Lake Quinault

Karen and I stayed in a delightful little town near Lake Quinault on the last night and day of our adventure in the Olympic National Park.  Once again the scenery, the people, and God's creation caused us to pause and be grateful.

More big trees - this the largest Spruce Tree in the park. 

 After viewing the large Spruce tree, we took a short walk around the lake.

 A cozy, old fashioned motel with "thin" towels was our rest stop for the night.  I asked about a refrigerator and the hotel clerk said, "we don't have refrigerators...just trying to save money."  So, no refrigerator or microwave or big screen TV.  But look at the view:

Karen and I sat in the plastic chairs and watched a most glorious sunset.

The next morning we drove to the grand, old Lake Quinault Lodge and had a cup of overpriced coffee, just so we could enjoy the dining room.  I considered booking a room, but it was $452/night and not cancellable.  It was there that a woman kept staring at us and she finally came up to us and told Karen that she loved her hair!  No need to make excuses for going natural any more.  

The back side of the old lodge.

We enjoyed a 4 mile loop hike through another forest and along the lake.  Lots of 'sidewalks! 

Forks, WA and the HOH Rain Forest

I booked a small cabin on the Huckleberry Lodge property in Forks, WA, for our second night in the Park.  This place exceeded all our expectations.  We were greeted by the famous Mick Dodge of Nat-Geo fame who encouraged us to use the hot tub and light the prepared camp fire.  

Studying the book and places to eat!

Kitty, the owner, generously prepared salmon for us.  She said someone gave it to her yesterday and she decided to share it with her guests.  We met a mom and daughter from Phoenix, a single guy from San Deigo, and two young college students from Minnesota.  The morning around the campfire was a highlight of the trip for me and that's what I love about Airbnb - the opportunity to meet and visit with people in a home-like setting.  

 The goat became a pet after Kitti and her family fell in love with him.  

 Karen enjoyed visiting with Mick Dodge about yoga, walking barefoot, and loving the earth

 Later we found this T-Shirt and poster at a coffee shop near the entrance to the Hoh Rain Forest entrance.

I did not know how famous this dude is until John told me when I got back home.  John loves to watch Nat-Geo and said "Mick is my hero."

 We loved this hike through the rain forest.  I think it's where we met a man named Loren who had his camera set up on a tripod.  He told us he'd been watching an elk through the trees and when he got ready to shoot the pictures several teenagers walked by, talking and laughing, and the elk ran away.  Loren hopes his photography provides a second career for him.  He's a police officer in New York City and plans to retire in five months.  He comes to Washington State every year on the anniversary of 9/11.  Most of his fellow first responders have since passed away from cancer, probably as a result of the clean-up and rescue.  So far, he said he's lucky, but spots could show up on his lungs any time.

We saw several nurse logs and other seemingly dead trees where new growth sprouted up.  The trees are enormous and plentiful in the rain forest.  The orange lichens showed a glorious spot of color!

I called this three-leaf clover, but it's really Oregon Oxalis, a gorgeous green color.

Maple trees in a special section of the Rain Forest, some just barely starting to turn color.

Not to be outdone by Mick Dodge, Karen hiked the last half-mile or so barefoot!

Beaches in the Olympic National Park

The beaches in the Park offered Karen's favorite nature creation - ROCKS!  We spent hours

searching for the perfect round and heart shaped rocks as we walked up and down the beach.  The Washington State beaches have no commercial or private development in the Park.  One cannot even drive up and down the beach.  Rialto Beach is famous for piles of driftwood.  Tourists walk on rocks or small pieces of gravel, not the sand of the Oregon Coast beaches.

With our car loaded with rocks we headed over to LaPush for afternoon tea and home made black and blue cobbler!  Feeling energized we headed over to Forks, our stop for the night, but decided to do a little hiking on the way.  The hike to Beach #4 was delightful, another rain forest experience.  The soft rain did not detract from the beauty of the forest or our enjoyment of the hike.

 The pictures below were taken at Ruby Beach, actually the next day, with the sun shining on all those glorious rocks!

 We left with lots of memories of the beach and bags full of rocks for Karen to paint and ponder!

Olympic National Park

My sister, Karen, and I felt compelled to honor the 100th year anniversary of our national parks by spending a few days on the Olympic Peninsula.  We began our trip on the Bainbridge Island Ferry, watching the clouds get heavier and heavier.  Of course, this is Seattle, but we'd hoped for sunny skies all week so we could hike and see the views of the Olympic Mountains.

It was not meant to be, according to Tim, the volunteer at the Hurricane Ridge victor's center.  He told us to hold cotton balls in front of our eyes and that would be like our view all week from Hurricane Ridge.   The drive takes 45 minutes from Port Angeles, so we took his advice and drove to Crescent Lake.

The forest, with a carpet of fern and towering trees did not disappoint us.

 

We took some time to explore Crescent Lake Lodge, built in the 1930's.  

 I looked at their website when searching for lodging, but these old lodges are expensive!  I just imagine only wealthy people stayed in them over the years.  The dining room had a lovely view of Crescent Lake. 

 

We really enjoyed our hike to Sol Duc Falls.  Tim told us it was the only Falls near Port Angeles that had any water running this time of year, because of the drought!