Our fourth family road trip started at Seattle airport. We stopped briefly at Hampton Inn & Suites Tacoma-Mall to recover some sleep - a pleasant hotel with breakfast included, then the next morning made our way to our first destination - Olympic National Park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. It's scenery is vast and varied, from old-growth rainforests, to dramatic peaks with beautiful meadows, to atmospheric misty driftwood beaches.
Hurricane Ridge
We always start each area of exploration with a trip to the visitor
centre - the rangers always know the best hiking trails and the best
picnic spots, and we really did find the picnic spot with the best view ever...
The wild flower meadows of white, pink, blue & yellow were beautiful, and the were deer so habitual that they would walk right past you without flinching.
Our recommended trail was Hurricane Ridge Trail - a 3.2mile out & back moderate hike. It featured panoramic views of the mountains, mist (or clouds?!) swooping over our heads as we walked, soft green rolling meadows with wild flowers, grazing deer & cheeky marmots. The were a few sheer drops on this walk, so Emi had to stay in the backpack for most of it, but we set her free as it plateaued towards the top.
That night we stayed in Port Angeles, which on the outside isn't anything special although there was a great little place to eat - Gordy's Pizza & Pasta with friendly service, fresh tasting pizza, a good selection of deserts and kids meals. Didn't rate our motel much but you get what you pay for!
Hoh Rainforest
The only rainforest in North America apparently. We went early on a dry
and sunny day so it didn't feel too "rainforesty" but was beautiful with
the morning sun peeking through the gaps in the trees. The old spruce
trees were draped in moss, with ferns & fallen tree trunks, creeks
and so many interesting tree roots and holes for the children to
adventure in. With no cliffs in sight, Emi could run and explore to her
hearts content. Luke insisted on taking a photo of almost every tree for
his scrapbook which he is adamant on making when we return home.
We stayed in no other place than the home of Twilight - Forks. Just as you'd expect; small town, good home cooked food, a few shops, and lots of trucks transporting lots of logs. There was the odd reference to Twilight like, like a sign that said "Treaty Line: No Vampires Beyond this point" at a campsite on the way to La Push, but the rush of fans has certainly eased off since the release of the first movie in 2008. You can take the "Twilight fan tour" which includes trips to Forks High School, Bella's house, the police station etc. but as John wasn't a fan I spared him this laborious teenage girlish tour!! The scenery alone was enough for me to get a feel for the setting of Meyer's books. Our motel, Pacific Inn Motel, was simple but lovely and right next to some good cafes.
Ruby Beach
Hands down the most beautiful and interesting beach I've ever been too. We got there early which was pretty lucky, as the initial impact of first seeing the beach would not have been so great had it been as crowded as it was when we left. The sea mist was so atmospheric - photos cannot do it justice. So fantastic for kids - climbing over the sea-bleached logs, rock pools teeming with life, rock caves, waves crashing against the rocks and to top it all off - completely natural and unspoilt by humans.
Second Beach
Lake Quinault
After a delicious and speedy breakfast in Fork Coffee Shop, we left out motel and headed to Mount Rainier, but not without a 3 hour trail around Falls Creek along the way. This was a pleasant and easy walk which meandered around creeks, waterfalls & rain forests and included a shoreline walk along the gigantic lake. We encountered lots of slugs, fungi, and chipmunks but no cougars! The kids found a hollowed out log to crawl through.
And that concludes our trip of Olympic National Park. Next up is Mount Rainier, followed by Portland for the solar eclipse...
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