--11_08_2008_It gives you teeth--

--11_08_2008_Leaving Forks--

Well, they give you teeth... when you order the vampire burger.

You can take the boy out of the vampire town, but you can't take the vampire town out of the boy.

It was a great two days exploring highway 101 and the small town of Forks. Definitely looking forward to making my way back out to the Olympic Peninsula and exploring even more new territory.

~cheers
-brad

If you're reading this sign... ahhhh


Currently, Forks only has a little under 6 feet of its expected 11.5-12.5 feet of annual rain.


I hear vegetarian style is the best.




Waiting for the ferry back to Edmonds.

--11_08_2008_Beautiful Lake Crescent--

--11_08_2008_Beautiful Lake Crescent--

A tip from a friend left me excited to get a chance to come across a lake named Crescent during my Olympic Peninsula excursion. Lake Crescent resides right off of Highway 101 in the Olympic National Park on the way to and from Forks, Washington. Friday morning as I was making my way towards Forks it sorta snuck up on me, the lake pretty much comes out of nowhere. You pass a sign letting you know you're entering Olympic National Park, come over a slight rise and then down the hills and all of the sudden a large majestic body of water forms pretty much out of nowhere.

Crescent is a large, deep body of water caught on the outskirts of the Olympic Mountain range. I stopped wherever I could on the narrow two lane highway and took photos. I'd really love to come back to this area during the summertime and see the lake on a partly cloudy perfectly still day.... I can just imagine how glassy and reflective the water becomes.

cheers
-brad



Very, Very clear water.... also very cold water.






From natural to natural... with a little man made in between.

--11_08_2008_Forestry--

--11_08_2008_Forestry--

Forks, Wa was once known as the forestry capital of the United States. Like a lot of environmental businesses there was a boom era and a bust era. It's always sad to see how something people depend on can be gone in an instant. Even though Forks doesn't log nearly as much as they used to, the industry is still very evident. It's sad not to see the old growth forests anymore and the lack of biodiversity that comes with the logging of such forests. However, it is nice to see the quickness of the replanting taking place, and in some places very responsible selective cutting taking place instead of the most economical and most environmentally devastating type of cut, a clear cut.

Here are just a few photos I took of the logging in the area and how different the landscapes can be in such a lively, wet place.

reduce, reuse, recycle.... be responsible

-brad

10 year forest


35 year forest


protected forest in the Olympic National Park

--11_07_2008_Out to the OP (olympic peninsula)--

--11_07_2008_Out to the OP (Olympic Peninsula)--

The day started early on Friday. To make the most out of the daylight I left for Forks, Wa at 4:45 am in order to catch the 5:45 am Edmonds ferry. The total trip out to Forks ended up taking just under 4 or so hours including waiting for the ferry and the 20 minute or so ride from Edmonds to Kirkland on the west side of the sound.

Since I left so early a lot of the drive was in the dark and I needed to make it to Forks early to check in and start working.... So I didn't stop to take any photos on the way out, however I did snap a few through the window on the way.

If you ever have the chance, driving out and around the peninsula on highway 101 is an amazing experience and I would highly recommend it if you ever have the chance. I only did the northern part of the road, but that includes going through park of the Olympic National Park, past a beautiful lake named Crescent, and passing a few port towns along the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

For the drive be sure to have your I Pod loaded to the gills and let it run on shuffle. It seems like every song sounds better while driving through a temperate rain forest.

More to come from the weekend.

-best
brad

--11_07_2008_Vampires in the Rain--

--11_07_2008_Vampires in the Rain--

I'm heading out on a little drive out to the Olympic Peninsula in the wee hours of the morning. I am really looking forward to this trip, I haven't been farther west than Bainbridge Island since being out here in the Northwest and I am excited to wander around the OP for a couple days and make photos. To get to Forks from Seattle I am driving about 30 minutes north of the city to Edmonds and then taking a ferry across the Puget Sound. From there it is about a 2 and a half hour drive according the google.

I'm assigned to cover the small town called Forks, Washington. Forks is the featured town for the fictional series of Twilight books and the soon to be released Twilight movie. I don't know too much about the series or the movie, all I know is that it is based around vampires, a love story between a vampire and a human, and the conflict that comes with that relationship. You can read more about the books, movie, and the town here http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

I'll be in Forks until Saturday around noonish or so and then I am thinking of either heading just straight west out of the town to the ocean.... or going a tad out of my way to trek up to the northwestern most point of the continental United States. Any suggestions?

Then just cruising back to Seattle.

The OP gets a ton of rain and as you can see I think I'll be getting pretty wet over the next couple days. I won't let that dampen my spirits however.

4:30am is going to come quickly. I'll be on the look out for vampires offering me apples for sure.

Cheers,

-Brad