It's About the (RV) Journey....: 4th of July Weekend in Forks, WA......................

We celebrated the 4th of July in Forks, WA, and were thrilled to be able to walk to the main road from our camper so we could see the parade! We secured a spot in the shade, as did the other RVer's from the park, and we enjoyed a pretty long parade! The parade started in the shopping center right across from the campground, so we had an ideal seat! Looking down the road, it was packed with spectators for as far as we could see. It was a scorcher of a weekend, and the area is suffering with record heat and drought. Because of that, the fireworks were cancelled, and there was a "NO BURN" edict - no barbecues, or any form of fireworks allowed in the town.

The parade was fun to watch, and had a lot of the usual...boy scouts, girl scouts, football team, politicians, etc. I took pictures of some of the things that were special to this locale. Almost everyone in the parade threw candy at us, and all the little kids collected a TON of candy. Comparable to Halloween! It took all of my inner strength not to join them in the pursuit of the goodies scattered before us. Hahahha. Especially when I spotted the Milky Ways!

lots of spectators

good one!

this is going to be fun Tom!!

the start of the parade :)

Coast Guard Marching Band

not sure what this was, but I'm sure all the little girl spectators loved it...they look like princesses

sponsored by the food store/sports store/ hardware store across the street....clever!

there are a LOT of these in the Pacific Northwest (you can't tell from this pic, but its towing another trailer-load of trees)

aawwwhhh!

A few days prior, we had been to Rialto Beach at high tide, but we really wanted to check it out at low tide to be able to walk to Hole-in-the-Wall. We got up and out a little early on Sunday, and we were so glad we did. The beach was covered in fog when we first started walking, but by the time we got there, the fog had lifted and the sun was shining. It got pretty warm too!

hiking down the beach today-trust me, you need hiking shoes on these rocks...no flip flops!

ocean shot

close up of the Hole-in-the-Wall...our destination

As we neared the Hole-in-the-Wall, Tom spotted a deer on the beach. We felt bad for it, thinking it must be looking for the others and it just got a little lost. We are such saps! The reality is, the deer like the salt! They come for the water, rocks and moss containing salt, then go back into the woods. We only know this because we got to chatting with a lady that happened to work for the Chamber of Commerce, so she knew everything about the area. She also mentioned that bears and cougars come to the beach too. Hahah! Woah!

can you spot the deer on the beach?

he looks confused

I think I've mentioned before, a lot of (mostly younger) folks backpack to the beach and tent camp. It looks like so much fun and a really special thing to do (until its time to go to the bathroom, that is)! Tom laughed at me when I suggested we do the tent camping thing on the beach. Can you hear him? He's still laughing!

a typical scene...tents, backpackers,and a deer on the beach

a huge bald eagle

we're getting closer

There were a lot of tide pools, especially in the area right before the Hole-in-the-Wall, and we spotted lots and lots of starfish, anemones, and cool looking kelp. Of course, we were thrilled to see not one, but two giant bald eagles. We just love spotting wildlife! I know....but what can I say, that's what we like to do.

there we go

the tide pools are particularly good at this beach

heading on through-can't do this at high tide!!

majestic fisherman

view of the ocean from the other side of the rock

great tide pools here

Walking on the rocks required a bit of concentration since a lot of it is slippery. Also, you don't want to step on anything and ruin the sea life. Imagine our surprise when a deer sauntered out of the woods, and came right up near us, climbed on the rocks and walked around too...no problem. We were amazed my that. The poor thing looked a little worried about us and the other family that was investigating the rocks, but he just kept going and stopping to drink every here and now. We were happy the deer trusted us:)

here comes another deer!

he's coming right for us Susie!

lots of unexpected wildlife at this beach...the eagle and the deer in the picture are an example

crabby

great tide pools among the rocks...

see the bald eagle again?

i think that's a shrimp?

another fun morning at the beach (though a different experience than the Jersey shore, I can tell you that)!

The sun came out in force, but by the time we walked the mile and a half back to the parking area, a fog had drifted in again. We were actually happy about that, since we had our chairs, lunch and books and enjoyed a cool afternoon in sweltering hot Washington! This was our last day at the beach for a long time, as we are continuing our travels inland now.