Olympic Peninsula, WA May 2024

Gerry and I spent a wonderful week visiting the Olympic Peninsula from May 20 to May 27!

Dear friends of ours, Craig and MaryJane, moved from LA to Port Angeles in November 2020 and we wanted to visit them. They love it up there, and I can see why...

We flew into Sea-Tac on Monday evening, May 20, and stayed overnight at Coast Gateway, a decent hotel conveniently located close to the airport.

Tuesday, May 21, was a rainy day. Our original plan was to stop off along the way from Tacoma to Port Angeles and do some hiking. That didn't happen, but we did make a few stops including Bremerton, where we had lunch an Noah's Ark, a restaurant that's been around for more than 50 years.  The rain stopped briefly and we took a brief detour to Kitsap Memorial State Park. 

Gerry at a viewpoint at Kitsap

We arrived in Port Angeles around 3:30pm. Craig and MaryJane have a lovely house on the west end of town.  It was so nice to see them and talk, laugh, and enjoy one another's company.

The sun doesn't set until quite late up here. Around 5:30 pm we hopped into the car and took a short drive to the Elwha River.  It was lovely.

At the Elwah River, 3 miles from MJ and Craig's

  Then we drove a bit further and walked for a few miles along a beach which MJ called Places Beach. It was very rugged with lots of washed up rocks and trees.

At Places Beach w MJ and Craig

This uprooted tree on Places Beach caught my eye

Gerry took a picture of me at Places Beach

Enjoying this evening walk!

It was after 9:00 pm when we arrived back at MJ and Craig's house. Craig prepared a "loaded" veggie pizza for dinner. He added a ton of mushrooms, onions, garlic, artichokes, red bell peppers and cheese. It took a while to bake. Earlier in the day Craig had baked a rhubarb pie. Yum Yum!

Chef Craig, busy at work!

Gerry ready to chow down on delicious pizza and rhubarb pie

Wednesday morning, May 22, was a bright and sunny day. Our first walk was at 10:30 am, with MaryJane and Craig in their neighborhood. It is very peaceful and quiet where they live. Within a mile we were at a scenic overlook of the Strait of Juan de Fuca,  a narrow passage, 11–17 miles (18–27 km) in width, of the eastern North Pacific Ocean, between the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, and Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

MaryJane, Craig and Gerry at the overlook

We returned to their house, loaded our backpacks and gear and drove to Salt Creek campground. There were several scenic overlooks and places to walk down stairs to the rocky turbulent beaches.

At one of the overlooks in Salt Creek campground

Another fantastic viewpoint

I could have stayed here all day!

Next stop was a 30 minute drive to Lake Crescent, in Olympic National Park. It's a beautiful lake with a nice lodge.

Lake Crescent

Craig, Gerry and MaryJane on the boardwalk near the Crescent Lodge.

We drove a few miles to the Spruce Railroad Trail on the north shore of Lake Crescent. (The old railroad trail was built in 1918 to transport spruce trees cut for the war effort.) The 8-mile round trip trail follows the lake for most of its length, which winds through forests filled with Sitka trees and others.  It was a scenic hike, but we only did two miles round trip, because the mosquitos were bothering Gerry.

Craig, along the Spruce Railroad Trail

We returned to MJ and Craig's and ordered delicious Thai food take-out from Sabai Thai, and then we drove downtown for a fabulous walking tour of Port Angeles. First stop was Ediz Hook, overlooking the Port Angeles harbor and the US Coast Guard Station.

Craig on the Ediz Hook in the evening

Onward then to downtown Port Angeles. Very quiet in the evening. We loved the mural of the MV Kalahala, painted in 1995-1996. It's amusing, and three-dimensional-like with children and a dog. Gerry and Craig posed in front of the mural.

Craig and Gerry with the dog and children

Final stop of the evening was Welly's Real Fruit Ice Cream 

Craig, Mary and MaryJane outside of Welly's slurping on our Fruit Ice Cream

Thursday morning, May 23rd, we ate the breakfast of champions, rhubarb pie, along with coffee. Then we piled into the car at 9:30am and drove to the Olympic National Park, Hurricane Road entrance, only a 20 minute drive from MJ and Craig's house.  Conditions at Hurricane Ridge were excellent! We spent nearly an hour there and took plenty of photos, and walked along the ridge.

