After a bit of wandering, we headed further west to Neah Bay. Since it was less impressive than expected, we just drove through and continued on to the Cape Flattery Trail. Cape Flattery is the most northwestern point in the lower United States, and boasts great views of the ocean and Tatoosh Island. We began the hike and quickly agreed that this trail was our favorite. The Makah Tribe has spent the last several years renovating the muddy, dangerous walking trail into one that is beautiful, unique, and safe. The trail seemed endless, as we discovered that there are five separate viewing areas—each with a unique view. At the end of the trail, we ran into Connie and Chuck, a couple that we’d seen in Port Angeles the previous day. They are avid hikers and wildlife enthusiasts—and were willing to share their knowledge with us. We spent some time learning about various wildlife and birds, even looking through their binoculars to identify species we’d never seen. From one of the lower viewing areas we could hear the sea lions barking deep within the caves, but non came close enough to see. 
Just as we’d planned to walk back, the clouds cleared and the sun made the dark water a beautiful green, so we stayed a while longer enjoying the new perspective and taking a second round of pictures.
After a long walk back to the car, we decided to return to Neah Bay and visit the Makah Museum. The exhibit includes artifacts uncovered from a pre-contact Makah village partially buried by a mudslide nearly 500 years ago. We wandered the museum and saw a full-size replica of a long house, cedar dug-out canoes, whaling, sealing, and fishing gear, basketry, and other man made tools. The collection and its condition were impressive. We wandered around until about noon and decided that we should head south to Forks. We still had a lot of walking ahead of us.
The drive to Forks seemed to pass pretty quickly and it wasn’t long before we were checking in to our hotel and planning the afternoon. Forks looked unimpressive, so we decided to head straight to La Push. It was a nice drive, and I enjoyed thinking about the Twilight stories as I road along the only road between the two places. 
We entered the reservation and made our way straight to the end—First Beach. The beach was covered in driftwood, so we did some climbing around and enjoying the view before deciding to move along to Second Beach. For this, the guide books could not be more wrong. In every book I read (and believe me, there were a lot), the recommendation is First Beach, leaving Second and Third Beach as sort of afterthoughts. This is FALSE. Second Beach was one of the most incredible places I’ve even been. There are truly no words to describe it. And to make it all better? We were the only ones there. I’ll admit, it’s not the most convenient—we walked about ¾ miles through the woods and on a steep incline to reach it—but that should be no excuse! We spent several hours walking up and down the beach taking photos as the clouds shifted and the sun began to set. The low tide created incredible tide pools with bright orange and purple starfish, hot pink and neon green sea anemones, and everything else you can image. We’d already made plans to watch the sunset from another nearby beach (with vehicle access) so we made our way back through the woods before it got too dark. As we walked back, we stopped to enjoy the silence. For the first time in my life I understand where the phrase “silence is deafening” came from. It’s the most unusual feeling to stand in complete and total silence. No people. No cars. No planes. No bugs. Nothing. The denseness of the forest silenced the sound of the waves. As we stood enjoying the perfect stillness, we heard a low humming sound—it was a hummingbird. We couldn’t believe that it was so quiet that we could hear such a small sound from a distance.
As the sunset began, we were torn as to whether to go straight to Rialto Beach to watch it, or to find dinner. The few restaurants that are available in the area stop serving at 8:00pm, and it was already just after 7:00. We went further into the reservation and found a diner right on the water. 
We were the only patrons, so we grabbed a seat next to the large windows overlooking the water. While we waited for our dinner we watched the seagulls in a frenzy as a fishing boat returned, a seal in the harbor fighting with more gulls for fish, and as we sat, a bald eagle landed on a post about 15 feet from our table. We were thrilled! I’d never seen one so close, and didn’t realize how large they were. As we stared at the bird in awe, another flew up and landed beside it. Dinner and a show!
We finished up our dinner and made our way to Rialto Beach to watch the sunset. Along the way we stopped at a gas station which happened to be the Forks/La Push Treaty Line, so having just re-read Eclipse, you know I had to stop for a photo!
Rialto Beach was i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.e. The sunset went from yellows and teals, to deep oranges, amazing blues, and hot pinks. We sat along the driftwood in amazement, staying until well after dark.
After a long day, we went back to Forks and unloaded the car. Our hotel was Twilight-themed! We flipped on the light and squealed (well, I did, at least). The walls were red and black, with trendy red and black comforters, Twilight embroidered towels, red lampshades, movie posters, and last but not least—a flatscreen with DVD player in order to watch Twilight with! And yes—we watched it again. We’d picked up some champagne earlier in the trip, so we popped the bottle and relaxed after a long day of walking and exploring.
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