Waking up our first day back in the USA felt a bit different. No longer did we see British Columbia license plates or hear German from the large influx of German tourists. It felt good to be back though. Even more exciting for us is that we were in a part of Washington State that we had never been to before. We had stayed at a KOA campground just outside of Port Angeles, WA and today would be seeing one of Washington’s famous National Parks, Olympic National Park.
Olympic National Park
After a quick stop at Walmart for supplies we headed over to the park. Olympic National Park takes up the majority of the central area of the Olympic Peninsula as well as most of its pacific coastline. As big as the park is there are only a few entrances. As we were on the parks north side, we would be going through an entrance near Port Angeles. Today we would be driving up to Hurricane Ridge, one of the parks most popular viewpoints.
After a stop at the visitor’s center, we started the drive up to the ridge. After being in fairly flat land in the southern end of Vancouver Island being on this road was spectacular. From the park’s entrance near the visitors center the road twists and turns from almost sea level to the parking area of the ridge at 5,242 feet. As it is such a tight road, vehicles over 22’ in length are not recommended (Bubbles squeaks under at 19’ in length). The drive starts deep in the forest gaining elevation slightly before starting to really go up in altitude. The gas pedal must be constantly pressed to move your vehicle up. Slowly but surely, we went up.
We stopped at a few viewpoints to check out the views. Even though we were only halfway up the views were already incredible. At one of the viewpoints, we spotted a trail that led to a view looking back towards the mountains instead of out to the ocean. This is where we really saw the majesty of the park. The mountains were some of the largest that we had seen in recent memory and seemed to go on forever. It was absolutely beautiful!
Hurricane Ridge
We then hopped back into Bubbles and continued our way up to the ridge. It took a little while and our ears were popping as we crossed 3000 feet, then 4000 and 5000 but eventually we made it up to the parking area and really had a wow moment. We had been on quite a few hikes where you had to go up in elevation to reach the top for the spectacular view but never had that experience driving the van. At this parking area on Hurricane Ridge we were completely surrounded by mountains in every direction. It was as if we had driven into the movie “The Sound of Music”. We had driven high up into the “Alps” and it was magical.
We were not yet at the top though. From the parking area there were a few rim hikes to get to the absolute best spots, so we grabbed a few water bottles and headed to the trails. While not the longest of trails these were no cakewalk either. Almost immediately the trails seemed to go straight up. It was one of those situations where you could always see the top, your final goal but that doesn’t mean it was easy to get there. About 40 minutes later we were standing on top of the ridge at the best picture spot we could find. It was awesome!
While standing there taking in the views, we had a small world moment. It always seems that Western New Yorker’s especially those like us from Rochester always seem to find each other in the strangest of places. Here we were standing at the viewpoint on the hiking trail in Olympic National Park over 2000 miles west of Rochester, NY and we see a girl wearing an RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) shirt. I just happened to be wearing my Buffalo Bills shirt (Go Bills!) so we struck up a conversation. Her name was Olivia and she was on a father/daughter trip with her Dad, Lance. We talked to both of them for about half an hour and took pictures for one another. They of course turned out much better than the normal selfies that we normally take (Thanks Lance for the photography skills!!). After saying goodbye, we hiked around a bit more on top of the ridge before heading back down to the van for a bite to eat.
Port Angeles, WA
After lunch we took in the views a bit more before driving back down the 17-mile road to Port Angeles. We had not checked out the town the night before and wanted to see what it had to offer before moving on today. Port Angeles is the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula with a population of about 20,000 people. While it is not the largest (or most exciting town) it does have everything that a local, Olympic NP tourist or ferry boat traveler would need. The downtown had a few nice-looking restaurants, cafés and shops. It seemed a lot of the town was centered on its harbor with not only the ferry being big business but container ships as well.
As we had an RV spot reserved in Copalis Beach on the southwest side of the peninsula we didn’t hang around Port Angeles too long. We were excited for the drive. Today we would be driving the famous US 101 Highway which goes from Olympia, WA to Los Angeles, CA. We had been on the 101 two years prior taking it from the WA/OR border all the way south of San Francisco, CA but had never been on it in the state of WA. Port Angeles is the northernmost point of the road and we would be following it around the Olympic Peninsula.
US 101 around the Olympic Peninsula
Starting out in Port Angles the plant life is almost that of a high desert look. This is because the town is located on the dry side of the mountains. As we went west though the landscapes slowly changed. The road for the most part follows the boundary of the national park as it travels just outside of the mountains in the center of the peninsula. The further west we got the more the plant life changed. The underbrush went from being dry, desert like to grasses and huge ferns. We had entered the rain forest area.
It was a 3-hour drive from Port Angeles to Copalis Beach and like most scenic drives, it was spectacular. For the most part we were always able to catch a glimpse of the Olympic mountains on our left. We passed lakes that had colors of the deepest blue’s and trees that were bright green from being in the rain forest. We did pass a few houses as well. While we thought it would be amazing to live out here at the same time it was extremely remote. It was an awesome place for vacations we thought. Eventually we made it to Copalis Beach. We stopped at a small, cute grocery store for a few local beers before making our way to our campground (The Driftwood RV Resort & Campground) for the night.
We woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go. Today would be a different type of day for us than usual. We have family and friends in Seattle so whenever we pass through, we make it a point to take a week or so break to recharge our batteries. Even more important than recharging our batteries, Seattle has in our point of view, the best Mercedes dealer for Sprinter van owners. After driving from Tampa to Alaska and now on to Seattle we thought it was probably a good idea for Bubbles to have an oil change and a safety inspection to make sure that everything was as it should be.
Ocean Shores, WA
After cleaning out Bubbles water tanks to get her ready for a week or so of us not using her we wanted to check out the WA coastline that we were on. Looking on a map we saw that the town directly south of us, Ocean Shores was a pretty big beach town. We were only a few miles away, so we were there in a matter of minutes. While we wished that the weather cooperated a bit more (it was cloudy and windy) we both love the beach. We also don’t get to see Pacific Ocean beaches too often so whenever we can we take the opportunity. We found parking and walked the beach for quite a while. We watched a few families who were on summer vacation try to make the best of the weather. The parents seemed a bit cold and grumpy, but the kids looked like they were having the time of their lives despite the less than ideal conditions.
We love BBQ
As it was getting to be near lunchtime and we had run through our lunch supplies we looked online and to our great surprise saw a Texas style BBQ restaurant in town. We headed over to the Double Barrel BBQ and settled in. Since being in Texas for a month in 2018 Julie and I have kept track of every single BBQ restaurant that we have gone to as well as writing what we had and what we thought. The Double Barrel was BBQ restaurant number 38. When visiting BBQ restaurants, we both try different things so we can try both. Julie had the brisket while I went with a chicken and rib platter. Everything was delicious. I’m not sure what it is about Texas style ‘que but it is always delicious.
After getting our BBQ fill, we hopped into Bubbles and headed towards Seattle. It was a 2.5-hour drive from Ocean Shores. The first half of the drive was nice and easy going through the forest and countryside. Once we reached Tacoma and Olympia traffic increased and slowed us down but eventually, we reached Seattle.
Next up…..We spend time with friends and family and have a blast in Seattle!
