Olympic National Park Day 1 and 2
It's time to leave Seattle and get on the ferry to head over to Olympic National park. Scott and I were excited and nervous about the idea of driving on a large boat with tons of other cars. It was foreign to us for sure. We got there 25 min. early and paid for the car and us passengers and got in line. We were 4th car in line and we sat there till they started loading. Since we were in the front we were right up center from of the boat. We parked and got out of the van and heading upstairs to the upper deck to see the city and the mountains as we left. The wind was crazy but the view were amazing. The captain announced that they spotted a wale but no one on the ship saw it we were all looking for sure. I would say the ride the the other side was about 25-30 minutes long. We got back in the van and when we got into port we began our journey to the Kalaloch campground.
First stop on the journey was the grocery store. We needed to fill the cooler with camping food for the days we were going to be there. Safe Way was the place! We plugged in the address on my phone for the campground and enjoyed the view along the way. When we got into Port Angeles it told us to take a left and so we did and we began going up these beautiful windy roads with mountains capped with snow and major dropped ridges which was about 45 minutes to the top of this mountain. I said to Scott are we camping on the top of this or what??? We get out and see a visitor center and walk in to use the bathroom and talk to them and they kinda chuckled when I asked where kalaloch campground was... She said well it's about 2.5 hours down and west. She then proceeded to ask if we used our phone gps? It was not the first time she heard that!!! Womp Womp Womp but the best part was the views they were so amazing and breath taking that I didn't feel bad about making a mistake. We would have never gone to this mountain called Hurricane Ridge if the gps didn't lead us astray.
So we loaded back up after a quick lunch and made our way to the campground. We got there about dinner time. Made our site look like home and ran to the beach. We couldn't get a site on the side where you can over look the beach and ocean but it was close to it. This campground was crazy because back in MN the camp sites are all flat and even as possible to make tenting easier. All brush and trees are trimmed back and this place was like you work with nature and camp around the nature floor. There were trees down and such and the tent goes up around it. We had our site on a little hill so our tent was going down south a bit. They also had a man that would drive around and sell firewood and ice, since there was not a campground store or office.
We had dinner and walked back down to the beach to enjoy the sunset.
The temp dropped drastically in the night and we froze all night long. We did not bring sleeping bags because my kids hate them so I brought a blanket each and few extras. We slept in warm clothes and that did not justice. I hurt from shaking all night long. And the kids got up multiple times through the night to let us know how cold they were. I knew it got cold but not like that. We ate breakfast and then loaded up to go Hoh Rainforest which was about 30 min. away.
Early rising is our thing get there and enjoy stuff before the crowd come in. We went to the visitor center and found a trail that was something we thought we could tackle and started on our way. This had a water fall about 3 miles up and I was excited to get some good pictures of it. Henry was not the best hiking mate for sure he just wanted to ride on Scott's shoulders the whole time. The trail was windy through this beautiful lime green forest that was dripping with moss, and the trail floor had tons of roots cross the path. It was beautiful I spent so much time stopping to capture it but there is no way to really do that. The trees were massive and so tall and they had so much moss on them even after they the tree has died. It truly is one of a kind place. We were told by a hiker that a mama bear and her cubs have come down off the top and crossed the path to the river. The kids had already begun whining and wanting to stop hiking so we had a group huddle to decide if we should continue or not. They all agreed to keep going to the water fall, which I was so glad they did because it turns out to be 5 min. up the path. I had my eye on the lower right side of the path for this bear but I saw nothing. This mama bear had to protect her cubs too! ;)
We got the water fall and took tons of photos and then began our way back down to the van. We we're about 2 min. back down when we saw people taking pictures over this ridge just off the path and I knew it was the bear. So I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures and the kids all took a peek and then we got the heck out of there. We made great time down the path because Scott had Henry on his shoulders and was making like the wind.
I forgot to pack water on this hike but I did get granola bars... Semi save but not really. We had tons of water and ate a picnic lunch. On the way out of the rain forest we say this in the sky and I'm to sure how this happened or why but it was beautiful.
