We arrived back in Olympia on Thursday, one day later than we expected, after our trip to NY. Our flight out of Plattsburgh was delayed by a day due to mechanical problems. Unfortunately, we had two separate tickets and it ended up costing us $600 more, but at least we were in first class.
After getting the 5th wheel out of storage and re-stocking it, we were ready to get on the road again. In one week, we experienced the stunning and unique beauty of Olympic National Park, Northern Cascades National Park, and Mt. Rainier National Park.
Our first stop off of 101 was Quinault Rain Forest. We parked by the forest-ringed shore of Lake Quinault and yes it was raining, but we were on the Olympic Peninsula. Between the cool ocean currents, westerly winds, and the Olympic Mountains, they average between 120-167 inches of rain annually. We hiked the trail to the world's largest Sitka spruce tree: 58 feet, 11 inches circumference, 191 feet tall and approximately 1000 years old.
Also, in this same valley is the world's largest red cedar, douglas fir, and mountain hemlock. Unfortunately, we could not get to them all pulling the 5th wheel.
We continued on up 101 to Kalaloch Campground on South Beach. Bob could read my mind; we were walking on the beach in less than 10 minutes of arriving. There are few things that I love more that listening to the surf while searching for treasures from the sea.
I was rewarded with a perfectly intact sand dollar. As we walked backed up to the campground, Bob shook his head when he saw the warning sign about “killer logs” and very little about the dangers of swimming.
We woke the next morning to sunshine and planned on enjoying every moment of it. We walked up to Kalaloch Lodge along the beach in the morning and spent the afternoon sitting in our lawn chairs overlooking the ocean.
The next morning, we pulled into Ruby Beach, a few miles north on 101. We hiked the short trail to the beach, awed by the jagged stacks and rugged coast. The pile of logs on the beach give a whole new meaning to driftwood. Just as we were ready to leave the sun poked through the spruce trees...no rain gear needed today!
As we started driving north, we had to make a decision on whether to go to Hoh Rain Forest or continue on toward Sol Duc. It was a tough decision... sunshine versus an 80 mile side trip and rain. We stopped briefly in Forks, famous for the setting of the Twilight books and movies, for diesel, arriving at the Sol Duc Campground early in the day. We had our choice of sites since we were the only campers in the campground. We were looking forward to going to the Hot Springs, but it was closed for the season. From the campground, we hiked to Sol Duc Falls, a cascading waterfall tucked in the Sitka spruce trees.
That evening after dinner, we sat by the campfire. It was eerie sitting under the canopy of the huge sitka spruce watching the sun go down and listening to wolves howl in the distance. Our eyes were playing tricks on us and I almost expected a vampire or a werewolf to jump out.
We could not believe our luck when we woke to the sun poking through the fog. Before long, we were on our way to Crescent Lake which skirts along 101. Cresent is a very deep lake known for its Beardslee trout. It was a tempting place to stop and camp, but we had only been on the road for less than an hour.
We stopped at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles and inquired about the road to Hurricane Ridge. At 5,200 elevation and 34 miles RT, the Ranger did not recommend that we take the 5th wheel down that road. We decided to put it on our “to do” list for next time. We went on to Port Townsend to catch the ferry to Coupeville. While waiting for the ferry, we had lunch on the deck of a deli right next to a gull, waiting for any morsel that we might drop.
After getting off the ferry at Coupeville, we made our way up to Deception Pass State Park arriving just before sunset. We saw several deer feeding in the campground.
We went for a hike the next morning that ended down by the ocean before heading to the North Cascades National Park. It was a pretty drive along the Skagit River. It wasn't raining, but looked like it could start snowing any minute. We spent some time at the Visitor Center talking to the Ranger who told us that they were closing today due to a storm in the forecast.
Since it was 250 miles on the North Cascades Loop to Lake Chelan and snow was predicted, it was an easy choice to go to Mount Rainier National Park.
We arrived at the Nisqually entrance to the Park in the late morning. After getting some information from the Ranger, we headed to the Longmire, the original park headquarters in 1899 and now a national historic district. The National Park Inn and the Longmire Museum are both still operating.
Some of the animal displays in the museum are over 100 years old and the slice of Douglas fir on display outside was impressive. Its growth began in 1293 and was cut down in 1964.
We were able to drive as far as Paradise where the view of Mt. Rainier was spectacular. Rainier is often cloudy, cloaked in moisture, with record-setting quantities of snow. Today, however, offered blue skies, sunshine, and crimson hillsides.
We meandered down the trail of Myrtle Falls enjoying the breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier.
The park did not offer RV campgrounds, but the Ranger recommended Alder Lake Park. We found a great site across from the lake with deer roaming throughout. We had about an hour to soak up the last of the evening sun and relax before dinner. The next day, we went back into the park to go hiking at Kautz Creek. On our way back to our campsite, we stopped at the historic Copper Creek Inn for some of their award-winning blackberry pie and ice cream, hot out of the oven every 45 minutes. Yum!
By the next afternoon, we were back at Barb and Michael's in Olympia. It was the end of a great journey...8 days and only one rainy day. That is as good as it gets in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the fall.
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