Woke up to a completely different Shi Shi. The mist had mostly cleared leaving a setting moon over the Point of the Arches. It was otherworldly
Since it was a one-eighty weather-wise we decided to have coffee and walk back down to the Arches since we had another well-timed low tide.
We can honestly say that both the misty and sunny Shi Shi's had their own charms and they couldn't be more different.
After Point of the Arches we slowly wandered back down the beach and back to the trailhead, taking our time to soak it all in. Shi Shi is a very special place and definitely one of the highlights of this trip
Trails made by little sea snail type things. There is actually one in the pic in the top right.
We made it out to the trail head around 11 AM and it was time to head on the Hoh Rain Forest. There are not many actual rain forests in the US and this is one of the largest. The Hall of Mosses trail was as advertised. Very neat place.
Since it was getting late in the day and we had campsite reservations at Kalaloch Beach Campground we decided to take off after the Hall of Mosses in hopes of a nice afternoon on the beach and thats exactly what we got. We made a smart play earlier in the day when we decided to pick up a fancy-shmancy, no-cook dinner of Brie, fresh nectarine, and cured meats. We also had a bottle of really good Rose that we snagged at Pike Place Market in Seattle for a special occasion. This all added up to a REALLY good afternoon at the beach.
Followed by a sunset that may have just beaten out the one we had just seen at Deer Park. The beach at Kalaloch is unlike anything we've seen in the Gulf or Atlantic. The grade of the beach slope is so unbelievably mild that a wave will send inches of water 50 yards up the beach, trickling towards your feet at a snails pace and then back again into the ocean. The result of this is an enormous plate of black glass that reflects the glow of the sunset back up at you, filling your entire field of vision with those firey oranges and pinks. As you walk across it, its as if you're walking into the sky. As beautiful as these pics are I hope the image in my head stays there forever. Surprisingly, there was not another soul down on the beach to witness it.
