Olympic National Park, three day update

Friday, August 16, 2013

It is somewhat hard to believe the rest of the world exists. It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s August. 

There was a question about some of the distances. Sol Duc Hot Springs is 12 miles from Hwy 101 and then Port Angeles is another 30 miles to the east, and Forks is 28 miles to the west. There are at least two rain forests, one is another 32 miles past Forks, and the second is another 69 miles. It is a big park and nothing is a quick drive.

Since it was bright and sunny, Friday morning seemed like a good day to hike the high country at Hurricane Ridge.

I once dreamed of hiking in our beautiful National parks, and now I am doing it!

How different this was from the hike thru the forest to Sol Duc Falls. At one point I felt like I was on the set for The Sound of Music. You know, the scene where Julie Andrews burst out singing “The hills are alive with the sound of music…”

Every direction you looked the view was breathtaking. Every moment it seemed the light changed. The hike was a bit hard, but the sights were very much worth it!

At the top of Hurricane Hill a very tame deer was busily eating the tips of the highest evergreen tree there. I could have reached out and petted her, but of course I didn’t because the rule is to keep the wild, wild.

We also saw this furry guy. He is an Olympic Marmot. He was close to the trail, didn’t seem afraid of us, but kept his back to us so he could make a quick get away if necessary.  I thought he looked like a very fat, fluffy cat crossed with a giant prairie dog.

After dinner we soothed our tired hiking bodies with a nice soak in the mineral hot tubs at the resort. They do charge a bit extra unless you are a guest at the resort itself, but we got a double discount. The cost was only $6.00 each because we are seniors and we went after 7 PM. That still gave us plenty of time for an hour-long soak and a shower before they closed for the night.

I don’t think I would want to go in the hot tubs and then drive to a distant campground outside of the park, but it sure was relaxing and the walk to the RV only took a few moments. The last number I saw on the clock before falling asleep was 9:44.  Snore!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

We are starting to understand the weather patterns here.  We woke to a very dark foggy world Saturday morning.  That was fine because our plan for the day was to drive out to Neah Bay, stop at the Makah Indian Museum and then go to Cape Flattery for a for a short walk.

The drive was quite scenic, and we stopped in Sekiu for a brief look at the boats moored there. They were having a salmon fishing derby for the kids. Everyone was walking around with a large fish in hand! I guess they had to check in their fish for the completion.  The town itself seemed very “real”, in that it was not a cutesy tourist spot.

We bought our $10 parking permit at the Makah Museum and went out to the Cape. Although it was just after noon, the sky was still overcast and wisps of fog filtered thru the trees. The forest was wet, but not dripping.

The path from the parking area to the sea overlook was wet and mucky but not slippery.  Much of it was boardwalk, with many steps up and down.

The view of the cape was intriguing.

 It was not much different than many other rocky cliff overlooks we have seen, but somehow knowing it was the farthest-northwest point of the continental United States made it special.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Forgot to grab the camera today.

We went on another six mile hike in the Elwah River area. It was mostly forested, with some great views of the river. At one point as we walked along a winding path, thru a fern and moss covered, sun dappled, grove, Craig said he felt like he was in a Disney movie, and that any moment a group of dwarves might appear singing “Hi Ho, Hi Ho …”  Quite a place!

[From Craig]  Every morning this week in Western Washington it has been cloudy and sometimes drizzled. But one must not give into despair and just plan to read all day, because it typically clears by 11. Sunday we forgot the camera. The Elwha valley had lots of very tall firs, some amazingly thin for their height. We will have to call up our visual memories, while you will have to go to other blogs for your daily fix of nature images. Sorry. 

Monday ... Off to see some Beaches.

Fungus Among Us and other Sol Duc RV Park Information

Wednesday, 8/13/13: Olympic National Park

There is zero internet or Verizon coverage, so I’m going to write short summaries and post them when we go somewhere that does have.

The Sol Duc RV Park is in the national park, but privately run. We have 30 amp power and water.  There is a dump station up the road a bit. There are only 17 spaces, and they are all quite tight with the exception of the one we’re in, space 17, that is a double space and can be used by two RVs that are camping together. It is also an end spot, so although during the day we notice the cars on the road, we have a decent amount of space on both sides. Cost is $36.20 per night, this includes taxes, it was listed as $33.

We enjoyed a lingering morning in bed, and a good breakfast before setting out around 11:00 am on an easy six mile loop hike up to the Sol Duc Falls. 

The weather was warmish, and the sunshine was fleeting. 

