Monday in Olympic National Park

Monday began bright and early with a ferry cruise to Bainbridge Island. We were headed to Olympic National Park.

The drive Northwest reminded me a little bit of Northern Maine. The park was nothing less than spectaculr. Stunning vistas around every corner.

We did a rather strenuous hike up the mountain to a place called Hurricane Ridge. Overlooking the Olmpic Mountains on one side and the Strait of Juan de Fuca which was British Columbia. I thanked my personal trainer with every step. Six months ago there was no way I would have been able to keep up with my family on this hike.




Spring was in full bloom at Hurricane Ridge. We spent some time photographing wildflowers.



This is before the hike, at the bottom of the ridge.
On the way up!
And at the top! Every direction was beautiful! Just gorgeous!!!





There are 3 ecosystems at Olympic National Park. The first is the mountain top, then there is a rainforest, the only one in North America. We had planned to head there next but a ranger suggested we go to Sol Duc. This spot was heavily wooded. We went on a shorter, much easier hike to the Narada Falls. Along the way we took some silly pictures!

And when we arived at the falls, we were in for a wonderful treat. It was breathtaking. The sun was hitting it at just the right angle to create rainbows in the mist. No matter which angle you looked at the falls there was a rainbow or two. Later on after touring Mt. Ranier we talked about our favorite spot in the parks and 3 of us said it had to be the falls. It was a hard choice though as this park was specatacular.

Another long drive after a full day of hiking Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains and Narrada Falls(the one with the rainbow) at Sol Duc. We stopped at the Sol Duc Hot Springs to inquire about a soak but Gail was put off by the Sulphur smell which is common to real Hot Springs. They actually have to cool the water from 126 deg down to 105 for bathing. So the only waters that we did partake of were in their restrooms:>)

Continuing on our journey to the next Olympia Park ecosystem we found our way to Kalaloch on the "rugged" Pacific coast. That's how all of the brochures describe it. Kalalock means "many clams". Arrived around 8:00pm and were totally enamored with our tidy little cabin overlooking the Pacific. We had a nice picnic dinner of roast chicken, soup and some other goodies that hit all the right spots on a misty, cool evening. Kayla was looking forward to having a nice evening for her sunset photos(sunset around 9:30pm this far north) but it was totally overcast and misting.

Gail and I awoke around 6:00am to catch the low tide at the tide pools a few miles down the beach. Breathtaking beach and lots of starfish, anemones, limpets, mussels, Gobys and various other squirmy things under the rocks.

We had a fancy($$$) breakfast at the lodge, great food but lousy service. After packing up and checking out we are heading to the Quinault Rain Forest, the last of the 3 ecosystems in the Olympic Park.