Blogs from Olympic National Park, Washington, United States, North America - page 2

On April 28, 2013, we took the Black Ball Ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, Washington ($68 round trip.) We arrived a bit earlier than I had reserved the Budget car rental for, but luckily they had something available and soon we were on our way up Hurrican Ridge. There was a lot of fog, so I was driving really slow. Good thing too, because as I crept around a corner, a bunch of deer came into view. I was driving slow enough to not scare them off and we were able to snap some pictures. As we drove higher up the mountain, the fog cleared - we were above all the clouds and the blue sky and mountain peaks came into view. Hurricane Ridge is said to be one of Olympic National Park's best look ... read more

Day 5 Diversified Diversified – ‘being composed of different elements’. I cannot think of a better way to describe the Olympic National Park. In one day we traveled from the mountains, to the city, to the lake, to the beach, to the rain forest, to more beaches and beyond. There are not many places in the world where you can see so many different elements or ecosystems in one small area. Diversified – yes that is a good description. Today began early for me, as all the other days have – around 4am. I just cannot seem to sleep past 4 regardless of how tired I feel. I guess I am still not accustomed to the Pacific Time zone (or I miss my own bed and pillow). After getting everyone else up (yes, I let them ... read more

Thurs, 24 May It rained overnight and most of the morning. We had just about decided to stay at our campground in Hoquiam another night when the sun came out. We quickly broke camp and got back on Hwy 101, which pretty much loops the Olympic Peninsula, circling the Olympic National Park. Our first stop was the ranger station at Kalaloch, on the west coast of Washington, but the ranger was out to lunch, so we drove to the picnic/day use area instead. There we walked down to the beautiful beach and took a few pictures. We drove next to Ruby Beach, just a few miles north. Another spectacular beach with postcard scenery. We then turned inland and found the road to the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center in Olympic National Park. The road runs along ... read more

It has been a while since our last blog and given the fact that our time in the US is coming to an end we figured a new post would help us get back on track in documenting our experiences. I recently went on a few hikes that are blog worthy so there is no time like the present to start blogging again. Next week we leave for a 26 day tour which includes Crater Lake, Sonoma, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, Arroyo Grande, LA, Boston, Vermont, Connecticut, NYC, Chicago, and the Mosher family farm in Illinois. Realizing that our time is limited we are trying to take advantage of our proximity to old friends and new places. Elyse’s friend Holly and her husband Jason recently moved from San Diego to Bremerton, Washington. Elyse and Holly ... read more

Entry 27: Olympic Peninsula, Washington: Campbell Tree Grove to Seattle, Washington Sunday, August 22 - Monday, August 23, 2010 More Hospitality from the Col… Thoroughly exhausted, both physically and mentally, from our Colonel Bob peak summit in the Colonel Bob Wilderness of the Olympic National Forest, Scott and I knew that it was again around 6:30 p.m. We needed to decide where to spend the night, our options being to try and continue around east to the only part of the park that we were not able to examine: the Southeast corner. However, in looking at the road atlas, we realized that there was no “bottom part to the Hwy 101 loop,” and it would actually be over 100 miles of driving (past dark). The good karma was provided from the Colonel Bob once again, as ... read more