Beach Access

 After a leisurely morning walk along the Hoquiam river, 

Sasha demanded a trip to the beach! We found a nice drivable beach near the burg of Moclips. Mocrocks Beach is a long stretch of finely packed sand, so we joined in on the fun.

As soon as she got out of the truck, Sasha forgot her age and instantly got a case of the zoomies!

She hasn’t pretended to be a helicopter for a long time, but the fresh ocean air and the easygoing sand tickled her fancy!

We walked long enough to loose sight of the truck before turning back. Sasha kept up a good pace!

An adventure company was offering parasailing rides near the south end of the beach and we stopped to watch for awhile.

In spite of of the forbidding skies, the weather remained warm and dry. Perfect for a hike on the beach!

Many families were out, kids digging in the sand as kids will, and several surf fishermen wading out into the ocean!

We made a food run to the nearby Moclips deli and store for a couple of burgers and some chips. Bringing the food back to the beach, we ate and enjoyed the cool weather.

Now for something to do tomorrows!

Slippin’ South

 We spent most of our last day in Port Angeles on the breakwater that protects the harbor. It’s a 2 mile long jetty created by thousands of tons of rock stacked with gravel and dirt. At the very end, the US Coast Guard has a station, equipped to provide support to the community.

Can’t ignore the Olympic mountains!

Driving back to the mainland, we noticed a pocket of fog stuck in the hills, seemingly ready to ooze down onto the paper mill!

The moist, cool coastal weather is great for wildflowers!

Can you see the face?

Next day:

We have packed up our toys and started the southerly journey toward home. After navigating downtown Port Angeles one more time, we settled in through some of the awesome scenery in the Olympic National Park.

Crescent Lake is just a few miles west, and is a huge lake! The glacially formed lake is 17 miles long and 620 feet deep,

After cruising through the town of Forks, we only had a little over a hundred miles to go!

We managed to score the nicest rv site in the Hoquiam River RV Park, in Hoquiam, Washington, right along the…..Hoquiam river.

There’s a great path just outside our door that winds through nine and a half acres of rainforest. Sasha loved it!

Ferns, ferns, everywhere!

A perfect end to the day!

Day tripping

 We loaded Sasha into the truck and took off to explore the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula. Highway 122 runs west from Port Angeles, through Ramapo, Joyce, and Shadow, toward our first destination, Pysht. Pysht turned out to be three buildings and two locked gates, so that didn’t work out. Continuing on west, we reached Clallam Bay, where we turned southwest and took Hwy 101 back east to Port Angeles. A 200 mile circle!

The scenery, however, was impressive, with lots of trees and meandering creeks.

The road to Pysht was posted 25 mph most of its length, so it took us the better part of 2 hours to drive 38 miles! Occasionally we would get a glimpse of the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

It’s Fall here, the weather is cool, and the leaves are beginning to turn colors.

In Clallam Bay, we stopped for a picnic lunch at a city park and a walk on the beach.

Seagulls were in glorious flight….and voice.

Vancouver Island was just visible across the strait.

Back on Hwy 101, we passed by the southern shore of Lake Crescent, a large and beautiful lake that cries for a boat ride!

A quick stop for a Sasha walk gave us a look at some wonderful foliage and flowers.

A good day to take a ride!

Olumpus

 We’re enjoying our time in Port Angeles. We took a short drive to the ferry terminal to watch the shipping activity and breathe the salty ocean air!

There were two freighters in port, with one being turned around for departure to the Pacific Ocean.

The Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C. ferry was just arriving.

A closer look revealed a few battle scars!

The MV Coho was launched in 1959 and is capable of transporting 1,000 passengers and 110 vehicles on the 90 minute trip. The rates are spendy, with a car and one passenger being charged about $80. If your vehicle combo is longer than 18 feet, there is a $5.75 per foot surcharge! Oh, and additional passengers are $23 each. This rv waiting to board would have to pay somewhere in the $250 range, one way!

We decided to track a low speed road into the Olympic National Park. The 17.5 mile long road winds its way to the Hurricane Ridge parking area at an elevation of 5,242 feet. There are numerous hiking trails at points along the road, but at the top, the Hurricane Ridge Trail is the most walked, presenting stunning views of the Olympic Mountains.

The road to the top is beautiful.

It takes awhile to get to the top at 25 mph, but the views are gorgeous. This side of the mountain range is very dry while the west side is very wet. The Olympic mountains block most of the moisture coming in from the Pacific, but Hurricane Ridge still gets about 19 feet of snow in the winter!

One of our memories from a previous visit was the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center, but it no longer exists.

The building burned downed in 2023, leaving nothing but a sterile foundation.

We noticed that the semi temporary buildings were securely tied down. Hurricane, indeed!

A stop on the way down gave us an opportunity to look back up the mountain where we had just been.

The view in the northern direction looked out over the Salish Sea and the towns of Port Angeles and Sequim.

It has been a hazy, foggy kind of day, so the photos are a little fuzzy, but good memories just the same.

Day 2 of the Olympic Peninsula is in the books and we look forward to more fun tomorrow!