Olympic National Park (Tuesday)

Yesterday we drove west from Seattle to Olympic National Park.  Let's just say that there are very few people in the very northwestern part of the state!  We drove through quite a few Indian reservations.  Once we reached the park, we hiked to Marymere Falls.  We thought these were some pretty cool falls because we could stand right at the base of the falls.  Then, we drove to the Sol Duc hot springs area and hiked to the Sol Duc Falls.  We were planning on taking a swim in some of the hot springs, but once we got there and saw them, we did not think that they would be worth our money.  We imagined some natural hot-tub looking hot springs (like the ones you cannot swim in at Yellowstone).  Instead, the hot springs were normal-looking swimming pools filled with hot spring waters.  So, instead, we drove to the most northwestern part of Washington that you can possibly go to.  While doing laundry at Glacier National Park, a man overheard us talking about going to Olympic National Park.  He suggested that we go to "one of the most beautiful places he's ever seen."  He was told about this place by an artist.  He explained how to get there to us, so we thought we'd give it a try.  It definitely took us off the beaten path a bit.  But, as he said, it was spectacular.  The pictures, as in most cases, just don't do the views justice. 

After spending some time admiring the views and hiking back to our car, we headed to our campground… not the best experience we've had camping (but we know that it definitely could have been worse too).  There are not a lot of campground choices with showers in the area.  We found one that had showers, so we called early in the day.  The woman on the phone said that if we got there after they were closed, we could just set up and pay in the morning.  We got in around 7pm, set up, and started making dinner.  Patrick was trying to figure out the electricity situation… the power at our site did not work.  It took awhile, but he figured something out.  We were in much need of a shower, so afterwards, we headed to the shower house and bathroom.  It was locked. There was only one other couple camping at the campground (which was kind of creepy), and we did not want to bother them.  So, we didn't take showers and did not have a bathroom to use.  We decided that we'd definitely be leaving in the morning.  And, that ended our Tuesday!



Slug, it was huge!

Lots of big trees!

Marymere Falls

Lunchtime, on a dock overlooking a beautiful blue lake surrounded by mountains

Patrick, at Sol Duc Falls

The Pacific Ocean

A beautiful lighthouse in the distance

Lots of cool rocks out in the water

Of course, we had to stop as we passed through Forks (I'm even holding my Twlight book).