Rialto Beach, with its rock-strewn sand, giant gnarled drift logs, pounding waves and offshore sea stacks is one more amazing place to see and experience in Olympic Nat'l Pk. The size and number of old, bleached trees "bleached bones" littering the beach boggles the mind. Think of the force that deposits these giants! And how many tons each one weighs!
If a person had a heavy-duty crane and/or helicopter to haul one of the masterpieces home (and a yard big enough to accommodate these massive tree sculptures), why, you'd have a trophy yard!
Rain fell all night and into the morning at our Hoh River Ox-bow campsite. Scattered clouds lingered as we made our way to Rialto Beach. It was chilly enough for a jacket, but not cold. We'd visited this beach before (in 2006, we think), and were sitting by ourselves on a log when a sea lion head popped up out of the water in front of us. It looked at us as if to inquire what we were doing there. Today we didn't see any wildlife, scarcely a bird, except for gulls. Rialto is ROCKY. At low tide walking is easy on the wet sand. As we walked a mile-and-a-half to Hole in the Wall, the tide was incoming. On our return, we had to walk on dry rocks, which was anything but easy! Besides, it takes us forever to walk on rocks, 'cause we keep picking 'em up to examine, see if it's a keeper!
Hole in the Rock is that domed rock behind me.
Ain't nature grand?
We still don't know what the heck this is. Looked like a fossil record. My new waterproof Ahnu hikers worked perfectly when we had to cross the braided Ellen Creek as it enters the ocean -- my feet stayed dry.
Sea stacks provide a sanctuary for nesting seabirds, but the nests are on the side away from shore. We didn't see or hear any birds today.
Hole in the Wall looms behind me.
Look at that surf slamming ashore!
Hole in the Wall will soon be inaccessible from this side by the tide.
Hole in the Wall will soon be inaccessible from this side by the tide.
Yard art? Fused stuff? Even the rocks were plastered onto this piece of iron.
"Always the edge of the sea remains an elusive and indefinable boundary."
... Rachel Carson
Ranks right up there with one of the top ten beaches in the world!
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