Hurricane Ridge

(August 2009) On a cloudy and overcast day we headed out from Port Angeles for the 17 mile drive to Hurricane Ridge. Following a winding but well maintained road we leave sea level and end up at 5,200 feet elevation. A stunning 360* view awaits us at the Summit. Hurricane Ridge is part of the Olympic Mountains range and offers views of high meadows, wild life, wild flowers and the distant high peaks including Mt Olympus and Mt Angeles. Hurricane Ridge was so named for it’s sometimes intensive gales and winds. As we were driving higher into the clouds Bob kept saying, “I think we picked the wrong day to come up here~we won’t see a thing.” The fog /clouds were so thick. But I kept saying, “ I bet when we get to the top we’ll be above all this.” Well, I was right…..as we rounded the last big curve, heading for the parking lot….we were indeed above all the fog/clouds.

And it was beautiful! We always love to come to Hurricane Ridge and we’ve never been there when the weather was absolutely dreadful (maybe that’s why we keep going back.)

On a clear day you can see the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island, British Columbia from the vantage point below.

Hurricane Ridge has a fabulous Visitor’s Center for the 3 million or so visitors each year. It contains an interpretive center, theater, gift shop, restrooms, first aide station and snack bar. Even the views from inside the Center are breath taking. From the Visitor’s Center parking lot there are many paved meadow trails that lead off to various hiking trails. Along the trails are benches where one can sit and just take in the ever changing views. On this day the clouds lay in the valley below us when we first got there. They were swirling and blowing and by the time we left several hours later came swirling down over us as we sat on a bench on the other side of the parking lot watching a group of marmots playing in the meadow below us. This area is also home to black bear (we didn’t see any) and black tail deer (we saw lots of those).

A sweet little doe, Bob figured I was perhaps 15 feet from her. She would look up from time to time but then just keep on eating.

We walked on by her to enjoy more views of this lovely area. Below you can see the ski tow that operates during the winter months for skiers.

There is a trail that goes out to the rise in the background and there were people out there strolling along. My knee would not have taken that trail so we skipped it this visit.

Heading back to the Visitor’s Center we came upon the doe we had seen earlier or maybe another one….still eating and completely oblivious to the crowds of people snapping pictures of her.

We crossed the parking lot and just sat there for about an hour, taking in the beauty. An older couple came along and sat down, sharing our bench. They were from Germany…traveling around the United States in a rented motor home. We had a lovely conversation with them and they both said that the sights of Hurricane Ridge reminded them of the Swiss Alps.

The clouds came sweeping over us as we walked to the truck and headed back down to Port Angeles. It was an exhilarating day.

Come back for the next installment; Cape Flattery

TWILIGHT

 

I’m almost sure most folks have heard of the movie and books of “Twilight.”  Well, while we were in the area we headed for the little (3,120 people lived there in 2000)  town of Forks, WA where “Twilight” takes place. 

For many years, the city's economy was fueled by the local timber  industry. With recent declines in the industry, however, Forks has had to rely on the nearby Clallam Bay Correctional Center and Olympic Corrections Center as a source of jobs. Forks is a popular destination for sportsmen who fish for salmon and rainbow trout in nearby rivers.

But since “Twilight” came out, the streets and shops of Forks has been teaming with people from all over the world.  We noticed that all the motels had their “No Vacancy” signs lit ~ a great boost for their economy.  I had a couple destinations in mind to gather some “Twilight” memorabilia.   The shop “Dazzled by Twilight” had a penny squishing machine……so that’s where I headed first. Also the towns of Port Angeles and La Push are featured in the “Twilight” stories and in the movie.

After we left Forks, we headed for the Native American community of La Push.  La Push is on Washington’s coast and the home of Jacob. 

I saw this sign in a store there.   This store is also where I had an interesting conversation with two teenage girls from New York.  Yes, the dad of one of the girls had brought them out here to experience “Twilight.”

This bulletin board was on the huge porch of the store in La Push.

The ocean beach at La Push.

In Port Angeles I was able to photograph a few “Twilight” sites.  This Port Angeles “Dazzled by Twilight” store was much bigger than the one in Forks.

