The next day we drove to the Hoh Rainforest, and set up camp near the Visitor's Center. After setting up camp, A and I tried to jump in the river that was right next door, but it was freezing! When we were done freezing out butts off, we did a few little hikes, such as the Hall of Moss and Spruce Nature Trail, around the rainforest. I'd never been in a rainforest before so I was really excited to cross that off my bucket list.
On our last night A and I knew we wanted to camp on the beach, but the best place to do that was Shi Shi Beach, two hours in the opposite direction from home. So rather than add two hours to our trip home, we settled on Rialto Beach, which was just directly west from the Hoh Rainforest. While the Mora campsite wasn't on the beach like we wanted, it was still very close to the beach (about a mile and a half). After setting up camp, we hiked along the water, climbing over the driftwood and racing up the shore when the waves came so as to not get soaked. It was probably better that we couldn't camp on the beach since it was so windy!
The next morning we got up and began the long drive home, stopping to have a proper meal and some local beer at Kalaloch Lodge and to jump in a lake at the Lake Quinault Lodge since none of the campsites we stayed at had showers and therefore hadn't showered in three days! While we may have been stinky for three days, those three days of being completely disconnected from cell service and the internet was exactly what we needed before a starting a semester of reading, classes, and other school obligations. It was truly the perfect way to say goodbye to summer and start the new school year.