July 11th was our fourth wedding anniversary, so Tim took a long weekend and we revisited some of the places we had been to on our honeymoon. It was awesome! We left early in the morning on Friday and took the ferry over to the Peninsula where we drove north and west, heading towards the logging town of Forks. Check-in time was not until 4 p.m., so we began our explorations right away.

Click to see the route. Click thumbnails to see enlargements and commentary.

We decided to head for Rialto Beach first. It's a more northerly beach, wilder and rockier than Ruby Beach. Our intent was to walk north for a mile and a half to see if we could find Hole In The Wall, and the tidal pools beyond it.
Crescent Lake
Rialto Beach
Fun With Seaweed
Tim Watching
Driftwood
Sea Stacks
Hole In The Wall
Tidal Pools
BeachScape
Beach Art

The next stop was our favorite Ruby Beach. It's very different from Rialto Beach. I was quite surprised to learn that the name "Ruby" stems from the formerly garnet-colored sand. Gold-mining was also done here in the early 1900s. We walked a couple of miles on this beach too and were rewarded with eagles, an osprey, shorebirds and terrific tidal pools.
View From The Top
Ruby Beach
Destruction Island
Ruby Beach
Caves
Relaxing
Starfish Galore
Flotsam and jetsam
Shorebirds
We call it a day.

On Saturday we packed up and headed north and west to Neah Bay and Cape Flattery (the most northwestern part of the continental United States). The one-mile hike, to and from the observation point seemed much easier this time. Views were awesome, as usual.
Tide pools at Sekiu
Bald Eagles again
Near Neah Bay
Fishing Nets
The Cape Flattery Hike
Viewpoint
The End!
More vistas
Tim
Goodbye Cape Flattery

Here are a few more pictures.
Signs
Deer
Makah Cemetery
Rainbow
Renegade
 
The mini-holiday was a smashing success. Only the weather did not totally co-operate. There were a couple of additional memorable moments. I was drenched from head to toe by a rogue wave, while I was standing on a rock taking photos of a tide pool. I have no idea where the wave came from, but I am happy it didn't knock me off the rock too. And Tim's glasses got broken but with his McGyver-like persistance, he fixed them temporarily with the inside tubing of a BIC pen and some Superglue. I was very impressed with his ingenuity. Lastly, it was with some sadness that we found our very favorite restaurant, the Rain Drop Cafe had closed. Oh well. We found two good substitutes which hopefully will be there next time.

We are already looking forward to our next visit to the wonderful Olympic Peninsula.

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