This Italian restaurant in Port Angeles is where Edward took Bella on their first date.

And the now empty Gottschalk’s department store is where Bella and the other girls went to buy their prom dresses.  There’s one window with this display and the rest of the store is empty.

This “Twilight” adventure was interesting for me, as I had not read the books or seen the movie.  After we returned home, I watched the movie and all that we saw…made sense.

 

To be continued;  Hurricane Ridge

A Trip To Washington’s Olympic Peninsula

If you look at a map of Washington state you’ll see that funny part way off to the left up towards the U.S. and Canadian border and the Pacific Ocean.  The city of Port Angeles is sort of the center of the universe in this part of our state. From there you can catch an auto/passenger ferry for a 90 minute ride across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, British Columbia, you can take a 45 minute drive up to Hurricane Ridge referred to the Alps of Washington state, you can drive into the Olympic Peninsula rain forest, sit in the hot springs pool at Sol Duc, drive to the native American communities of Neah Bay and La Push and walk out to the north western corner of the United States at Cape Flattery.   This was our destination in August…I hope you’ll come along and enjoy the ride.

(August 16, 2009) We left about 4pm and headed for the Hood Canal Floating Bridge which took us to that part of the state.

We arrived in Port Angeles where we camped out in the far corner of Albertson’s parking lot. (Albertson’s is a large grocery store for those of you who don’t have one nearby). There were actually other R.V.’s there, so we felt right at home~no hook-ups but the price was right.

(August 17, 2009)  We brought our Passports thinking we might catch the ferry to Victoria, BC but that never happened.  The first ferry leaves at 8:20am and it seems we could never get up and get ready in time to get the truck parked, get our tickets and actually board the ferry 15-20 minutes before it was due to depart.  So this first full day in this area, after going to the local Goodwill and a great store called Swains (they have everything you can imagine except grocery items) we headed for Sol Duc Hot Springs.   The resort has cabins and RV lot but we headed for the National Campground just up the road from the resort.  It’s a lovely campground, it actually reminded us a lot of  the campgrounds in the Redwoods~lots of big trees.   While the resort’s RV park was like a zoo.  No trees, just row after row of RV’s with their TV Satellite dishes aimed to the sky and their BBQ’s going. 

(August 18, 2009) After some breakfast we drove down to the resort so Bob could hit the pools.  How come breakfast tastes so good eaten at a picnic table in the woods?

 

 

The patio cafe where the bathers and others can enjoy a snack.

 

There are three hot mineral pools of varying temperatures, and one large swimming pool.  I didn’t go in this trip but have been in them before.  While Bob was soaking his weary bones, I was showering in the camper and then sat by the pools reading my book.  It was a beautiful sunny day…so relaxing.

The springs, known to local Indian tribes for their therapeutic value, first came to the attention of settlers in the 1880s. An elaborate resort opened up in 1912, and was characterized as "the most noted pleasure and health resort on the Pacific Coast" until it burned down in 1916.

The resort was rebuilt on a much less grand scale in the 1920s, and was operated into the 1970s until it ran into trouble with its thermal spring in the 1970s. These problems were overcome, and the resort was rebuilt in the 1980s. It continues to operate until this day, attracting thousands of visitors a year.  I can remember back in the 1970’s there was a pipe coming out of the hillside and the  hot mineral water flowed out of the pipe into a large pool.   It has all been remodeled since I was there in the 1970’s. 

The Sol Duc River flows just along the edge of the resort. 

I was actually sitting at a picnic table here reading for awhile.  What an experience!  So peaceful……

The Olympic Peninsula of Washington is considered a rain forest area.  They get at least 12 inches of rain here every year.  Thankfully while we were there, it was sunny, dry and warm.

When you walk thru this area you see all this wonderful moss hanging from the trees. It’s so beautiful….

 

And deer everywhere…..they were standing right at the edge of our campsite munching away.

The  Sol Duc National campground was full for this third night so we went to a Bureau of Land Management campground along the highway. It’s very primitive (thankfully we’re fully contained) but very nicely laid out and FREE! 

To be continued;  A Twilight Experience