When we woke up (rather late) this morning we were equally impressed with the blue skies and to find that we were camped near a sweet little pond. Who knew? I was just so happy to have a place to camp last night that I didn’t pay too much attention to the immediate site. After packing up we backtracked into Port Angeles to visit Olympic National Park’s Visitor Center. We spent about an hour learning about the park and watching the film. I had no idea that this park received an average of ½” of rain a day! Given today’s brilliant sunshine it made us appreciate the weather even more. We had a great time driving thru the park, making several photo stops, and finally stopping at Lake Crescent Lodge. I love this place! It was built in 1916 and feels like a sweet turn of the century resort. It is situated on the lake, with lots of Adirondack chairs scattered on the lawn. When we entered the lodge there was a roaring fire in the huge stone fireplace (not really needed on a day like today, but it definitely added to the ambience) and a Victorian style solarium that faced the lake. Ned suggested we linger for awhile longer and have lunch in the dining room. Good choice! We both had a local fresh salmon nicoise that was beyond divine. I couldn’t tear myself away from this place so we spent awhile longer walking the grounds and really enjoying the vibe. (Today’s pic is the view from the front lawn). We eventually ended up near the boat dock and were going to take the hour or so hike to the falls, but a group of rowdy middle school kids showed up exactly at this time. We just didn’t feel like spending the next hour sharing the trail with them (the teacher was very sweet and somewhat apologetic for their exuberance) so we hung out enjoying the turquoise and jade colors of this glacier lake. Driving further down the road our next stop was La Push, an Indian reservation on the ocean. We were now deep into “Twilight” area and this was definitely “Team Jake” territory. (You Twilight fans know what I’m talking about). The little roadside store had signs that read, “Treaty Line – Welcome Twilight Fans” and a danger sign for the “Vampire Threat”. We were going to buy some local smoked salmon, but the Indian housing development that sold it was so run down and trashed that we didn’t feel comfortable knocking on the door. We decided at this point to track back to highway 101 and hit the town of Forks. Before the Twilight movies this town didn’t have much going on. Now, EVERYTHING is twilight themed. We succumbed and went in one of the stores to look at all the kitsch. The Team Edward and Team Jake and Bella paraphernalia was over the top. (Ironically, none of the filming was done in this town, but in Oregon and Canada). Our original plan was to camp in Bogachiel State Park located in Forks. The campground was very nice, but too close to the road and we were a little worried that the logging trucks would be too noisy. Since it was only 4:00, we decided to push on and head to another state park. We made a stop at Ruby Beach, where the fog was beginning to roll in. This beach is known for the driftwood that’s scattered about. Apparently, it’s referred to as the “bones of the rainforest” picked clean after being washed downstream by winter storms. We reached another lodge in Olympic National Park, Lake Quinalt Lodge, and made another stop here as well. This one was built in 1927 and felt more like the grand rustic lodges of the northwest, rather than the Victorian lodge at Crescent Lake. It too was situated on the lake and had a very expansive green lawn that sloped down to the water. There was a rain gauge totem pole that showed this year’s rainfall was 7ft. so far! The record is 15 ft. per year. Yikes! By this time it was after 6:00 and there were many people relaxing in the Adirondack chairs on the lawn and enjoying the welcome sunshine. Both lodges were beautiful and definitely added to the feeling that we had stepped back in time. We finally arrived at Lake Sylvia campground at about 7:00 and found the most wonderful campsite right on the water. We are far enough inland that the ocean fog doesn’t reach and are looking forward to spending the morning enjoying breakfast near the water and perhaps going for a bike ride thru the park.
