For October break this year we decided to head even more north in the Pacific Northwest than we have been before. We flew into Seattle, rented a car and circled around Olympic National Park.
For a few reasons, 1. being the rapid closing of areas for the season and 2. the 4 hour delay of traffic that was planned for the day after we left the Crescent Lake area, we decided to go counter clockwise around the park. Our first night we spent at the Log Cabins at Crescent Lake. I had stayed here many many years ago with my family, but only realized that after Ryan and I arrived. Our cabin was right on the lake and since it was off season, we didn't even have any neighbors. Just a camp of bats hanging outside of our door.
The next day we had the best breakfast ever at a place called Granny's Cafe. It was a sweet little family owned cafe with fantastic food! We headed into Olympic National Park to Hurricane Ridge and hiked to the highest point. You can see Canada across the water and the sea of clouds.
After that we went to Sol Duc Falls and hiked through the old growth forests to beautiful water falls. We love the green ferns and the neon moss.
We spent the second night in the town of Forks, WA which is known for the book and the site where they filmed the Twilight movies. Our hotel had the option of staying in the "Twilight Room" but we opted out of that (as I said, it would be like sleeping in my high school bedroom with all of the posters on the wall) Instead, we just stayed in a regular room.
There is not a lot of night life in Forks. But we found a great pizza place and had a nice night. The following day was raining so we decided to do a further drive to Ozette Lake, the largest natural lake in Washington state. The rain made the lake invisible behind the fog and clouds. So, we left there an headed over to the most northwest point of the contiguous United States. We hiked out to Cape Flattery and it was wonderful. The trail was mostly planks which made it relatively easy and we got super lucky with a break in the weather for the perfect amount of time we needed to do the hike.
We stopped at the Makah Reservation for lunch and then headed back down towards Forks and over to the coastal beaches near La Push, WA. At First Beach, we saw a Bald Eagle in the trees and looked for whales. No luck on the whales but still, really awesome. Then, we went to Rialto Beach and hung out on the drift wood.
On day 4 we ventured into the Hoh Rainforest which gets an average of 140 inches of rain each year. We did the Hall of Mosses hike and were mesmerized by the greenest green trees and moss. It was amazing. We got stopped by a huge herd of Roosevelt Elk and saw several banana slugs. We had a bit of trail magic when we met a couple along the trail and started chatting. They are from Austin, TX and were a lot of fun to talk with. The trail magic happened hours later when they sat down next to us at the restaurant we had stopped at for lunch! Traveling/hiking people are our favorite!
After our hike and before the lunch with our new friends, we took a detour to the the Largest Cedar tree and did some off-roading fun! We visited Ruby Beach and then stayed at the Kalaloch Lodge. We had our own cabin with a fireplace and we were steps from the beach. We watched the sunset and had a great dinner at the lodge and slept with the window cracked open just a bit so we could hear the waves crashing.
The next day, we went back to the Hoh Rainforest and this time we did the Spruce Trail, saw more elk and mushrooms and banana slugs. We both agreed that this is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
After our hike we drove down to Lake Quinault and the Quinault Valley in the Quinault Rainforest. We found Merriman Falls and Bunch Creek Falls, they were amazing and just off the side of the road.
We stayed that night back on the beach and had a beautiful sunset again! We really do love the Pacific Northwest.
The next morning we visited the Tree of Life and then headed south to Ocean City, WA. It was a super cute little beach-side town that has several beautiful homes. We spent some time looking at the real estate listings and found that we could totally afford a GIANT house there, in stark contrast to the fact that we cannot even pretend to afford even a tiny house here in San Francisco. Maybe one day we will be back Ocean City... maybe.
We headed back east and back to Lake Quinault. We decided to stay at the Lake Quinault Lodge for the night. Again, it really is awesome to travel on the off season. Things are usually available and always much cheaper than it would be during the summer. We spent the evening having dinner at the lodge and then we sat in the lobby by the GIGANTIC fireplace. We made friends with a lovely couple who live in Eugene, OR.
On our last full day, we visited the state capital (Olympia, WA). We met up with Ryan's family friend, Bill, on his lunch break. We walked around Olympia and then headed onward to Mount Rainier. Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier is an active volcano that (on a clear day) can be seen from miles and miles away.
Hitting up Mt. Rainier National Park made us mark off our 10th U.S. National Park together! Obviously, our Life Goal is to visit every park. We will get there.
We journeyed up to the Paradise visitor's center. We had perfect weather and hiked up from the visitor's center to see spectacular views of the entire park. That night we stayed at the Nisqually Lodge and prepared ourselves for the journey back to the airport the next day.
As we drove away from the mountain and back to the airport, we realized just how lucky we were with the clear weather the day before. Even though our lodge was directly below the mountain peak...we could not see it at all. It is crazy how much the weather can change overnight.
It is also crazy how much "time away" can help revive and rejuvenate us both. Even though our trip was pretty busy and we saw A LOT of beautiful things, we both felt refreshed and renewed when we got home and went back to real life. The feeling only lasts for so long though... we are heading back out this week to continue exploring our beloved Pacific Northwest. Stay tuned for our next adventure!
