7/28
The sky was blue and the air was crisp this morning. Gailbird and Jackie were riding in the car. Stinger , Bear , Uncle Eddie and Mary P all donned their motorcycle protective apparel. Even Uncle Eddie wore a helmet due to the state law. Pacific Coastal Highway 101 North with a destination of Port Angeles , Washington about 200 miles.
Off we went, I love when the warmth of the sun kisses my cheeks and the gust of wind tip toes across my face. Along the road was the evergreen forest combined with the green meadows with patches of tall brilliant colored wildflowers adorning the landscape. Bridges we traveled to cross streams and rivers. Road signs here are unlike Pa. ,such as , Rocks , Slide Area, Tsunami evacuation routes, moose and elk crossings. Gas prices here for regular gas ranges from $ 4.07 - $ 4.89 a gallon.
Uncle Eddie had three 10 inch diameter pancakes this morning and he complained that it felt like lead in his stomach all day. I experienced his releasing of gas pressure periodically through the day while we were riding the Harley. Mary P.

What a ride up through the Olympic Peninsula! The weather was perfect, in the high 60's and clear which is unusual for a rain forest, and the road was a great motorcycle road in most places. Some of it was as straight as a die, but a lot of it was the twisty stuff that faithfully follows a coast line, roads that are nonexistent through most of the mid section of the country. The Peninsula has seen a lot of clear cutting and it is obvious that the logging companies are very aware of the “Save Our Trees” mindset held by many people. As we traveled Highway 101, we could see signs posted with the last date that a particular plot was cut, the date it was replanted, and the date that it would again be harvested. Our destination for this day was the Olympic Rain Forest tour, which was only a half mile of walking, but gave one a clear understanding of how this ecosystem works. This section of the peninsula has never been harvested and is highlighted by a 900 year old Douglas Fir. Douglas Fir are a tree that grows after a disaster like a fire or the devastation of a Mt St Helens. In fact it can double root, meaning it can be buried in mud to the top and grow again, one of the only trees that can do that. New trees won't grow in an old growth forest because of the canopy and eventually it is replaced by species like Western Red Cedar. Because trees in the rain forest have such a shallow root system, their biggest enemy, causing 80% of mortality, is storms. The Peninsula gets on average 145 inches of rainfall a year. We saw trees growing out of trees, called nurse logs that had been felled by natural disasters. This situation can only happen in a rain forest because of the abundant moisture. The nurse log can hold tons of water, which sustains the “parasite” tree during the drier months of July and August. Our next stop was Ruby Beach, a place that we could view sea stacks. Sea Stacks are the rock left after wave action erodes away the softer rock. They stick up out of the beach like towers or bluffs. At this location we also saw the carcasses of huge trees washed up on the beach and bleached white by the sun. Then it was time to head to Port Angeles and the hotel. At this point Mary P decided she had enough of Uncle Eddie and opted for the car. Actually, she thought it was going to rain and the temperature kept dropping. About 15 minutes after we were underway Uncle Eddie pulled up alongside Bear and, lacking a radio, tried to communicate with much shouting and gesticulation, that he had left her at the beach. It turns out that she laid down in the back seat to take a nap, and Uncle Eddie couldn't see her in the car, hence his concern. Bear radiod the car to confirm she was there, crisis averted. Then miraculously Mary P's broken and missing glasses reappeared, all of it except the screw of course. The temple piece was found in her riding jacket, and the glasses were found in her camera case along with an old church bulletin and wedding program, items most people would file elsewhere like in a trash can. So, here we are at the Super 8 Motel in Port Angeles, all of us, including Mary P. And we made it to the Pacific Ocean where Bear got his feat wet and Stinger, like all good journalists, put himself in harms way to cover the story. See you tomorrow.