After a long day driving through the Olympic National Park, I finally got to see the coastal portion which is rugged, lined with sandy beaches, and has a strip of adjacent forest. It is 60 miles long but only a few miles wide with native communities at the mouths of two rivers. The beach has unbroken stretches of wilderness, and the mostly unaltered Hoh River discharges large amounts of naturally eroded timber and other drift, which moves north, enriching the beaches. The removal of driftwood logs from streams and beaches was a major domestication measure across North America. Even today driftwood deposits form a commanding presence, biologically as well as visually, giving a taste of the original condition of the beach viewable to some extent in early photos.

It has one of the most amazing sunsets I have witnessed to date, and I viewed it, not coincidentally, while sitting atop a large piece of drift timber. As the sun set, a thick mist rolled in and it felt absolutely serene. It was a true halcyon moment.

- Jennifer

Rialto Beach