 A photo from one of the turnoffs on the way

My favorite photo of the snow-capped mountains at Hurricane Ridge

It was a spectacular experience to see Hurricane Ridge with MJ and Craig! We drove back to their house, packed our bags and said "goodbye" and "thank you". 

On to our next stop on Thursday afternoon, Sol Duc Springs Resort and Sol Duc Falls. We embarked on a 6 mile hike from the Sol Duc Springs Resort to Sol Duc Falls and back, stopping many times to take photos.

Us at a viewpoint, Sol Duc Falls

Sol Duc Falls, love the rainbow toward the right

Onward to the sleepy, quiet town of Forks, on the western side of Olympic National Park. We had reservations at the Pacific Inn, Thursday night.  Nothing fancy, but very comfortable and ideal.  And a five-minute walk to Pacific Pizza, where we ate gourmet pizza, "Basil Pesto Special - pesto, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, chicken, fresh garlic, marinated artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and onions". Delicious!

Mary eyes tomorrow's lunch.

Friday, May 24th, was our 38th wedding anniversary!  We celebrated big-time with several short hikes in Olympic National Park.

First hike was at Rialto Beach, a 30-minute drive to the west from the Pacific Inn. The Rialto Beach hike was a walk along the beach to the "Hole in the Wall", a giant monolith at the mouth of the Hoh river, with a cave-like hole.

We stop along the beach walk for photos

When we reach the Hole-In-The-Wall we are truly amazed.

Mary and Gerry at the Hole

And the sea anemones we viewed as we looked below, were also amazing.

Sea anemones near the hole

It was quite the epic 3.6 mile walk; we even saw some sea otters bobbing up and down. I tried to get a few photos of them, but wasn't very successful.

Next stop, the infamous Hoh Rain Forest! It was lovely, and not rainy. We donned our rain ponchos, but only experienced light drizzle as we walked part of the Hoh River Trail , and also the Hall of Mosses Trail, a total of about 3 miles.

In the Hoh Rain Forest

Surprisingly, it wasn't very rainy, though this IS a rain forest, and it was very green with beautiful foliage and muddy paths.

Gerry, meandering through the forest

Then it was onward to Lake Quinault, a 45 minute drive heading south, but
still in Olympic National Park.

Lake Quinault is the main attraction of the south-western section of Olympic National Park. The Lake Quinault Lodge was built in 1926 ---in 53 days!  It has earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places (and rightly so). We walked inside, and the interior was elegant and elaborate. 

Very much an exquisite lodge on Lake Quinalt.

We hiked a mile or so on the Quinault Rain Forest Interpretive Trail and the Quinault Loop.  Wished we had more time to hike and explore this park of the park at Lake Quinalt, but it was  late afternoon / evening and we still had an hour drive to Ocean Shores, where we would  be spending the night.

A view of Lake Quinault from our short hike

The BayVue Hotel where we stayed on Friday night, May 24th, was on the Ocean Shores peninsula. It was a very laid-back casual atmosphere, and conveniently located to Bennett's Fish Shack, an 8-minute walk from the hotel. We enjoyed our dinner there - an appetizer of fried calamari, then a Caesar salad and scrumptious fish and chips.  The cod was some of the best we've ever had.

 Saturday, Sept 25 we drove 20 minutes to the southern tip of Ocean Shores to walk along the beach at Damon Point. We hiked 3.2  miles, a loop trail overlooking the Armstrong Bay and the Chevalis River. It was a bit chilly at 51 degrees with a head wind on the return, but still a nice hike.

Gerry on the windy Damon Point walk

We left Ocean Shores and drove south through the towns of Hoquiam and Aberdeen, to the town of Montesano. Just north of Montesano is Lake Sylvia State Park, which we visited in the afternoon for our second 3.2 mile hike of the day. It was a scenic, moderate hike along the Sylvia Creek Forestry Trail. It was very green, with plenty of ferns and pretty flowers. Definitely worth the visit!

A view of Lake Sylvia before we head onto the Forestry Trail

Very peaceful, green and lush

The flowers are stunning !

