After Portland, we bee-lined it up to Washington’s beautiful Olympic Peninsula. We stopped at Annie’s favorite beach in the world, 2nd Beach, where she tricked me into thinking monkeys lived in the temperate rainforest.
Heading deeper into the woods we came a cross a place called Sol Dūc Hot Springs. Using our National Parks Pass we snatched up a cheap camping spot and went to check out the springs. Unfortunately, instead of being serene and natural, they were completely developed (like a swimming pool) and were packed with people. There was standing room only in the waist deep hot pool, so we passed on the $30 entrance fee.
- Find our Camping Spot
- Watercolor in the woods
- Beaver dam pool
Fortunately for us the camping spot we found was phenomenal. It backed up to a river complete with side pools, beaver dams, wood ducks, and tiny connected islands to explore. We slowed down, did some reading, painting, and enjoyed the life around us. Then we drove the sprinter high into the mountains along Hurricane Ridge where we enjoyed the fog and the snow.
- Hurricane Ridge
- Best Seat in the House
- Rainforest
Once we were restored from the woods, we headed into Seattle to see friends and fun places. We had a booked schedule which made us a bit stressed that we might not be able to all fit in, but once we were underway seeing friends of past, it worked out just fine. Not only did we spend time with wonderful people, Annie got to show me some of her favorite places she discovered during her time at school.
These were by far the busiest two weeks of our trip! While it was great to see everyone, afterward we were ready to head north to some quiet time in the Canadian wilderness.
- Theo Chocolate
- Ballard Locks
- Poor man’s space needle
- Wood Boat Meuseum
- Matt
- Katie
- Joel
- Bainbridge Island
- Seattle Public Library
- Our parking spot in Queen Anne
- Beltman’s
- Linden, Washington (Mulders)