Spontaneity is not lost on us, I’m happy to report. After lamenting all the lost travel opportunities in Washington that we are up against, we decided to pick a couple locales and go for it.
Highest on the wish list was a camping trip to the Olympic National Park, but you’d need to reserve a campsite months in advance; an impossibility since we weren’t sure how difficult life with a newborn would be. Travelers come from all around the world to camp in the old-growth rain forests and backpack in the steep mountains of the sprawling park. Steep cliffs? River crossings? Snowy trails? Ai, ai, ai, not with a baby.
So, a day hike: the perfect solution for a young family. We chose Ruby Beach, because it was the closest in scenery to the Giants Graveyard, which is what we really wanted to see. Doing so meant we would have had to check tide charts and risk a rocky traverse across a receding shoreline with a baby in a day pack. I was particularly keen on seeing a foggy seascape, freckled with sea stacks– from a safe vantage point. Overly-cautious mom reigns in the adventure, again.
Visibility maxed out at one mile, so the highly-anticipated infinity horizon of the Pacific Ocean was a no-show.
Fog obscured the tree-tops while a cool, misty breeze reminded us that the ocean churned nearby. Driftwood and boulders, littered with Cairns, dotted the shoreline.
From a wind-swept branch high above the cove, a bald eagle sat, calmly watching the shoreline (can you find him in the following photograph?).
Landscapes like this are a dime a dozen along the Oregon and Washington Coast. For however long, or short we live in this region, the novelty of such beauty will never wear off.
Yea Yea Pueblo 
Can’t believe you did that ! (with Margot) Great pic of Mommy ! Are those rocks stacked to look like trees ? And why are you
not at home packing ? Ha!
Thanks. Those rocks are stacked into Cairns. They’re traditionally used in the wilderness to note where a trail is.
We don’t have to pack at all! The army has movers come and do all the work for us!
These pictures are so dreamy. We’re in the dead of summer, and I’m craving a hike so bad.
I don’t envy your Texas heat, that’s for sure. We’ll probably have to endure it again, eventually. Lots of Army bases down that way.
Looks like a lovely day hike. Way to be spontaneous and make the most of your last stretch of time here in Washington.
Beautiful pictures!! Glad you got to enjoy Ruby Beach before you left. We have visited that area a few times. Love the scenery there!
Jacksonville has a beach similar to this called Boneyard Beach. Of course, there are no steep or rocky cliffs in the swampland, but fog and bleached trees all the same. These are beautiful photos.
That’s interesting because as I was photographing this scenery, I couldn’t help thinking this placed looked like some kind of boneyard!
Stunning pics, as usual! Love living vicariously through you as you explore the PNW in your remaining weeks there. Also loved your last post about Margot’s banana-eating adventures!! Avery has just started, too, and bananas are definitely her fave! And you right, it is fun for everyone (at least for now).