Mossy trees everywhere.

Sol Duc Falls

As we hiked near the falls there was a brief spattering of rain, but it didn't last long.

Fungus among us

Shortly after returning to the Alfa in the afternoon is started to rain again.  Very Washington like!  We enjoyed a very cozy and relaxed evening listening to the patter of rain on the roof.

Posted from the Coin Laundry in Port Angeles.  We are going for lunch after the wash is done.

Leaving in three days!

Wow, what a long summer! Although I had made a week reservation at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort in the Olympic National Park, I didn't let myself make any plans or do any research about the park until just a day or so ago. Up until then I held the thought that if we were not ready to show the house, we had to stay here and keep working.

Well, it is as ready as we can make it for now, so, yeah! We are going.  We have to finish cleaning out the back "workshop" garage tomorrow. And on Thursday our handy-man is coming to start a few minor repairs required by the pest control report.

I will pack and load the Alfa over the next two days, and spend Friday doing the last bit of wash and cleaning the house just a little bit more.  We plan on sleeping in the Alfa Friday night, and leave in a leisurely way on Saturday.

It's 915 miles from here to the campground in the Olympic Peninsula. Check in is at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, so we should have plenty of time to get there.  I plan on either Boondocking at a Walmart or pulling into one of several Passport America or SKP parks along the way.  The drive should be quite enjoyable.  It's still a few days to early to look at the weather forecasts, but there seems to be a slight chance of some thunderstorms over the weekend. We have time to go a little slower than we would like to, but if we hit wind and rain it will be best to take our time.

I spent some time looking at the road into the park on Google Earth tonight.  That really is a neat thing to do when going to a new place.  Sol Duc is about 15 miles into the park, and the road looks like it is two lanes, undivided, but not too curvy. 

It looks like there is a lot to see, hike and enjoy.  What a welcome change it will be from working on the house.  

Speaking of the house, the photographer comes on Monday, and it will go up on the MLS on Friday August 16th. 

 I never thought I'd see the day!

I keep hearing the market is "hot" right now.  But I am trying not to expect a quick sale.  What will be, will be.  We still have work to do when we get home, and a lot of stuff to still dispose of.  

But starting on Saturday we will be away from it and unable to do anything, so we will just have to take a deep breath and live the good life for a couple of weeks.

I will probably post again before we leave, but if not, keep us in your thoughts for safe and uneventful driving.

Next Trip

Shortly after getting back from our trip to Casa Grande, Arizona, the Grand Canyon and The Valley of Fire, I started thinking about our next trip.  I knew we wanted to get the house ready for the market as soon as possible, and going off in the Alfa for two or three weeks at a time was not the best way to accomplish that.  It seems every time we take a trip, many days are lost in preparing for departure, and then when we get home again, in getting settled and back to work.

So we decided to do as much as we can and look at somewhere to go in a few months.  We may take a short weekend trip in July, or do some driveway camping and sleep in the Alfa for a night or two, but our next multi-week jaunt will not be until mid-August. 

Looks like a cool place to visit in August (picture from web)

We will be going up to Olympic National Park in Washington.  

There are a number of  campgrounds operated by the park service, but none with hookups, and most of them have a 21' length limit for RVs. 

I did find one that did have hookups inside the park. It is run by the park's concession company much like the ones we stayed at in Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.  It is at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort.  There are only 17 RV sites.  I actually made the reservations in April, and at that time there was only one spot available big enough for our 35' Alfa for the week I wanted. I'm glad I looked into it then and didn't wait. There are other RV parks we could stay at in the area, but they are outside the park and we would have to drive in each day.

Although we are not averse to boondocking for a night or two when we are traveling from place to place, we do like to stay at established campgrounds with hookups when we want to settle in for several days. I think it's good practice for full timing when we will probably plan our stays for weeks in one place. We dry camped in Yosemite for five nights last fall, and I found it disturbing that we had to run the generator for several hours every day.  I respect the people who are tent camping and want to enjoy a quiet, clean air environment.  I know if I was a tent camper I would not appreciate a big Class A running a smelly diesel generator at any time of the day. So, until we get solar, I guess we had best stick to places with power. Water and sewer are less essential.

I suspect we will drive up there in two days, stopping overnight at a Walmart or Lowe's.  I'll be looking into other interesting destinations on our way back south, but leave the plans very open.  If all goes well, the house will be on the market by then and we will be free to take our time getting back.  Or better yet, we will get an offer while there and have to hurry back to finish getting rid of stuff before a closing!

Well, we can dream can't we?