Living Positive: Exploring the Olympic Pennisula

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Our campground is in Port Angeles, Washington, the farthest northwestern KOA in the continental United States. We only have one day in this area so we had to hit the highlights.

First, we wanted to visit Olympic National Park so we found the visitor's center and made a plan. Don purchased his last Parks Pass as he recently qualified to get a Senior Life Pass! I guess I'll be hanging around him for the next 6 months...

Our first stop in the Park was Lake Crescent which is just on the edge. They allow dogs there so we decided to hike and not bike it.The lake is huge and our trail went along the northen edge. It was a nicely maintained and paved path which made us regret our decision to leave our bikes behind. The forest is beautiful along the way and very shaded which was a good thing since it was another weather record breaking hot day. Many people were dressed for swimming and found spots along the way to take a dip. There weren't a lot of good beach areas or paths to get down to the water so we suspected that there was some secret spots that we didn't know about. We didn't have the foresight to wear our swimming suits which was another regret.

We hiked in 2 miles of the 4 mile trail and on the way back we decided to not go through the tunnel but to take the narrow path around it which is called the Devil's Punchbowl. Wala! We found the secret swimming spot! There were many people hanging out and having a great time in this area which had a little bit of beach. We were a bit on the old side to hang out very long and I didnt take any photos because that would have made it weird. Did I mention that I was with a guy with a Senior Life Pass?! All the way back we saw more and more young people heading in with coolers and beach towels. I have a feeling that there was going to be an even bigger party at the Punch Bowl!

We took a drive into the Park a ways to get a feel for it. It is unlike Rocky Mountain National Park where you can drive from one end, over the pass, to the other. Olympic Park has a few entrances where you can go in a ways but not completely. Mt. Olympus is in the middle surrounded by wilderness area. One of the main roads was closed so we entered on the Sol Duc road along the Sol Duc river. One stop along the way was the salmon exhibit which explained how the salmon find their way back from the ocean to spawn. Unfortunatley we didn't see any salmon just a tourist snorkeling looking for a sunburn and possibly his partner's bikini top.

We headed back to Port Angeles to check out the actual port which is on the Strait of Juan De Fuca. You can get on a ferry there and take a 90 minute ride to Victoria, Canada. We didn't have the time (or the passport)to add this adventure this time. Instead, we looked for a place for Don to eat some oysters. We saw some Oyster processing places on our drive here so we thought there might be a good restaurant. Unfortunatley, Port Angeles is having a major problem with staffing their restaurants so we settled for some crab and fish and chips. Maybe the restaurant owners should take some job applications to the Devils Punch Bowl?

Of course there is so much of the Park and other areas to see but at least we experienced a little of this great northwest.

P.S. The town of Forks was a little ways down the road but I couldn't convince Don to go there. Twilight fans will know that was the setting of the book/movie. I'm keeping an eye out for vampires but I think it's too damn hot!