As we packed up and hit the road, one of our last stops before crossing the border into Washington was Canadian Tire (purely out of curiosity!). What a place…three floors of anything you could possibly need. It’s like a Lowe’s, Walmart, Petco, and Sportsmans Warehouse combined. Tim was excited to look around.
We reached the border crossing around 11am and waited in line. Light rain had started to fall as we observed the Peace Arch monument while gradually inching closer to the border checkpoint.
After a week in Canada, we were back in the states. Hard to believe how quickly the week flew by! Our next destination is Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula. We drove to Coupeville, WA to catch the Coupeville-Port Townsend ferry. We didn’t make a reservation in advance and hoped to catch the next available ferry ride. Luckily we didn’t have to wait! We were the third to last car to make it on the short ride to Port Townsend. In fact, the ride is so short (25 min) that most people don’t even leave their vehicles. Wanting to explore and take in the sights, we parked on the ferry and ventured to the upper deck to look around. I noticed that these ferry folks sure don’t mess around – they had the boat loaded and pulling away from the dock mere seconds after the last vehicle made it on. The efficiency and timeliness of directing and loading vehicles onboard was impressive! I guess with routine short trips like this one, the rhythm becomes like clockwork.
The water was a little choppy and there were some unnerving sounds as larger waves crashed into the boat. Soon we were docked at Port Townsend and continued about an hour westward to reach Port Angeles. We found a fantastic campsite at Heart O’ The Hills campground within the northern boundary of Olympic National Park. The beautiful lush forests, moss-covered ground, and misty air brought back memories of southeast Alaska. While we were used to sharing wild spaces with large animals like bears and moose, Olympic National Park was home to another large animal we hadn’t encountered before: cougars! The signage posted at the campground reminded us to be aware and keep a clean camp.
We pitched our tent under the cover of towering old growth trees and Tim worked on building a fire while I got a meal started. For most of this trip, we’ve been largely free of routines which has been a welcomed change, however it’s been easy to establish a sense of routine in the simple tasks like setting up and breaking down camp, starting a fire, or preparing a meal. Especially after a long day of traveling, you find that you start to look forward to the little things! We enjoyed the last light of the day before settling in to our cozy tent and falling asleep to the pitter-patter of light rain.
The next morning, we got an early start and woke up just before sunrise. After packing up, we ventured back on the road and started climbing toward Hurricane Ridge. The rain picked up in intensity as we gained elevation and soon we were in the clouds with limited visibility. Unfortunately we couldn’t see much at the top, but the views during the ascent were beautiful. We learned that earlier this year in May, the visitor center that once stood at the top of Hurricane Ridge had burned down and the cause of the fire is still being investigated. The remains of the building were barely discernible through the thick fog.
We made our way back down, exited the park back toward Port Angeles, and continued driving west. Our next stop was the Hoh Rainforest on the west side of the Peninsula. As we neared the coast, the rain tapered off and the sun began to peek out. What a gift! We arrived at the Hoh Rainforest entrance and continued driving into the park. The massive Western Red Cedar trees, ferns, and moss-covered forests seemed endless. We walked through the Hall of Mosses loop and couldn’t believe the size of the trees. Enormous Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock dwarfed us, some of which grew to over 300 feet tall and over 20 feet in diameter!
After enjoying lunch in the park, we got back on the road and continued south into Oregon. Our original plan was to camp at the Fort Stevens State Park in Astoria, however after reviewing the updated weather forecast, we opted not to. Heavy rain, wind gusts up to 40 mph, thunderstorms, and even a chance for waterspouts and tornadoes led us to pick plan B. Instead, we drove another 40 minutes south, enjoyed a nice meal out in Cannon Beach, and booked a hotel room in Seaview. Best decision ever! As the weather got worse overnight, we were thankful to be warm, dry, and not battling those tent-pole snapping winds. Mother Nature always wins.
