Washington (Seattle, Olympic National Park)
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After our longer-than-planned stop in southern California we pretty much sped up the coast to get to Washington and pick up our visitors. We made way more miles than normally and it felt rushed but also liberating. We were free to move at last!
We stopped at Lake Shastina for a little over a week, and then Bend for maybe 10 days. Leaving California felt awesome, leaving Bend not so much. It is still in our Top 3 of places to move to eventually and that hasn’t changed. Also, the boondocking spot was perfect, close to the city but not too close, clean (compared to the first one we scouted out, full of deer carcasses and super weird) and in the middle of the woods. I missed trees!
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We braced the big city (Seattle) and surrounding county parks for our visitors and then left for the Olympic National Park.
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Seattle is big and super loud (construction everywhere) and I think I got my Seattle-moody-rain-Grey’s-Anatomy-picture shattered. Or I’m just no longer made for the big cities. Either way, we were happy when we could leave the trashy county park and head for the National Park.
The first part of the trip we stayed at the Dungeness Recreation Area. A rather small, woodsy campground right at the Bluff but a crisp 20 Minute walk from the beach. We didn’t mind. And our German visitors probably thought I was crazy, but I loved loved loved the foggy, chilly air and the rain. Maybe I’m not made for the desert after all.
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The days were spent exploring, whale watching (without the kids) and heading to the beautiful Crescent Lake. The first time I ever saw a lake that clear. And that cold. Perfect for one of the hottest days of the season.
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We explored part of the Olympic National Park with driving the Hurricane Ridge (super crowded during the week). The kids were thrilled with the snow up top but we didn’t stay long. You enjoy the views and then you try to escape the masses of tourists feeding deer.
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The other part of the trip was spent at South Beach, a non-utility campground right at the beach (like right at the beach) on the southern tip of the peninsula. We initially planned on heading to Oregon shortly after, but after travelling over a thousand miles in under a month and scoring a perfect campsite at South Beach we decided to cancel the reservation and just stay there until we needed to head back to Seattle. Perfect decision, we could finally just let the days pass without an itinerary, explore the Hoh Rainforest (which I thought we had to pass) and wander the beaches.
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Heading back to Seattle was a culture shock, which is why we left as soon as possible. Of to Idaho we go!