Today begins with a shoutout to Stefani D. who left us a comment a while back recommending a Planet Fitness membership if, for no other reason, to use their showers. That was genius, Stefanie! We did, indeed, get a membership a few days ago and it came in handy after two days of camping without showers! If anyone else has thoughts, suggestions, silly jokes, etc. that might make our adventure even better, we’d love to hear them!
The past few days have been all about Washington. After North Cascades National Park, we hopped over to Olympic National Park for a day. That park is medium sized (as US National Parks go), but there is no road that traverses the entire park so we did a lot of driving to get from hike to hike.
We started with a short hike to Devil’s Punchbowl, a beautiful blue and green sinkhole-turned-swimming hole. Unfortunately, the punchbowl occupies a pretty small area that got crowded quickly. And, on the hike out, Washington weather lived up to its reputation of being overcast and rainy. We called it a day, set up camp, cooked fish, rice, and veggies for dinner, and did some reading before bed.
The next day we did a warm-up hike to Sol Duc Falls. The falls were nice, but I was more surprised by the trees along our hike. Cedars of all shapes and sizes lined the path. Some were incredibly tall, others were warped and growing in funky directions, others had fallen and left mangled stumps behind. I couldn’t help but take photos of the different cool trees I saw (even though AC thought it was weird)!
Next, we drove out to Cape Flattery, the northwestern-most point of the contiguous US. This stop was not part of Olympic–it’s on Makah tribal land–but was still beautiful. There were a fair number of visitors on the trail, but there were more viewpoints so we were able to spread out. The blue water crashing against the cliff sides made for a very zen atmosphere.
Stop #3 took us through the town of Forks, where the Twilight series is based. I really expected more from Forks because I assume their tourism has increased since the Twilight series was a hit, but there’s really not much there. Good thing that was just part of the route to our final destination: the Hoh Rainforest area of Olympic NP. In the area, we did a walk through the Hall of Mosses where, again, I was taken aback by the trees! And the moss, of course. While the water at Devil’s Punchbowl and Cape Flattery were blue and teal, the creeks running through the Hall of Mosses were crystal-clear, but appeared green from the thick moss and algae growing beneath the surface. We took our time meandering through this short walk and admiring nature.
We ended the day with a much anticipated trip to Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, run by Olympic NP. We were excited to let our muscles relax in the naturally hot, healing, sulfuric waters. We lasted a whole 30 minutes before the “relaxing” part wore off. All I could think about was how we were, essentially, sharing an oversized bath with a bunch of other humans. So that ended fairly quickly. We washed off and headed back to our campsite for dinner and bed.
Next up: Seattle. I recently visited Seattle on a work trip so I’d already seen my fair share of the city. AC had one thing on her Seattle bucket list: catch a fish at the Pike Place Fish Market. We settled into our hotel, I did a load of laundry and some work while AC took a power nap, then we headed downtown.
We made a beeline for Pike Place Market and quickly found the famous fish throwers. AC asked what she had to do to catch a fish and the fishmonger replied with, “go right up there [behind the counter] and I’ll toss one at you.” She got some quick tips from the guy behind the counter and then 3, 2, 1…she caught that dang fish on the first try!
Having checked off the only thing on her Seattle to-do list, the next priority was dinner. We started with a happy hour drink, then ended at a seafood stall across from Pike Place (Jim’s Fish Spot…or something like that). AC had a cup of chowder and a fish taco while I enjoyed shrimp cocktail (with baby shrimp, which was odd, but still tasty) and northwest poutine, which is fries doused in chowder!
We headed back around 6pm and enjoyed a low-key night.
Mt. Rainier National Park was our next stop, and probably my favorite in Washington! This small park revolves around Mount Rainier, which is actually a volcano. It’s ironic that this volcano is covered in glaciers…nature is wild!
We stayed in the Paradise portion of the park and, boy, does that area deserve its name! The Visitor Center was beautiful and was well positioned in the middle of a network of trails that led to elegant waterfalls and breathtaking vistas. AC and I hiked to Myrtle Falls first. This hike is popular because Mt. Rainier serves as the backdrop to the waterfall….on a clear day. Unfortunately, the afternoon was covered in clouds so we didn’t get the money shot.
We then connected to the Nisqually Vista Trail, which supposedly provides the best views of the Nisqually Glacier on Mt. Rainier. Again, we were thwarted by clouds despite our patient 20-minute wait to see if the wind would push the clouds away. Nothing changed so we started our descent and, on the way, were greeted by wildlife. A mystery critter crossed the trail right in front of us and stopped for a snack. We read signs warning of wolverines, but we weren’t entirely sure what a wolverine looked like so this guy could have been a wolverine…or a porcupine. We may never know! We also walked right past some black-tail deer who were aware of us, but couldn’t be bothered to leave their grassy buffet.
We reached the parking lot before sunset and realized what a great view the lot offered. We decided to cook dinner at the edge of the parking lot so we could enjoy sunset. As I was looking around, taking in the views, I suddenly realized that the mountain was peeking out more than it had all day! Thanks, Rainier, for joining our dinner party.
It got pretty cold pretty quickly so we headed back to our campsite. We made a game-time decision to sleep in the truck, rather than the tent, so we’d be a bit warmer. It’s quite nice having options for sleeping arrangements.
The next morning, we drove back to the Visitor Center because they had strong WiFi and I had an early meeting. As my call started, the view of Mt. Rainier was clear so AC made a second attempt at Myrtle Falls, but the clouds moved faster than she did and were blocking the mountain by the time she got to the photo spot.
After my call, we made a quick trip to Reflection Lakes. These lakes are supposed to offer great reflections of Mt. Rainier on their surfaces, but, as seems to be the theme in this park, the clouds were covering the mountain and the breeze was disturbing the water too much for a good reflection. We made a quick walk down the shoreline, then headed back to the Visitor Center to warm up and so I could do a bit more work.
Nature was definitely playing games with us this day because, once again, we reached the Visitor Center and the clouds had blown away, exposing Mt. Rainier in its full glory. I decided to make one more trip to Myrtle Falls for that epic photo. Knowing how quickly the clouds moved in last time, I booked it up those hills. I was completely out of breath by the time I reached the falls, but I finally got the shot!
We hung out in the warmth of the Visitor Center for a while before saying goodbye to the park. I’d love to come back to Mt. Rainier NP when I have more time to explore some longer trails and visit the Sunrise area of the park.
Our final stop in Washington was the state’s capital: Olympia. We stopped by their farmers’ market, wandered the boardwalk, and visited the Capital. For dinner, we found a happy hour with $3 burgers! Then we filled up our water tank at one of the city’s artisan wells, which provide free water to residents and visitors. We stopped at Brewery Park for a quick walk through some waterfalls; along the way, we learned the history of the area that involved old breweries and flour mills.
We ended the night by wandering through Cabela’s – our camp site for the night – dreaming of all the fun toys we’d add to our homestead if we had endless amounts of money.
So long, Washington!
Until next time,
Charli
The joy on AC’s face as she catches the fish!! Love all the pictures of the different trees! Looks like y’all are having a blast.
I’ve seen that animal on some nature shows I’ve watched. It’s a weeniecat.
Hahahahaha! Didn’t we see one of those in Banff, too?