15th day (Sequim - Forks)

Today we start early, because the beaches of the Olympic Peninsula occasionally fill up during the day. The route from Sequim to Forks on Highway 101 is accompanied by increasingly taller trees. It is striking to see the sparse vegetation in Montana two days ago, and now these huge fir and deciduous trees along the road. The frequent rain that haunts the peninsula leaves the vegetation more abundant. Lake Crescent on the way shines with turquoise color in bright sunshine and only when we turn off to the first beach, Rialto Beach, before Forks, the clouds gather and give the sky the mood that stands for the famous film that was shot here: Twilight.

Rialto Beach is rough and not a proper bathing beach. Coarse gravel and countless large stones cover the beach area, and the amount of mighty driftwood that has washed ashore here would be enough to build a medium-sized town with log houses. We don't see any possible whales or seals, but the sight of this natural wonder compensates for that.

Since we are early, we try to check in at the motel before 3pm. Usually this works, and here too we are given the key 2 hours before the actual time. A little chat with the son of the house, whose family comes from Mumbai, leads to him giving us a tide calendar for the second beach, La Push Second Beach, and advises us to be there at 6pm when the ebb tide reaches its lowest point and the sea releases the tide pools, where you can discover various marine creatures.

A short detour to Downtown Forks reveals a small nest that mainly lives from its reputation through the film saga 'Twilight'. Somehow everything looks a bit run down, and the nearly 3200 inhabitants show that they can also implement the vampire look in an urban way. An Eldorado for fans of the series, and numerous tours and shops invite you to indulge in fan life.

We leave for the beach earlier, and after about 1/2 hour of driving, we arrive at the parking lot for the trail that leads about 1 km to the beach. You can't drive directly there by car, as the Americans love to do. The path leads through an almost jungle-like forest landscape on a narrow path down to the sea, where you have to step over countless mighty driftwood before the sight of Second Beach delights you. Offshore rocks, wooded with trees, radiant sunshine, and an incredibly expansive beach landscape of the finest sand give this section a completely different perspective than the first beach this morning. Despite numerous visitors, the tourist flow gets lost here, and sometimes you have the feeling of being almost alone on the beach.

At around 6pm, we head towards the rocks, and the sea has now receded so far that you can visit the numerous tidal pools. There, you will find neon green anemones, orange and purple giant starfish, stuck to the wall, and an unimaginable number of mussel beds and spider crabs that are visible just above the water's surface before disappearing again under the sea level. A unique natural spectacle.

We don't make the mistake of stuffing ourselves with greasy American food again in the evening, like we did yesterday. We have a picnic on the beach with crab salad and sandwiches and enjoy this beautiful piece of nature. How easily you can climb back up to your car.