We’ve spent the last four days in Olympic National Park and the weather has been beautiful. On Thursday we stayed right on the beach and spent the day exploring Ruby beach and other areas along the coast. Our campsite was perched on top of a bluff looking right down on the ocean and beach. Jack was tempted to steal the hundreds of huge mussel clams he found at low tide, but since the season was over and taking them would likely be some kind of Federal crime, he resisted temptation. Megan was able to take some great pictures of the Pacific Ocean and the sun setting over the horizon.
On Friday we moved campgrounds and explored another portion of the park: the Hoh Rainforest. Olympic National Park has a variety of ecosystems and believe it or not, one of them is the rainforest we spent the day in. A rare break in the rain allowed us to enjoy sun and warm weather while going on a couple of hikes. We got about 20 feet from an elk feeding on grass, watched countless black-tailed deer feed, and after watching an owl for about ten minutes, we watched him swoop down and try to catch a frog out of a pond.
Spirits were high and we were loving life when, while leaving the road from the rainforest, we heard a popping noise and the low tire pressure alarm started sounding. When Jack got out he could hear the air hissing out of his front tire, but when he noticed that both of the driver side tires were punctured it became a much bigger problem. Since we only had one spare tire and were towing the camper, we had some problem solving to do. Luckily we actually got phone service where it happened and there was a place to pull over so no damage was done to the rims. Unfortunately, according to emergency road side service, the only option was to leave the camper and have the truck towed…..that wasn’t going to happen. We called the closest town which amazingly had a tow company and a tire shop in it. A tow truck had to come out and get one of the popped tires and bring it all the way back into town, have the tire shop patch it, and bring it back out to us. With that fixed tire and the spare on we were back on the road in a couple hours. We were able to go get the other tire patched and put the spare back so we were operating at normal capacity again. This was a rough and expensive little incident but we felt very lucky that it happened where it did because it could have been much worse.
On Saturday, we needed a little rest and relaxation so we stayed in a campground inside the park that is connected to a hot springs lodge. The idea of sitting in the 106 degree thermal pools sounded like a good way to put the tire mishap behind us. Before becoming completely lazy we went to a nearby glacier-fed lake, rented two kayaks, and spent the middle part of the day paddling around and enjoying the views. When we got back it was time for the springs. Much to our surprise, the hot springs was a strange and awkward experience. The springs were not the rock pools of relaxation we dreamed of but more like shallow pools with European tourists lounging in them and staring blankly at newcomers. The sulfur smell did not help the situation and we never really managed to “relax”. Later that night Jack tried it out again and found it to have a better crowd of people, however after going from a 106 degree pool to the 60 degree pool a couple times, he almost passed out and decided to call it a night.
On Sunday, we moved again to yet another region of the park that is all mountains. We camped at a lower elevation but spent the day up at the top of Hurricane Ridge at 5600 feet where 13 feet of snow was present. The sun was shining and we even got a bit of a sunburn so weather was not an issue. We played in the snow, soaked up the rays, and just sat back and enjoyed the scenery. After that we spent the rest of the day in the town of Port Angeles at a coffee shop using the internet and then cooked a Creole shrimp boil dinner and sat by the campfire.
On top of Hurricane Ridge
We both agreed that Olympic was our current favorite park because of the diversity, wildlife, and stunning scenery. Although we were sad to leave this morning it was necessary to get up early and head out because our next destination is Yellowstone National Park (850 miles away!). We are currently driving through the beautiful mountains of Montana and looking forward to Wyoming.
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