We went back to the tent to rest and relax and enjoy the beach again and ride the bikes around the campground. We decided the we are explores and don't lay out on a beach or read books by a fire all day kind of people. We love to see everything around us and make sure we didn't miss out on a fun or cool thing when we are on vacation. Needless to say we had fun!
Stay tuned for day 3 in Olympic Park
First stop on the journey was the grocery store. We needed to fill the cooler with camping food for the days we were going to be there. Safe Way was the place! We plugged in the address on my phone for the campground and enjoyed the view along the way. When we got into Port Angeles it told us to take a left and so we did and we began going up these beautiful windy roads with mountains capped with snow and major dropped ridges which was about 45 minutes to the top of this mountain. I said to Scott are we camping on the top of this or what??? We get out and see a visitor center and walk in to use the bathroom and talk to them and they kinda chuckled when I asked where kalaloch campground was... She said well it's about 2.5 hours down and west. She then proceeded to ask if we used our phone gps? It was not the first time she heard that!!! Womp Womp Womp but the best part was the views they were so amazing and breath taking that I didn't feel bad about making a mistake. We would have never gone to this mountain called Hurricane Ridge if the gps didn't lead us astray.
So we loaded back up after a quick lunch and made our way to the campground. We got there about dinner time. Made our site look like home and ran to the beach. We couldn't get a site on the side where you can over look the beach and ocean but it was close to it. This campground was crazy because back in MN the camp sites are all flat and even as possible to make tenting easier. All brush and trees are trimmed back and this place was like you work with nature and camp around the nature floor. There were trees down and such and the tent goes up around it. We had our site on a little hill so our tent was going down south a bit. They also had a man that would drive around and sell firewood and ice, since there was not a campground store or office.
We had dinner and walked back down to the beach to enjoy the sunset.
the mr and mrs
my natural state
this tree is so beautiful. If you go under it the roots are dripping water from them. It's crazy how its still semi standing
Henry's natural state!
The temp dropped drastically in the night and we froze all night long. We did not bring sleeping bags because my kids hate them so I brought a blanket each and few extras. We slept in warm clothes and that did not justice. I hurt from shaking all night long. And the kids got up multiple times through the night to let us know how cold they were. I knew it got cold but not like that. We ate breakfast and then loaded up to go Hoh Rainforest which was about 30 min. away.
Early rising is our thing get there and enjoy stuff before the crowd come in. We went to the visitor center and found a trail that was something we thought we could tackle and started on our way. This had a water fall about 3 miles up and I was excited to get some good pictures of it. Henry was not the best hiking mate for sure he just wanted to ride on Scott's shoulders the whole time. The trail was windy through this beautiful lime green forest that was dripping with moss, and the trail floor had tons of roots cross the path. It was beautiful I spent so much time stopping to capture it but there is no way to really do that. The trees were massive and so tall and they had so much moss on them even after they the tree has died. It truly is one of a kind place. We were told by a hiker that a mama bear and her cubs have come down off the top and crossed the path to the river. The kids had already begun whining and wanting to stop hiking so we had a group huddle to decide if we should continue or not. They all agreed to keep going to the water fall, which I was so glad they did because it turns out to be 5 min. up the path. I had my eye on the lower right side of the path for this bear but I saw nothing. This mama bear had to protect her cubs too! ;)
We got the water fall and took tons of photos and then began our way back down to the van. We we're about 2 min. back down when we saw people taking pictures over this ridge just off the path and I knew it was the bear. So I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures and the kids all took a peek and then we got the heck out of there. We made great time down the path because Scott had Henry on his shoulders and was making like the wind.
they were exhausted and ready to be done
dining on a fish and not noticing us which was great
I forgot to pack water on this hike but I did get granola bars... Semi save but not really. We had tons of water and ate a picnic lunch. On the way out of the rain forest we say this in the sky and I'm to sure how this happened or why but it was beautiful.
We went back to the tent to rest and relax and enjoy the beach again and ride the bikes around the campground. We decided the we are explores and don't lay out on a beach or read books by a fire all day kind of people. We love to see everything around us and make sure we didn't miss out on a fun or cool thing when we are on vacation. Needless to say we had fun!
Stay tuned for day 3 in Olympic Park
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