After leaving Rialto Beach we grabbed lunch in Forks at an amazing burger place! We were all starving and enjoyed the beers and burgers. We drove about an hour to Hoh Rainforest to stay at the campground there for the next two nights. We set up our tents again and ventured over to the Visitor's Center to grab some Junior Ranger booklets and get information about the trails nearby. The boys cooled off in the river at the campground that was absolutely freezing and we saw our first elk! He was magnificent!
That night we grilled foil packets with either kielbasa or clams/shrimp with red skin potatoes and pieces of corn on the cob. They were really tasty and both boys tried clams! We made s'mores and did some stargazing. It was a fun night!
Wednesday morning we warmed up some pre-cooked frittata and the kids had ramen. It was chilly in the evenings and mornings. I'm glad we brought some puffy coats. We packed lunches since we were going to do a big hike. We did the Hoh Rainforest Trail with the intent of going out about 3.5 miles to a waterfall and turning around. The waterfall would be our lunch spot. It was a beautiful trail and the kids did pretty good with hiking that far. After a long hike we all went swimming in the river to cool off and rest our tired feet. The kids worked on and completed their Junior Ranger booklet and their Ocean Stewards booklet to earn both a badge and a patch. So, we walked them over to the Visitor's Center to earn their swag.
Dinner was grilled steak and broccolini. We had several elk sightings and one that was extremely close to the swimming spot on the river. So, we got some great pictures and videos! We had more s'mores over the fire and enjoyed another evening stargazing.
Thursday morning we woke up and did eggs and bacon over the fire. We had to pack up the camp to move again to another site, but first we did the Hall of Mosses hike and listened to the ranger talk about Olympic. We roasted hot dogs over the fire for lunch with chips and fruit after packing up the cars and then hit the road.
Our next destination was Sol-Duc, which was about 2 hours away. We stopped in Forks to replenish ice and beverages and a few other food items at the grocery store. Since we were getting in late afternoon, my brother decided we would go straight to the hot springs and swim before setting up camp. Luckily, we were able to get 4:00-5:30pm time slot to swim. The hot springs were a unique experience. There were several pools with different temperatures ranging from 75 to 105 degrees. We were thankful there was a locker room with showers since we had no showers at the other campgrounds. After swimming we set up our camp and grilled chicken and steak tacos for a Mexican night dinner. Of course there were more s'mores. The kids loved that our campsite had a river behind it again with a huge log they could climb down. They went off exploring by themselves since we knew they could hear us if we called for them.
Friday morning Eric made pancakes for breakfast and bacon. We decided to drive into town and go to Lake Crescent for the day. Eric, Ana, Scott, Sean, Evan, and I rented canoes at the Log Cabin Resort and did a two-hour rental. The lake is absolutely gorgeous and is filled with glacial melting and has no nitrogen. So there is no algae and it's crystal clear and as deep as 60 feet! We packed a bag lunch in the canoe and stopped to eat and the boys found a swing someone had made. They were even brave enough to jump in from the bridge! It was really hard paddling back because the wind was strong coming back. Thankfully we made it and a had a celebratory beer!
We had burgers for our last camping dinner and enjoyed our last evening. Saturday morning we packed up camp, again. We ate random stuff for our last breakfast since we didn't want to make a lot of dishes. We drove to Hurricane Ridge going back to Portland a different route through Port Angeles. Hurricane Ridge had us climbing close to 6,000 ft. above sea level. Unfortunately, Sean got sick in the car, but he enjoyed the views once we got up to the top. The Visitor's Center was busy, but we took a few pictures and did some last minute shopping and got out of there. We grabbed Wendy's in Port Angeles for lunch and started the 4 hour voyage back to Portland where we checked into our hotel, did laundry, unpacked and got settled. My brother and Ana came over with pizza and salad and we watched Major League on TV.
The next leg of our trip took place in Portland and Hood River.
