Olympic National Park

Day 25 – May 25 is our grandkid’s last day of school!  Wow!  Where has time gone?  The sun has been up and bright since 5:15. We are definitely feeling that sunlight change the further west and north we head.  Our destination today is the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park.  We said good-bye to our friends Ed and Carolyn (we will be volunteers with them starting next February back at LBJ National Park in Texas) and away we go!  For being in a rain forest, I have to say these clear blue skies and no mist are a little disappointment – not!  We walked the Mosses Trail. It is beautiful. When we were here 7 years ago, with the rainy mist it just seemed more like a rain forest.

 

Look at the pile of tree roots!

We also scored a great campsite at the Hoh Campground at the national park (site 25).  We are perched on the edge of the beautiful Hoh River. We spent our afternoon sunning. Then Donna did an awesome instant pot Tuscan Chicken dinner. We burned the rest of our propane on a really great and needed campfire. 10 pm and it’s still dusk looking.  LOL! A great day…..

Campsite on the Hoh River in the National Park

 Day 26 – May 26 -  finds us wishing Donna and Greg a happy 38^th anniversary!!! We enjoyed coffee by the Hoh River. Such a beautiful site. Greg made a great breakfast. We are headed to Sol Duc today, hotsprings located in Olympic National Park. Still can’t believe we are in a rain forest with clear blue skies.  The full hookups at Sol Duc RV resort leave a little to be desired by us (packed in to close to your neighbor), but the location was great.  We went and took a soak in the hot springs which was really enjoyable!  We made an anniversary dinner of steak and lobster for Donna and Greg. Then a campfire. All good! 

Oh – also took a 1.6 mile hike to Sol Duc Falls which was beautiful.

 

So pretty looking up into the tall trees.

Check out the rainbow on the Sol Duc Falls!

Hey! I think I know those guys on the bridge!

Tried to get Donna and Greg to spend their anniversary night here.

Day 27 – May 27 – A great way to start our day was with a black bear sighting in the campground. My pictures of the bear high up in the trees really kinda looks like a black blob, but it was cool.  It was a beautiful drive over to Port Angeles.  We found a full service site at Conestega RV Park.  It’s Memorial Day weekend and everything is full.  We haven’t done laundry in 5 or 6 days. Need I say more?  But first we stopped at the Farmers Market in Port Angeles.  Then we joined all the traffic that was headed to Hurricane Ridge  at Olympic National Park. (Despise holiday traffic jams…..) It was snowy up top and crowded (did I mention that before?) Went to dinner at Downriggers on the wharf.  Fish and chips and clam chowder.  Yummy!  Another good day.

The Wharf in Pt. Townsend. We ate with this type of view, able to watch the ferry that goes to Vancouver and a cruise ship that went by.

Hurricane Ridge - if you look close there are a few deer.

Great view!

A view of Mt. Hood across the Juan de Fuca strait

Olympic National Park is such a diverse biological place.  There is glacial ice, the waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Peninsula has really cool plants and animals that apparently aren't found anywhere else on earth.

Next up is Deception Pass, a ferry and then Canada!