Olympic National Park Aug. 12th to the 14th 2011

Our friends Rick and Nancy invited Edie and I to go camping with them this last weekend.  We had thought about where to go and it came down to either Victoria, BC. Canada or the Olympic National Park.  As it turns out we had our grandson Nathan with us for the weekend.  He does not yet have a passport so we decided on the Olympic National Park.

Edie, Rick and Nancy took off early Friday and made camp in Port Angeles.  Nathan and I headed out on the bike after work.  The ride up was pretty smooth considering it was work hour traffic and I had to drive across the Tacoma Narrows and the Hood Canal Bridges.  If you have never driven over them the views from both are fantastic.  We arrived just in time for dinner.

When it got dark we were spent some time looking for meteors during the Perseid Meteor Shower but due to the lights around and the full moon we didn't spot any meteors.

Saturday morning after breakfast we headed off to Sol Duc Hot Springs.  Along the way we stopped at Lake Crescent.  We stopped there a bit longer than planned, the view of the lake is mesmerizing.

Crescent Lake

Edie, Nancy and Rick enjoying the lake!!

As we were leaving the lake this little one and his mother walked right out in front of us.

 Instead of going to the Hot Springs we decided to hike the trail to Soleduc Falls.  The trail takes you alongside the Soleduc River through giant trees lined with mosses and ferns.

 

Beginning of the trail to Soleduc Falls

Along the way to the falls we passed a lot of plants growing on top of stumps and deadfalls, some even growing on the moss on the living trees.  It reminded us of some place you would find Fairy Villages.

Fairy Village?????

Nathan enjoying a short rest alongside one of the many small streams along the way.

The falls were 0.8 miles up the trail and you could hear them quite a ways before you arrived.  The picture does not do them justice, they drop into a narrow crevasse that continues down the mountain for several hundred yards.

Soleduc Falls

We stopped at the falls for quite a while just enjoying the spray and the view.

Rick and Nancy enjoying the falls!!

A quiet moment with my grandson.

Nancy and Edie taking a break at the falls.

On the trail back out, the size of the trees make you feel like your walking alongside giants.

We enjoyed lunch in the parking lot and then headed out to the Hoh Rain Forest.  If you have never been there it is one of those places you should place on your bucket list.  The drive in is almost as good as the trails at the end of the road.  In many places the trees form a complete canopy above the road and it is like driving through a living tunnel of large trees.

Yes it really is called the HOH Rain Forest, it is named after the HOH Indians who live in Washington.

Hoh!

The water is amazingly clear in the rain forest, in this next picture the water is over 3 feet deep and crystal clear.

Greeted by Ducks at the start of the Trail of Mosses

There is over 200 inches of rainfall here every year.  The trees are covered in Moss and there are other plants growing in the Moss.

Check out the ferns growing on the upper limbs!!

Almost surreal, which way is north??

Hard to line up the shot when your messing with the cameraman

Nathan looking out from the roots of a "Nurse Tree:

When trees fall in the forest other tree's and plants will take root on them and grown down over them.  As the tree decays it feeds the new growth ensuring a healthy forest.

Rick enjoying a short rest on the roots that grew around a nurse tree.

We had spent much more time enjoying our day than we planned and it was getting a bit late so we headed back to the camp ground.  A quick dinner and then off to see "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes".  After getting back to the campground close to midnight we set up listening to the Coyotes over in the hills calling to each other.  That put a great nightcap on the day!!

Sunday morning after Nancy, Rick and Edie got back from church we headed out to Hurricane Ridge.  It was pretty heavily overcast so we had no great expectations of what we would see.  Even though the fog kept rolling in and out it was still a great view.  We saw a lot more wildlife than expected.  The deer at the meadows on top of the ridge were not afraid of people and there were quite a few of them.  The meadows were in full blossom and gorgeous!!

The deer were eating away and not afraid of people...

First view of the mountains from the ridge as the clouds were parting.

The clouds cleared just long enough to get this shot then closed back in again.

Don't step back!!

Nathan was checking out the view when this doe popped her head up surprising him!!

I caught Nancy and Rick taking a short break after climbing up one of the hill trails.

It wasn't long after this the fog rolled back in and blocked the views.  Even the deer started going down the hills so we made lunch and then headed out for home.

Fog rolling in blocking out everything including the Visitors Center!