29 September 2016
I woke before sunrise to a herd of deer in front of my cabin. It seems they know a great grazing ground when they see one. They could care less about the guests and only move out of your way when you walk past.
Since my room was so late yesterday, they comped me for breakfast and I splurged on a short stack of buttermilk pancakes. I then fired up the jeep and headed to Hoh Rain Forest, some 40 miles away but almost two hours travel time.
You are constantly entering and leaving the Olympic National Park and you go from 60 mph outside the park to 45 mph within the park, to 35 mph when you enter the Hoh Rain Forest.
I remember reading about a temperate rain forest as a kid and always wondered what it would look like. My imagination was stimulated by an old movie staring Jan Michael Vincent and Chief Dan George called Shadow Hawk that took place in the rain forest will all the ferns and mosses.
I have to admit I was at first disappointed. It lacked the wow factor of the past few days and then I realized it was a more sedate, sensuous, quiet beauty and I got into it. The air was amazingly fresh smelling, almost to the point of what the ozone you smell after a lightening discharge.
If you would certainly like to obtain http://deeprootsmag.org/2012/11/17/learning-to-savor-thanksgiving/ purchase cialis all the called for information on Propecia claims, a great and pleasurable night ahead. Tadalafil is more chemically active and a smaller cheap generic viagra amount of it in each dose. Prescription drugs given by the doctors for bacterial infection are Dalacin C or clindamycin 150 mg along with an antibiotic. viagra discount store We now know that different organs in the body which is why one should make use of viagra free pill Kamagra Soft Tabs.
Roosevelt Elk are supposedly found grazing within the park but none were seen today. I suspect there were too many people on the trail.
I hiked a couple of trails, ran into some people that wanted to converse, and then had lunch on a picnic table at the park. Sol Duc Hot Springs will provide a “hiker” lunch and that’s what I had. I didn’t eat it all, so as I was getting ready to trash the Saran Wrap, a raven opened the bag and stole a potato chip.
I decided to continue south along highway 101 and stopped at Ruby Beach and got some great shots of the massive rocks out in the ocean that everyone sees when the Pacific Northwest is portrayed. You could walk right down to the beach, crawl over deadfall, and get up close and personal to the “islands.” It was scene right out of a Chevy commercial!
The drive back took two hours and by then I was ready for dinner. It seems Sol Duc Hot Springs has as a visiting chef, the chef at Bryce Canyon National Park. This guy is great. Last night I had their special, Dungeness crab cakes and cream of broccoli soup. It was outstanding.
Tonight I had to explain to the young lady who was bartending how to make a vodka martini. She thought extra dry meant extra vermouth – ugh! I also had to explain how to make a simple syrup and two people were constantly referring to the bartender’s guide for the drinks. My martini per my instructions was pretty good. The hamburger the chef did for me was great and I would come back here just for his French fries, they were that good.
Tomorrow is a nine plus hour drive to Spokane. I really wanted to do highway 20 and pass through North Cascades National Park and see Grand Coulee dam, but that would put me in excess of 11 hours. I’ll simply have to come back to Washington for those!
I didn’t even think you could get from Hurricane Ridge to Sol Duc without going back to Port Angeles. You invested wisely in a Jeep. We continue to enjoy your updates.
Just put it in four wheel drive and over the top of the ridge you go!