Olympic National Park
Our next stop was a very rustic Campground that overlooked the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Whiskey Creek Beach NW. The views were beautiful, the temperature was usually in the 60s, and the owners of the campground were former Texans! She was from the Dallas area and he was from Austin. The only problem with the campground was getting our trailer out! More on that later.
Our final stop for the Day was Ruby Beach on the Washington Coastline. The information we read said that it got its name from the flecks of garnet that were a part of the sand giving it a ruby appearance. That part was a bit of a disappointment. The sand just looked muddy brown to us! The views, however, were amazing.
The beach was covered in fallen trees. A sign indicated that every year during the rainy season when they receive in excess of 140 inches of rain, many trees wash away and end up on the beach. Evidently, many people are killed every year by trees washing across roads and beaches.
It was very foggy at Ruby Beach. It was low tide so there was a little island just behind those two large rocks and people had set up umbrellas, etc to enjoy the beach there. You do have to be careful or you can get trapped on the island when the tide comes in.
That's the sun behind those clouds. That's how foggy it was.
Our final full day, we just hung out in Port Angeles and at the campground enjoying the views. Then the next day we had to figure out how to get out of the campground. Our campsite had a beautiful view from the top of a hill but in order to get out you had to either drive down the very steep hill or back out onto a gravel road, around another camper and through a very narrow gate. Then back into a driveway to turn around. We decided to drive down the steep hill. It looked like we had it made until the last minute when our bicycle rack and the hitch that holds it got stuck. We put some blocks under the wheels to lift it a bit. That worked great until the rear jacks got stuck on the blocks. Long story short, Patrick and our good Samaritan neighbor, Todd were able to use their brute strength to get the block unstuck and then we were free! Thanks Todd! The adventure continues.
This was our view as we pulled into the campground!
The owners of the campground purchased the old boat above and had to deconstruct it to get it to the campground and then put it back together. They plan to restore the inside and rent it out as a cabin.
As you look across the Strait of Juan de Fuca you can see Vancouver Island. We also saw a lot of cruise ships and barges go in and out through the strait.
Sunset at the campground! I couldn't pick just one.
If you look very carefully at the bottom of the U between the trees you will see a bald eagle. Two of them put on an aerobatic show for us one evening.
Our first venture into Olympic National Park was to Hurricane Ridge. Here are some shots of our drive in and the hike we took while there.
This Texas girl is always excited about seeing snow on the ground in July and August so I had to take this picture.
This was really cool. The sign below labeled all of the peaks across the mountain range in this picture taken from this exact spot so we were able to locate each peak. We were very fortunate that it wasn't too cloudy or too smokey for us to see the peaks.
Our second day, we drove up to Crescent Lake and then on to the Hoh Rainforest and finally to Ruby Beach. It was a very busy day.
Crescent Lake is a beautiful lake inside Olympic National Park. You can stay in the lovely lodge or the guest cabins nestled around the Lodge. Both looked charming. They have kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards for rent right there at the lodge next to the Lake.
The Lodge
Look how clear the water is.
Doesn't this look like a great place to read a book!
The view from the sun porch of the Lodge.
Next we moved on to the Hoh Rainforest, which is one of the finest remaining examples of temperate rainforest in the U.S.
The Hoh River
Our view driving into the Park.
This one looked like a giant ant to me.
This is an example of a nurselog from above.
For any of my Texas friends who have tried and failed to keep ferns alive through a Texas summer, I just had to show you how they grow wild here. The northwest is full of wild ferns.
Our final stop for the Day was Ruby Beach on the Washington Coastline. The information we read said that it got its name from the flecks of garnet that were a part of the sand giving it a ruby appearance. That part was a bit of a disappointment. The sand just looked muddy brown to us! The views, however, were amazing.
The beach was covered in fallen trees. A sign indicated that every year during the rainy season when they receive in excess of 140 inches of rain, many trees wash away and end up on the beach. Evidently, many people are killed every year by trees washing across roads and beaches.
It was very foggy at Ruby Beach. It was low tide so there was a little island just behind those two large rocks and people had set up umbrellas, etc to enjoy the beach there. You do have to be careful or you can get trapped on the island when the tide comes in.
That's the sun behind those clouds. That's how foggy it was.
Our final full day, we just hung out in Port Angeles and at the campground enjoying the views. Then the next day we had to figure out how to get out of the campground. Our campsite had a beautiful view from the top of a hill but in order to get out you had to either drive down the very steep hill or back out onto a gravel road, around another camper and through a very narrow gate. Then back into a driveway to turn around. We decided to drive down the steep hill. It looked like we had it made until the last minute when our bicycle rack and the hitch that holds it got stuck. We put some blocks under the wheels to lift it a bit. That worked great until the rear jacks got stuck on the blocks. Long story short, Patrick and our good Samaritan neighbor, Todd were able to use their brute strength to get the block unstuck and then we were free! Thanks Todd! The adventure continues.
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