the coast

a couple weekends ago we spent a whirlwind 36 hours on the olympic peninsula. the weather was spectacular! we decided to take the scenic drive up the coast instead of taking the ferry across. it was a long drive and even though the weather was great i can't say that it as all that scenic.

we stopped at the beach and had a picnic lunch. the beach was spectacular with the most awesome rocks! there is a lodge at the beach where we stopped that rents cabins. the cabins all sit at the top of a bluff & there is path down to the beach. we munched our lunch in the sun and did a little stroll on the beach, stuffing our pockets full of rocks and then we hit the road.

we drove to the hoh rain forest (this part of the drive was pretty scenic) & did a quick hike. the rain forest was pretty cool, but on one of the hottest days of the year it wasn't really what i had imagined, i think that it might make more of an impact in the fall or the spring. there are 2 loop trials & a 28 mile hike to blue glacier. we set a timer for 30 minutes & hiked the blue glacier trail. we made it all the way to a fork in the trail and were about to turn around and head back, but we could hear the river, so we decided to go a little further. we were rewarded with a rocky beach and the rushing icy blue colored hoh river. we dipped our feet in. it was COLD. i wanted to jump in, but the current was pretty strong & it was cold. we lingered a bit and then hiked back down to the car.


we drove the final leg of our trip to lake crescent lodge. when we arrived it was about 6:30 or so and the sun was starting to set. it was the most perfect idyllic setting and time of day. the lodge is right on the lake and the view is spectacular! the sun was dipping right into the valley between 2 mountains. amazing. the water in lake crescent is crystal clear & a breathtaking aqua color! we took a quick dip in the icy cold water and then had burgers and gin & tonics in the bar.


in the morning we had breakfast at the lodge and then we went for a quick hike up to the waterfall. after that we hiked around to the north side of the lake where we had a picnic and found a nice little swimming hole to while away the rest of the afternoon.

on the way to catch the ferry home we made a quick stop at dungeness spit.


on the way home we ended up stuck on the wrong side of the bridge when it was up and then there was a 2 hour delay for the ferry line, so we had to drive all the way around. this part of the drive was actually the most scenic! to bad we were too tired & cranky to really enjoy it.

so all in all it was a great weekend. too short, but really fun! we definitely want to go back again and again. our original plan was to go and do the shi shi beach hike, but it was too long of a drive and we would have been rushed, so we will save that for another time.