Sat. July 26
53 degrees this morning as we head into Sequim to try the apple pancake at The Oak Table. We are there when they open at 7:00 with three or four others.
We've read that the apple pancake is a "must do". Turns out that splitting one is a great idea because it is huge! Kind of a deep dish pancake covered with sliced apples and coated with a sticky cinnamon topping. It is tasty, but a bit too much like a dessert rather than a breakfast. We even take some with us!
First destination after breakfast is Olympic's Hurricane Ridge. We see deer when leaving the campground and a few more on the climb to Hurricane Ridge. We climb steadily till we are above some of the clouds!
The visitor's center is a couple of portable buildings (not open yet), as the wooden one burned in 2023. At the peak, we hike one of the trails with great views - and what fresh air!
Gorgeous flowers up here!
We take a backroad to reconnect with highway 101, the main east-west road in the park. Lots of towering trees and little else - nice! Crescent Lake is our next stop. The Ranger Station here is closed, so we decide to take the 1 1/2 mile hike to Marymere Falls. Quite a few people, but manageable. The Falls are lovely! And we are in the rainforest here, where clouds and rain come in from the Pacific, hit the mountains and come back dropping precipitation. Very moist with lots of ferns, lichen and mosses
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| Quite a climb to the Falls overlook. |
We continue along 101 to Klahowya Campground, in the Olympic National Forest, just north of the park and next to the Sol Doc River. Several of the campsites are nearer the river and there a number of people tubing there. Our site, #55 is on the other side of the campground. So we go for a walk under these towering trees.
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| Lots of chipmunks this trip! |
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| Huge trees! |
While getting some water from the nearby faucet, we talk with a women walking by. Turns out she is a local and very chatty - full of information about the area. She is a caretaker for a relative and comes here to get away occasionally, as it is only 15 minutes from home. She is a nurse, and a very "back to nature" kind of person. She talks about some local campgrounds, recommends a restaurant in Forks, mentions the tough Winters, selling firewood and more. As she is leaving she tells us if we see a bull wandering around down the road to give him a pat and say hello to Ferdinand who is a real sweetie and loves people. Yeah....I think....how many suckers fall for that one?! But I think she was genuine.
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| The view from our campsite, looking up! |
Greg gets a nice fire going which feels good, and then cooks burgers on the grill. For dessert we have local cherries -these are the lighter color Rainier cherries from another stand. Yum!
I think Greg is up one game in our ongoing cribbage tournament.
Good night.
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