We exited the park and drove east toward Olympia, taking the scenic route, avoiding the 101 freeway, and stopped briefly north of Shelton to do the "Huff and Puff Park Loops", a misnomer - a very easy walk a little more than a mile, with no huffing and puffing whatsoever. 

We arrived late afternoon at our hotel in Lacey, just outside of Olympia. We drove to downtown Olympia for dinner at the Olympia Oyster House, the historic restaurant overlooking the West Bay.  The restaurant was established in 1924 - 100 years of serving the community with delicious seafood!  

The state capitol building in Olympia

The Olympia Oyster House restaurant

Ready to eat the fried seafood, after finishing a bowl of delicious clam chowder

Sunday, May 26th was our final day of vacation. We did two hikes in the Olympia area. The first hike was nearby in Squaxin Park, a scenic 1.8 mile loop and walk through a quiet, wooded are with plenty of ferns. 

On the trail in Squaxin Park

Then we headed to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1974 to protect the Nisqually River Delta from development for the benefit of fish, wildlife, plants, and especially the migratory birds. Gerry used his Merlin App to identify a variety of different birds as we walked the Estuary Boardwalk and Twin Barns Trail.

Walking in the Nisqually wildlife refuge

 

along the estuary boardwalk

The old twin barns along the return trail

We stayed at the Coast Gateway Hotel again on Sunday evening.  We had a 7:00 am flight out of Sea-Tac on Monday morning, Memorial Day, and were advised to get to the airport two hours ahead of time, at 5:00 am.  Ugh.  We enjoyed an early dinner at the restaurant adjacent to our hotel, Sharps Roast House (pulled pork salad for Mary and a gourmet burger for Gerry. 

Final meal of the trip!

We set our alarms for 4:15 am and caught the 4:40 am shuttle to the airport. Everything went smoothly and our flight was on time.  

Very glad we did this trip. Quite memorable. Would definitely like to do it again sometime...

Joshua Tree National Park!

Gerry and I went on a mini-vacation during the December holiday season. It was a visit to Joshua Tree National Park!  Joshua Tree NP is about 130 miles east of Los Angeles - less than a three hour drive.

We stayed in the town of Twenty Nine Palms, just north of the Park for three nights, we arrived on Saturday, December 16th and checked out on Tuesday morning, December 19th. It was a splendid get-away with plenty of day hikes and solitude.

We arrived at the west entrance to the park around 11:30 am. We stopped at the Visitors Center and picked up the park brochure and map, ate our prepacked picnic lunch and then embarked on a six mile scenic hike.  It was called the Maze-Window loop.

 

I am ready to go!

 Temperatures were ideal - in the 60s with bright sunny skies and a light breeze. The juniper berries caught our attention.

an abundant bush

 Here is a photo of me taking a picture of Gerry taking a picture of the juniper berries!

We're both obviously fascinated....

Joshua Tree National Park has lovely Joshua Trees (no surprise). We saw hundreds of them on our welcoming hike this afternoon.

And, it's also extra-special to see and hear the birds.

a ladder-back wood pecker at the top of the tree

We were impressed with this colorful red cactus. We saw a handful of these on the trail.

I'm calling it a Christmas cactus

Like I stated earlier, this was the Maze Window hike. Here is the "window".

Beautiful rock formation and the window!

We enjoyed our first day in  Joshua Tree National Park, and checked into our hotel in Twenty Nine Palms around 4:00 pm.  We ate dinner at the Ground Squirrel, "a beer and food oasis in the dez". The restaurant opened in 2021.  Decent IPA beer, and the food was OK. Gerry ordered a hamburger and fries and I ordered a falafel burger.  A fine day one!

I'll call Day Two, Sunday, our "Rock Hike" day. We did three short two-mile hikes. First hike was the Arch Rock trail hike. We hit the trail at 10:00 am and saw many interesting rock formations, in addition to the Arch Rock.

the infamous "Arch Rock", photo courtesy Gerry Hans

We're once again fortunate weather-wise. Temps in the 60s and sunny skies. This is such an interesting place. So glad it is protected as a National Park. 

Our second hike was the "Split Rock" trail hike which was another short, two-mile hike which included many amazing views, including the Split Rock.

