Blog, West Coast
Olympic National Park
Feb
We spent that night before heading into Olympic National Park at Deception Pass State Park. We got there at sunset and had our fairy scheduled for first thing in the morning. We wish we would have planned more time there. Taking the bridges and the view around Fidalgo Island and Rosario Beach were incredible. We only had time to drive through so we could get camp set up before dark, but the drive was incredible. The kids were all glued to the windows. We loved it!! We were moving again the next morning before the kids woke up to get to the fairy. We took the RV from Fort Casey to Port Townsend on a fairy to get to the Olympic Peninsula. Taking a motorhome on a ferry is an memorable experience for children!
Leaving early in the morning gave us time to explore Olympic National Park all day. We went to Hurracane Ridge where we viewed glaciers through telescope. Hurracane Ridge is a really scenic and steep drive. We were above the clouds on the mountaintop.
The wildlife didn’t seem all that wild!
Lake Creasent was along the way and we stopped to jump in of course. The beauty is indescribable.
Our final adventure for the day was Sol Doc Falls. It was about a mile hike through the rain forest to some beautiful falls. The girls stopped every few minutes to ask for a picture. It was really incredible. It amazes me how it is so fertile that trees grow out of trees.
Our camp ground for the next two nights was incredible. We were parked about 100 yards from the shore at Quileute Oceanside Resort. The amazing thing about the resort is that it is a tiny strip of Indian reservation between two incredible beaches in the national park. We had full hookups with beauty of practically being in the park.
One of the highlights of the trip for me was having campfires on the beach. That was new to me, and I loved it. I’ll admit, the north west coast is not an annual destination for me. I prefer warm air and warm water, but it was incredibly beautiful. For people who prefer to stay out of the water I can see how they would enjoy sitting on the beach listening to the waves crash at a pleasant 60-70 degree temperature. For me I’d like the air and the water to be about 20 degrees warmer so I can get in. The cold air and practical ice water didn’t deter the kids. They got right in!
When you camp on the coast of a rain forest I guess you should expect rain, and it did rain on our “day off” at the coast. It was mildly inconvenient because we still hiked to 2nd beach and enjoyed more of the beauty of the rain forest. We rested and watched some moves and still enjoyed exploring the beach. It was the one-day of the trip that I didn’t feel that our schedule was full to the max. It was good to catch up on laundry and enjoy some down time. I need to remember to plan a little more down time in my future road trip planning.
The rain forest grows big critters! This slug was bigger than my hand!
On our way out of Olympic National Park we spent some time at Ruby beach. It was well worth the stop. We bribed the kids to not get wet so we had fun exploring rather than playing in the water.
Our final stop in the park was to see this 1000-year-old humongous sitka spruce tree near Lake Quinault. It was incredible. The scenery and the magic of the rain forest did not get old for us.
