (e.g. Their house is further down the street). I thought of the post title adverbially (is that a word?). But really, I’m saying that we went a greater distance north and west. So, I’m sticking with farther and will adjust the title of the previous post. But please, if you have an opinion leave me a comment.
Let’s get on with the trip. We woke up to rain – an abundance of rain – on Wednesday November 25. We intentionally booked an evening ferry to Victoria B.C. so we could do some sight-seeing along the way; we’d do that sight-seeing in the rain. We wanted to see the Hoh Rain Forest; well, we saw it in its rainy glory. After our stop we’d head up to Port Angeles to catch our ferry.
Prior to our visit I had never heard of the Hoh and was excited to experience it. The concierge at Lake Quinault Lodge told us if we were going to the Hoh Rain Forest we should plan to get there no later than 10:00; otherwise, we’d have to wait for a parking spot at the small visitor center. I thought “Really? On a really rainy, out-of-season, middle-of-the-week day?” Best we could do is leave by 10:00.
The rain forest is open to the Pacific Ocean with no coastal mountains – like we have in Portland – to catch the rain. The result is a whole lot of green. We heard from a couple of people that this temperate rain forest is home to the “biggest biomass in the world”. I wasn’t sure what “biggest”meant. Largest in square miles? heaviest weight? Researching it, I found the Art In Nature Photography blog by Flores van Breugel. I’m going to quote a paragraph (italics are mine) from one of his posts here, but do yourself a favor and visit the blog.
“…this magical forest is the quietest place in the continental US, has the highest density of biomass per cubic meter of any ecosystem in the world, and has the freshest air in the continental US.. it really is paradise! I would also be willing to bet that it is the greenest place on Earth. I love the challenge of photographing these forests, and it is such a refreshing experience to be there. So, over the next year(s) you’ll probably see many posts from here, as well as the Queets and Quinault rivers (the two other major rivers on the west coast of the Olympic mountains).”
Floris van Bergen from the Art In Nature Photography blog
We got to the visitor center about 11:30 and I was surprised at how many people were there. Luckily we found a parking place. Unfortunately, we were not dressed for the weather; we were more prepared for an evening ferry over to Victoria. We are from northwest Oregon and know about rain so we had our good rain jackets but no rain pants and no waterproof shoes. That didn’t stop us from getting getting a taste.
This is just a taste of the verdancy. Check out Floris’ blog post to get an even better idea. Regardless, SO. MUCH, GREEN. and SO. MANY. PLANTS.
As we left we headed back to US 101 and headed north toward Port Angeles. When Carla and I drove this way in 2019 with Kate and Don we passed by Lake Crescent and made a note of it as a place to visit. We got there for a late lunch and got a table next to a window at the lodge. It was still raining but we just had to get outside for a couple of pictures after eating.
See all those low clouds.
We tried to dodge the rain drops to get a short hike in down one of the paths. Terri, Carla and I soon surrendered and headed back to the car whereas the ever intrepid Jim was determined to get to the waterfalls on the east end of the lake. I took advantage of our wait for Jim to change into dry socks; aaahhhh!
Keeping an eye on the time we had to call Jim back so we could be sure to get to Port Angeles in time for the ferry. He was wet!
We made in to Port Angeles in plenty of time to park in an overnight lot and travel as “walk ons”. It was well on dark when we arrived in Victoria; but our hotel was nearby the terminal. After dropping our stuff we went out for dinner, then headed back to the room looking forward to two full days of visiting. That’s in my next post.