Olympic National Park

Back in 1986 we, along with a high-school-aged Cheryl, drove up the Pacific Coast on our way to Vancouver and Expo 86.  We drove through the Olympic NP but couldn’t “see the forest for the trees,” so the two of us decided to return here for more exploration.  We also had a chance to meet up with Mark and Ellen for a few days.

We started with a stroll through Port Angeles and a delicious crab lunch at Smuggler’s Landing.

The town has some charming art including this octopus

these cormorants

a dragon

John Henry (we think) wearing a knit suit

and huge mural.

 We then drove up the Hurricane Ridge.  Each of the accessible areas in the NP are reached from separate roads.  This was the first one we took.  The view, though a bit smoky from fires in Canada, was lovely.

Like our Glacier NP, the glaciers here  are melting and disappearing.

 Overhead we enjoyed looking at the canopy

This deer kept stopping for photo ops.

The next day we drove up t0 Sol Duc (Sole Duck) to see the waterfall.  While Ellen enjoyed some time with her knitting needles, the three of us climbed an fairly easy trail up to the falls.