Cape Flattery

Since we were in Forks only a short time, so we tried to cram everything into what few days we had.  On Thursday, we drove some fifty or so miles northwest to visit Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States.  The views along the way across the Strait of Juan de Fuco to Victoria were breathtaking

We first had to obtain a permit from the Makah Tribe, on whose reservation Cape Flattery is located.  Many of them make their living from the sea, and their boats were moored in the harbor in the small town of Neah Bay. 

We drove a few miles further, then leashed up the dogs and walked the .75 mile trail through the rain forest.  The trail is slippery in spots, and quite a bit of it is over boardwalks that meander between the trees.  The vegetation here looks much as it did in the Hoh Rainforest except that the trees aren't quite so large.

The views from the lookouts are spectacular, though.  Incoming waves crash on giant rocks below, and seabirds wheel and dive along the cliffs.

And a mile or so across the water stands Tatoosh Island with its lighthouse.  No one lives on the island now.  The light has been automated for many years, as is the foghorn which sounds several times each minute.  The light keeper's job must have been a lonely one before technology took over those responsibilities.