Split-Rock  - fascinating!

We ate our picnic lunch after the hike and then embarked on our third and final hike of the day, the Skull Rock hike trial, which also included the short Discovery Trail,2.4 miles of hiking and seeing amazing rock formations.

looks like a supportive rock holding up the huge boulder

My favorite rock, though, was the Gerry rock.

time to relax after three short hikes

Here's a final photo of the day.

Love the golden colored bush in the foreground and the iconic Joshua Tree in the background.

Day three included a fascinating Keys Ranch tour. (Our good friend Brenda had suggested we book this tour. She's been to Joshua Tree N.P. and did this tour, which is very special and limited.)  You need to book reservations in advance, and the tour is limited to only 25 people per day....Only 1 percent of the millions of visitors to Joshua Tree N.P. participate in this tour!

a morning photo as we enter the park on Monday, day three

Keys Ranch was built in 1910 and lived in by William and Frances Keys along with their children for over 60 years. Having first moved to the desert in search of gold, William Keys started this ranch as he built up a life for himself with mining and ranching. In 1917, Frances married and joined William at the ranch where they started a family and continued to build up the ranch. By not letting anything go to waste and figuring out how to reuse old parts they were able to build a prosperous ranch and mining operation in a seemingly hostile environment.

a photo of the Keys Ranch homestead

The "fence" around the perimeter

The Keys family truck - definitely an artifact

And the appliances from the 1920s are on full display and in good condition

This 90 minute tour led by Ranger Dave was definitely a highlight of our Joshua Tree N.P. trip! After this excellent tour we embarked on a 7 mile hike in the nearby vicinity.  It was a bit chilly on the Keys Ranch tour, which started at 9:30 am.  It's the only time I had to don a jacket in the Park.

We hiked along the Barker Dam Nature Trail, a mostly flat trail with beautiful rock formations once again.

Along the Barker Dam Nature Trail

 Quite fun - saw more artifacts. If it's more than 50 years old, it's considered an artifact and is protected by the National Park. There are several old rusted cars in the area.

Me and the automobile - two artifacts

My favorite artifact - Gerry, of course - with the antique car

We added on an extra stretch to visit the Wall Street Mill. This mill was used to process gold from local mining operations.

Here is the Wall Street Mill, which has seen better days.

The Mill is out in the middle of nowhere

We viewed some ancient Petroglyphs in the cliffs as we walked the return loop back to the car.

Petroglyphs in the background

We also passed by an "eagle" rock.

It looks like an eagle to us, keeping an eye on things

We didn't see too many people on this hike. Nice having the place to ourselves. The weather was ideal - temperatures in the low 60s with a light breeze.

Gerry at the end of the hike

 We splurged for dinner on our final night and ate at The Rib Co, a small family-owned restaurant since 1997, located a half-mile from our hotel. We split a full slab of their famous baby back ribs with the house rub, and also shared a Ceasar salad and baked beans. We drank the local beer, an Inline IPA.

very tasty!  Yum yum!

 We checked out of the hotel around 9:30 am Tuesday morning and drove to the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, which is 31.5 miles from 29 Palms on the route back to L.A.

The Preserve is an internationally-recognized birding site. Several rare or unusual species are known to nest here, and many other species are abundant during the spring and fall migration seasons. The Preserve has been designated as one of the United States’ Important Bird Areas.

At 31,000 acres with elevations ranging from 600 feet on the canyon floor to 3000 feet at the top of the ridge, this diverse landscape is an important part of the Morongo Basin’s natural and cultural history, and in 2016 was incorporated into the Sand to Snow National Monument.

It was definitely worth the visit! We spent three hours at the Preserve and enjoyed the scenery, the birds, and the hiking trails, and our picnic lunch. 

the very scenic Morongo Canyon preserve

There were several interesting, colorful plants on the trail. This one in particular caught my eye:

love the vibrant colors

Here is another close-up view of the stalks

We hiked about 4.5 miles at the preserve.  There are about 11 miles of trails, but several trails were severely damaged during Hurricane Hillary in August, 2023. The damaged areas have been closed for visitor safety.  

another gorgeous view

 All in all, it was a fabulous short get-away!  

We'll be back for sure!