Olympic Peninsula

Driving north on the east side of the Cascades, we had hoped to see Mt. Hood but there was low cloud cover, so we just drove to Vancouver, WA (Chinese buffet) and spent the night in Kelso before heading out to the Washington State coast and visiting Cape Disappointment.  Yeah, I can see why it's named.

We had a beautiful day on this visit to the northern end of the mouth of the Columbia River.

The lighthouse at Cape Disappointment

Long Beach......people just drive right onto the sand. That was surprising.

Massive plates of Chinese food in Cosmopolis, WA

Our campsite at Sol Duc Springs Campground in Olympic National Park

Tree sculptures....

Sol Duc Hot Springs.  Pro tip, go earlier in the morning when the pools are cleaner.

Loved hearing ALL the different languages being spoken at the hot springs.

We took a walk through the Hoh Rain Forest.  It wasn't the forest that was amazing to me....it was the power of the quiet.  Just standing by myself and being in the silence....was itself really loud.

I was contemplating and experiencing what the Japanese call "Forest Bathing"

A peek at the mountains themselves from the west.

The seastacks at Ruby Beach in the fog.  Just a couple miles to the west of Hoh Rain Forest, which was sunny.

Just west of Port Angeles, in the northeast corner of the park, we drove up Deer Park Road into the mountains.  Here's the view we were rewarded with!

There was a very nice half mile loop walk.....it felt like we were in the Sound of Music!

Looking west to Seattle

Next stop, Seattle!  Looked like a head on collision with a cruise ship was imminent.....but our ferry let the cruise ship pass first.