Bring Back Sifl & Olly!

I'm starting a movement to bring back Sifl & Olly! Who's with me?!?!?

Hello Again!

The Ultimate P Experience is back on the air (I mean web)! After an extended hiatus it is now alive again.

To restart the blog with a bang, I'd like to recap the best birthday weekend I have ever had. It was all arranged and executed by my wonderful girlfriend, Rebecca. It was a two-day road trip to the Olympic peninsula in Washington. And after living in Western Washington for over 3 years, it was my first trip to this beautiful corner of the country.

To get to the Olympic peninsula from the Seattle area one must either drive around the south end of Puget Sound or take a ferry across. Wishing to save over 2 hours of driving, we opted to take the ferry. The crossing point we chose was only about 8 miles wide so it only took about 15 minutes to cross (not counting ferry load and unload time). We then proceeded to the town of Port Angeles which is on the southern shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is the wide channel that connects the Pacific Ocean to Puget Sound to the south and the Straits of Georgia to the north.

Port Angeles is the northern gateway to the Olympic National Park. Due to some recent wind and rain storms in the area (you probably heard about them on the national news) we thought it was a good idea to stop in at the park's visitor center and find out which roads were open and get some suggestions from one of the park rangers. If you enjoy spending time in the outdoors, you must plan a trip to ONP. There is something for everyone here: jagged mountains, temperate rain forests, saltwater beaches, hot springs, mountain lakes & waterfalls, and downhill skiing. Several of the roads to the Hoh Rain Forest were washed out so we opted to go head for the Quinault area which is a bit farther but provides a majestic rain forest experience. On the way to Quinault, we made stops at Madison Falls and Crescent Lake. The weather was cool but not cold. Rain drops fell once and a while but not hard enough to dissuade us from our excitement of experiencing the available natural wonders.

Here is a picture of Madison Falls.

Here is a picture of Crescent Lake.

Shortly west of the lake, the road turns southwest and meanders toward the coast. There are 4 or 5 beaches along this stretch of the road and at least one of them have camping facilities. Since we wanted to get to the rain forest we stopped briefly at a road-side turnout and snapped a few pictures. This was my first up-close-and-personal look at the Pacific ocean. It was very impressive.

Continuing on to Quinault, Rebecca and I noticed the unmistakable signs of the ferocious storm that ripped through the region about a month ago. Trees had fallen and branches and other debris littered the road. We were able to take a short walk into the rain forest before being denied by a fallen tree across the trail. The mosses and lichens were incredible. Everything was drenched. It was very surreal. There is nothing in North America at all like it. Here are some pictures.

After a soul-warming lunch provided by Miss Becca, we retraced our path back to the coast hoping to experience Ruby Beach. Along the way, we happened upon a group of elk grazing along the road:

As we drove toward the beach we passed under a cloud dropping heavy rain and either small hail or frozen rain. The road conditions were fine but, knowing that weather along the northwest coast generally travels from south to north, we knew that we wouldn't have much time at the beach before we were going to get wet. Very wet. We parked at the beach parking and followed the 500 foot trail down to the crashing surf. At the end of the trail a wall of driftwood blocked our path to the beach. We were about to begin climbing over it when the aforementioned rain caught up with us. If you are not aware, wet driftwood is extremely slippery and, with all the knobs and broken branches, it can be very dangerous.

Since it had been a long day we decided to wait to experience the Pacific shore the next day. Forks, WA was the town in which Rebecca had arranged lodging. The rest of the afternoon and evening was very relaxing. The highlight was Rebecca's the wonderful company. A close second was the excellent carrot cake Rebecca had made for my birthday (carrot cake is my favorite cake). Very very good. We awoke the next morning to find that it had snowed overnight. About 2 inches of very wet, slush-like snow covered the trees and parking lot. We were surrounded by the Olympic mountains, trees covered with frost or snow. It was a winter wonderland. Still, the temperature was in the upper 30s and the sun was breaking through the clouds. After a short time, it seemed to be quite warm.

We left Forks with Rialto beach as our destination. Rialto beach is north of the string of beaches we had past the previous day but the closest beach to Forks. As we made our way to the beach, the we noticed that there was less and less snow on the ground and in the trees. By the time we got to the beach's trailhead, there was no snow anywhere. It's amazing how much changes if you travel just a few short miles in the Olympics.

Rialto Beach trailhead was only about 100 feet from the crashing surf at high tide (which was the tide at the moment). Being really the first time to the ocean, I was blown away by its immensity and power. Everyone knows that the ocean is huge but until you personally witness the thundering waves hammering the beach and tossing uprooted trees-turned-driftwood like corks in a bathtub, you probably don't fully appreciate its wonder. I'm not sure how long we scurried around the driftwood and dodged the spray, but we could have easily stayed all day. Here are a few pictures and a few seconds of video.

Once we left Rialto Beach we more or less made our way back across the peninsula and caught the ferry back to the real world. I have placed many of the rest of my pictures on my Flickr if you are interested. It was an amazing weekend spent with an amazing person. Thank you Rebecca. I will always remember this great experience. Definitely a highlight of my life.

P