She's Got It All!

 Although each national park is unique, we have been able to mentally group some of the parks we have visited together into different types based on their general features. For example, canyon parks, mountain parks, or forest parks. But Olympic National Park? Oh, she's got it all! 

The park is separated into different sections with scenic 101 splitting them up. There is no road through the middle of the park so taking 101 is the primary way to get around. As we were wrapping up our 13 hour drive coming in through the south end of the park, we saw a couple signs simply titled 'beach'. As loyal parrot heads, we jumped at the opportunity to see the ocean once more and pulled over at the famous Ruby Beach. 

Now most of our beach experience is on the east coast and the beach at Redwoods stuck out to us but Ruby Beach was even more iconic! With large rocks marking the view along with piles of driftwood and surprisingly warm water we knew we were in for a treat! After soaking up as much sun as we could so far up north we continued our way through the park and went to the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center! 

The drive here was breathtaking, with dark dense forest intermittently cut through with bright openings around a rushing river. After appreciating this drastically different view, we were able to pick up a map and stamp our passports just before they closed. We finally arrived to our campsite after a long day of driving and sight seeing to make some dinner and go to bed. We put all of our trust in the rain fly as we were expecting it to pour all night and most of the next day as well. 

The next day we got started at the Sol Duc Falls, a short hike that passes several mini-waterfalls on your way to a large waterfall that cut into a canyon. Once again, A+ waterfall! The water transitioned between a deep cerulean and bright white as it flowed down the river and through the falls. 

Our next stop was at Hurricane Ridge, which sits atop a mountain range among the clouds. As we sat at the top of the mountain eating our lunch we took in everything around us. The fog blurred the green forests and rocks around the mountains with the sea in the far off distance. Although it was very cold and we rather quickly got back in the car and drove back down, we were already looking forward to a hypothetical trip in the future and planning what hikes to do there. 

Every stop along 101 across the park brings new wonders to anyone who has the time to discover them. The diversity in views and the vastness of the park made us feel like we could keep coming back year after year and still not see the whole park! And we know we have been coming up with a lot of new trip ideas but when you keep visiting the most beautiful places in the world, it's hard not to!