Jul 22, 2012 - Hiking in the Hoh Rain Forest

We finally saw some more wildlife. We were driving into the Hoh Rain Forest section of Olympic National Park when we encountered a herd of Elk. Stopping along the roadway, Karen stuck herself out of the motor home to get some pictures. Our visit to the Ranger Station helped us decide where we wanted to hike today. It rained all day long, but being in the rain forest we found many pockets along the trail where the rain did not make it to the floor so we could escape getting wet. There were a plethora of mosses on the first trail we hiked...

Jul 14, 2012 - Day 17

We headed out of our Lake Crescent site and drove around 101 to Port Angeles, where we could look across the Strait of Juan De Fuca (Sp?) at Canada (Victoria I think). We then went back in to another part of Olympic National Park- to Hurricane Ridge- where the views were amazing. It felt like we were looking out at the Alps and caused the desire to sing 'the hills are alive with the sound of music'. Then we continued on to our KOA in Seattle. We got the rig washed and settled in to try to eat the rest of the food on board. The boys played...

Jul 14, 2012 - Day 16

We got up and saw whales again as we left our beach parking spot. We headed up the coast to Ruby beach and then Mora Beach. We could walke down and climb rocks and explore. The drift wood was so cool! At Mora, we got down to where the tidal pools were and saw huge starfish and animones! So cool! Then we drove around through more rain forest and over to Crescent Lake where we got some kayaks. The lake was so blue -amazing even after Crater Lake! The lake is up to 900 feet deep! We drove around to the other side of the lake and got a site...

Jul 12, 2012 - Day 15

We left Portland and headed to Olympic National Park, entering at the Soutwest and going to the temperate rain forest first where we hiked around a lake and through the rain forest and saw more big trees and cool plants. Then we headed up to the beach and after checking out two beaches, we returned to the first and claimed our site so we were parked looking out over the ocean. The boys hoola hooped and battled with the swords they got in Portland and we took a long walk down the beach where we found lots of sand dollars. When we got back to...

Jul 12, 2012 - Lake Crescent

Imagine cool, crystal clear waters surrounded by tall hemlock and fir trees and you will have envisioned Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. The blue waters draw you in and offer an abundance of activities such as fishing, swimming, canoeing and my favorite kayaking! It is at Crescent Lake Lodge that we decided to have a picnic along the lake shore. This day would be a special treat because Uncle Bobby and Aunt Liz from Florida who also enjoy the benefits of the RV life, were joining us. Picnic items in hand, we sat down in some...

Jul 12, 2012 - Picnic, Kayaking & Fishing

Today we drove back to Lake Crescent for a picnic, fishing and kayaking. Bobby and Liz drove from Elma, WA to meet us. They had a much longer drive than us, we were happy they made the trip, we really enjoyed our time with them. Vickie and Liz went kayaking for two hours after the picnic while the rest of us went fishing. The fishing was fun, but we didn't catch anything, not even a bite. :-) We did watch a man next to us in a boat pull a big one in. The lake has a catch and release policy for those who want to fish without a license. This...

Jul 6, 2012 - Day of Exploring

We took Vickie and Sammy on a bit of a whirlwind tour today. We wanted them to see the Olympic Mountains at Hurricane Ridge on a sunny day in all their glory. They did not disappoint. We stopped at one of the waterfalls and let Sammy put his foot in the water, it was so cold he didn't keep it in very long. :-) We also visited Port Angeles and the Marine Life Center. We wanted Sammy to see what he would be looking for in the wild at Salt Creek when we visited the tidepools after Port Angeles. He touched a few starfish and had a good time...

Sep 17, 2011 - Olympic Peninsula National Park

What a diversity of environments!! Mountains, Ocean, Arid, Rain Forest...Amazing! We spent 6 nights on the Peninsula after thinking we would make the loop in a couple of days. *We stayed in the following campgrounds: Fort Worden at Port Townsend - Beach camp on Puget Sound, Heart O' The Hills - Near Port Angeles on edge of mountain, Altair - in the deep woods on Elwa River where a dam is being removed to return park to natural state, Soleduc - higher elevation with a salmon cascade where they were trying to jump a very large rapid,...

Aug 15, 2011 - Hurricane Ridge Mountain

We drove around the Olympic Peninsula today and went up to Hurricane Ridge Mountain in the Olympic National Park. We used our senior pass for national parks card and got in free. We have used it the whole time we have been retired, and it is worth the whole $10 that you pay for it, so everyone that is qualified to get one please do. We stopped at the Seven Cedars casino in Blyn and ate breakfast and took some pictures of the totem poles that decorate the outside. Then on down to Sequim to the John Wayne Harbor, his family donated the land...

Aug 4, 2011 - Day 64 - Olympia National Park

Left early again yesterday morning - about 7 am to get to Coupeville, WA to catch the ferry by 9:30 am. It was 90 miles to the ferry and we didn't want to miss it or cut it close. We drove I-5 to WA-20 and drove across Deception Pass to the ferry dock to Port Townsend just pass Coupeville. We waited about 45 minutes to board the ferry. While on the deck waiting to leave we saw the baby sea gulls. The ride was smooth as it has been every ride so far. We arrived in Port Townsend about 30 minutes after we left. As we headed out of town we...

Jul 19, 2011 - Olympic N.P. and the End of Our Stay.

Monday we made our road trip into the N.P. We went to the Visitor Center and had our NP Passport Book stamped and then went on the drive to Hurricane Ridge. This was a steep uphill grade to the 5750 foot elevation. The end of the road was at a visitor center with many story boards on a veranda. The low clouds and haze limited the picture taking but we did get a few. On the way back down the hill we spotted several cars off on the shoulder looking up the hill. As we passed we saw they were looking at a Black Bear. We turned around a ways...

Jan 14, 2011 - Snow Hurricane Ridge

We went for another incredible drive today. We drove back to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. It is a seventeen mile drive up to the visitors center at the top. We visited the park before when we first arrived in Washington. This time it was covered with snow and absolutely incredible! We saw a lot of waterfalls on the way up. The roads became quite icy at the top, but were nice on the way up. We made another quickie snowman. This one was easy, we could reach the snow right from the visitors center patio. :-) We went inside...