We decided that we would walk the "Moments in Time" trail at Lake Crescent as it was the right length to fit into the limited time we had left on the Peninsula. One of the volunteers in the ranger station tried to convince us that we could go to Marymere Falls and back in 40 minutes (which was very tempting), but the ranger who had led that days walk to the falls told us that 1.5 hours is more realistic. This cemented our decision to go on the shorter "Moments in Time" trail.
The "Moments in Time" trail was very enjoyable. It goes through forest that is not as dense as the Hoh, though the trees are equally impressive in height and width. The ground is not as thickly carpeted here compared to the Hoh. There is moss hanging from the trees, but it is a much muted display of moss than the rain forest version. The dominant evergreens in this forest are Western red cedars, Douglas firs and western hemlocks. This photo shows Vikram standing in front of a fire ravaged western red cedar tree trunk. The bark of the trunk is all that remains.
Me amongst trees and ferns.
The abundance of ferns along parts of this trail seemed to harken back to the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. However, the presence of trees stumps showed that logging was prevalent in this forest before it was protected.
Vikram in the forest bordering Lake Crescent.
The trail took us to Lake Crescent, where we saw boaters enjoying themselves on the water. The trees almost reach the water's edge all along the perimeter of this body of water.
We were near the lake for a very short time as the trail quickly returned to the forest. It was an enjoyable trail, and I would highly recommend it.
Our goal after returning to the car was to arrive in the Seattle area before dark, which at this time of year meant by around 8:30p.m. After we were past the road construction, it was clear that we could achieve our goal only if we caught the 7:15 Kingston ferry. We drove to the ferry dock without stopping in the hope that we would indeed arrive in time for the this ferry. Along the way, we saw Mt. Baker occasionally, and lots of water views. As we neared Kingston, Vikram said that another snow covered peak was visible, but he couldn't tell which it was. It turned out to be Mt. Rainier.
We did manage to arrive at the ferry dock in time for the 7:15 departure, which was good. The next ferry would have been 30 minutes later, which by itself is not too long of a wait........
The photo to the left shows Mt. Baker with a cloud obscuring the left side, taken from the ferry. Mt. Baker is far north of Seattle. It is visible from Seattle too, though not as easily as Mt. Rainier.
On the left is an out of focus view of Mt. Rainier, taken on the return ferry trip. (I'm still learning to use our digital camera.
Since it was getting late in the day, we decided to pick up food from a Vietnamese restaurant near the University District before returning to Vinoo and Gillian's place. Gillian had made delicious dahi wadas and some other food for dinner. Together with the Vietnamese food, it made for an excellent meal.
The next day we left for Chicago. Overall, we had an enjoyable time on this vacation, and would return back if the opportunity arises again. After all, we would still like to see the Pacific Ocean from this part of the world. (We've been fortunate enough to see this ocean from California and Australia.)
