ON SECOND THOUGHT . . .

On Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park

So much for not blogging! Since saying goodbye to readers in my last post, I have thought of too many things to rave or complain about, and blogging is the easiest way to do it. So, the RovinCrone is back.

During the past few weeks my partner and I have spent most of our time in Washington state. Though it’s not all that far from California, we have been here only a few times. We just made up for it, and will certainly return again if possible.

Because he can handle RV travel much better physically than I can, he went on ahead, traveling up through northern California and along the Oregon coast. When he reached Seattle after a couple of weeks, I flew there to join him. An old friend from high school lives in Yakima, and she flew to Seattle at the same time and took us to lunch. Now, that’s friendship! It was wonderful to see Connie again after several years.

The next day my partner and I went into the city, which is very challenging in an RV, even in our relatively compact Winnebago View. The hills alone make driving difficult, and the heavy traffic adds to the problems. However, by holding back some broken branches of a low-hanging tree we were able to park in one of the few available street parking spots in the Space Needle area. There are no lots that can accommodate RVs! Though there are dozens of appealing museums in the city, we had to choose one in order to make our escape and find a place to stay for the night. Our choice was the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit,  which combines Dale Chihuly’s wonderful huge glass sculptures with living plants. At $23 each for old fogeys, it’s pricier than most museums, but well worth it. This was our splurge for the trip. (We always allow ourselves one per expedition.)

Following a night in a casino parking lot (during which I managed to be drenched in a rainstorm after getting lost in the maze-like casino and not having my keys with me), we drove to Anacortes, the home of some fellow View owners. Carl and Karen very generously allowed us to stay in their driveway for three nights. And what a driveway! Anacortes is on Deception Bay in Puget Sound,  so  the view from the driveway is stunning. It’s a birder’s paradise, too. Only a few minutes after arriving we saw a bald eagle and other birds. The whole Puget Sound area is one of the most appealing parts of the United States. Victoria, B.C., is right across the water, so we could have visited Canada on the same trip. However, one  of us (who will not be named to protect his guilt ) had neglected to bring his passport. Canada will have to wait for a future visit.

We had expected to drive from Anacortes to the Olympic National Park by retracing our route through Seattle, but learned that we could take a ferry from Coupeville to Fort Townsend, shortening the trip and sparing us another horrendous drive through Seattle traffic . We are both ferry fanatics anyway, so this was a no-brainer. The ferry for us and the View cost only $44 in all, a bargain. Luckily, the recent rains let up on that day, so we had a very enjoyable thirty-five minute ride across a bay.

Olympic National Park, like all the national parks, should be on every bucket list. Much of it stretches along lakes or the ocean, but the highest parts are up in the clouds. (One mountain is suitably named Mt. Olympus.)  We spent several days in the park, traveling counterclockwise around the perimeter. Hurricane Ridge is at 5240’ but seems higher because of the steep topography. And, it is as windy as the name implies. Glaciers can still be found here. Sadly, they may be gone in our lifetimes. The Heart o’ the Hills campground is a simple but comfortable place to stay, just a short drive below Hurricane Ridge.

Continuing around the park, we stopped at the Sol Duc River to watch the salmon run. It is fascinating and inspiring to see the fish jump over and over to reach a higher point in the river. Some of them are knocked back by hitting rocks, only to regain strength and jump successfully upstream.

On the Pacific Ocean side of the park, we almost despaired of finding a campground, as “the season” was ending and everything was closing down. Then we stumbled on the South Beach campground, where there were flush toilets (but no sinks, which seemed odd) and we had a site right on the beach. We spent two nights there, leaving only because the trip couldn’t last forever.

At the southwest “corner” of the park is the temperate rain forest I had long wanted to visit. Strolling along the Maple Glade rain forest trail, we saw huge ferns, six-foot curtains of moss dripping from tall trees, bracket fungi, and other rain forest plants. I can no longer walk far, so I was truly grateful for this half-mile easy trail.

All in all, this trip was an extremely good one. As I grow older and deal with declining health, I appreciate travel more and more, and hope this will not be our final RV journey.

Copyright 2018 by Carol Leth Stone