Rainbow Falls - Day Two~

Saturday dawned overcast & cool.  The rarity of spending time in an old growth forest wasn't lost on us...  So sad to know that this remnant is the last remaining, of the once vast expansive forests that covered this part of the state.  Of course - there are only remnants left everywhere - small islands of trees that have lived longer than any of us ever will.  Hanging on - even as the environment around them has been changed forever by rampant logging.

Willapa Hills Trail

We did some hiking & some exploring.  I was surprised to find that there are two horse camping spots here.  When I asked about trails, I was told that the trail above was accessible just across the road from the park.  Since it's a lineal trail - it wasn't what I would have hoped to find - but definitely worth bringing Farah back sometime to ride it!

Rainbow Falls~

 Since we hadn't found the actual falls yesterday - today - that was the goal.  We found the right trail - there weren't that many & soon the sound of the water guided us the rest of the way.  

Butch, Nika & Rascal

It wasn't the type of waterfall that I would have expected, but it was certainly beautiful in it's own way.  I'm sure it's much more impressive when the river is higher in the fall or spring.  We hiked all the trails we could find.  The park felt small to me - at the edges the light from the clear cuts bled through the dappled shade of the old growth.

Under-story~

The native plants that comprised the ground-covers were truly amazing!  I've never been in a place so heavily used & yet with such diversity of plants!  Salomon Seal, Trillium, Vanilla Leaf, Huckleberry, just about every plant in my Native Plant books!   Seeing how they compliment each other in the wild was so beautiful.

We toured the small fuchsia garden, then spent some time relaxing in the large open space in the middle of the campground.  Skyla & Josie showed Papa & I how very fast they can run!  Skyla - fast as a Cheetah - Josie - fast as the Wind!  In another year or two they'll be neck & neck!  Rumor has it that their Daddy has to hustle to catch them!  :-)

Two little beauties~

With no internet service - people at the park were playing ball - kicking back & enjoying each others company - it almost seemed strange to not see everyone looking down at their smartphones!

Another perfect evening - cooler - so the fire felt good!  Somemores with Big marshmallows hit the sweet spot!

Us~

The weekend was over way to fast - it was hard to say good-bye for now... Ben came home with us - he had a job interview on Monday.