OUR NATIONAL PARK CHALLENGE: TO VISIT ALL 51 NATIONAL PARKS LOCATED IN THE LOWER 48 STATES
COMPLETED
PROGRESS BAR
STILL TO GO
44
7
THURSDAY - We've got a 93-mile travel day today to our next campsite which is west/northwest of our present location. The distance could have been much shorter if they'd just put roads through the forest where it's most convenient for us travelers. (LOL)
We start our journey by traveling 26-miles due south, just the opposite of where we want to go. Then we can make our way west over to US-101 so that we can then finally go north towards our destination.
There was one other option and that was to take Forest Road 22 like we did when we went sightseeing in Quinault, but that 15-miles of potholed, single lane, gravel road was not going to work for me while towing THE POD. It worked just fine when it was just ROVER and us.
It would only have saved us about 35-miles of driving and that's just not worth possibly damaging THE POD. Had it saved us 100-miles of driving, our decision may have changed.
NOTE: Since we had no reliable Starlink service from any where on our campsite (too many trees), I've been driving down to the big boat ramp parking lot to work on the blog. It's the only place in the campground where the trees have been cleared out and I am able to set up our Starlink Mini dish and get connected.
That's where I am this morning, uploading this blog for you all to read.
TRAVEL DAY
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It's not so terrible working down here by Wynoochee Lake, there is this to look at.
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We are on US-101, heading north at 60MPH, sure beats driving on a gravel road everytime.
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The miles flew by and soon we were entering Olympic National Park (#44 of 51 for us).
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We needed to have a Ranger escort to reach our site, because we had to go the wrong way around a 1-way single-lane loop to properly approach our site. Their design, not mine!
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Soon we were listening to the loud crashing sound of the ocean waves.
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And if we look in "just the right place", we can even see them from our big dinette window.
FRIDAY - It was raining on and off pretty much all day long, so we basically took the day off.
In the early afternoon we did drive back down US-101 about 5.5-miles to check out the price of gasoline at the Queets Trading Post on the Quinault Indian Reservation.
It was only $5.39, when it's $6.25 everywhere else off the reservation.
We also visited the First-Come-First-Serve South Beach Campground just inside of Olympic National Park. It wouldn't be a very good fit to try and camp with THE POD there in the small sites, but several Class B Camper Vans looked very comfortable in their oceanfront sites.
The rest of the day we just kind of chilled out in THE POD.
SATURDAY - By 10:00AM most of the rain clouds had cleared and we saw blue skies, our cue to let the sightseeing begin here in Kalaloch.
The weather cleared just in time for us to catch low tide at one of the two locations in the area known for excellent tidepooling opportunities.
FIRST SIGHTSEEING DAY
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We saw this tree on the way down to the unassumingly named Beach 4 tidepooling area.
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This tree contorted its trunk to reach out into the sunlight.
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That's where we're headed, down to those rocks in the surf.
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The trail came up short of reaching the sand and we had to climb our way down.
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That is the aptly named Destruction Island Lighthouse you see 3.5-miles offshore. It's also where we saw a whale, only it wasn't out it the ocean where it belonged.
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It's carcass washed high up onto the beach.
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I assume it was fairly recently judging by the lack of decay and little smell.
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There was a second whale on the beach about 200-yards further north.
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There was no lack of sea anemone among the rocks.
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Tricia first spotted this brown and white sea star underwater.
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Then she saw something very colorful hanging from that big rock over there.
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It turned out to be a whole lot more sea stars.
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And they weren't alone. Around the other side there were many more to observe.
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This one was hanging out by itself away from the others.
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Turns out they were everywhere.
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Look how big those mussels are. No, not Tricia's muscles.
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We haven't seen these pink and clear sea anenomes before.
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There were some very strange looking rock formations here at Beach 4.
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I'm glad Tricia looked up from all her "down low" sightseeing to spot this bald eagle.
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Time to head back up to the parking lot, we've got more places to see today.
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This is the trail that leads down to Beach 1 from the parking on the side of US-101.
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It was a long way down to reach the beach, so we turned around here.
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There are a great number of trees here with abnormal, tumor-like outgrowths on their trunks.
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These are called burls and are highly valued by woodworkers for their intricate, chaotic, and swirling wood grain.
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From the parking on the side of US-101 this is all you can see of Beach 2.
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Again there is a well marked trail down to the beach through all the burl wood trees.
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We finally made it all the way down to the beach...
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...where we found lots and lots of dried out driftwood.
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This piece of driftwood may have been one of the burls we saw on the trees.
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The last stop for the day is right back here at Kalaloch Campground.
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A short walk down to the beach from the parking lot will put you in front of...
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...what's known as the Kalaloch Tree of Life, a large Sitka spruce tree that appears to be floating in mid-air over an ever widening trench below it.
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Back up these rickety old stairs is where we'll find ROVER to take us to our campsite.
SUNDAY - Today the weather is much clearer, but the temperatures will still max out at around 59°F.
With a stiff breeze coming off the 55°F water of the Pacific Ocean it's definitely going to be sweater weather out there today.
SECOND SIGHTSEEING DAY
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We didn't even have to leave our campsite to begin today's sightseeing.
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We had 3 very hungry bunnies at the back of our site enjoying breakfast today.
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If you've been keeping track, you know we haven't visited Beach 3 yet.
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Well, we can check that off our list now.
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Again, it's way too far to hike down to the sand.
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This trail will lead us to what's touted as the world's 3rd largest Cedar Tree.
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The tree is definely showing it's 1000-year old age. A full 1/3 of the tree has broken off and is now lying on the ground.
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I'm not even sure if the top of the tree is still there to make it 175' tall.
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For our second tidepooling location we've arrived at Ruby Beach.
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From Ruby Beach we had a slightly better view of the lighthouse on Destruction Island.
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This is the fresh water of Cedar Creek running across Ruby Beach into the saltwater ocean.
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There were several large sea stacks here on Ruby Beach.
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This small arch lead out to the edge of the surf at low tide.
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It was out here where most of the good tidepooling was found.
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These small limpets were stuck like glue to the side of the rocks....
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...and they were everywhere.
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Tricia had fun getting a reaction from touching the small creatures.
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The anenomes above water were all closed up, while the ones below water were wide open.
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There were very few sea stars here at Ruby Beach, not like yesterday at Beach 4.
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This was where everyone wanted their photo taken, finally it was vacant.
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Time to head back up to the parking lot and head for home.
Looking for our Visited States Map and Data? How about our State by State Bucket Lists or Visited Campgrounds List? If so, click on the sign below to be taken to our other website.
It's not so terrible working down here by Wynoochee Lake, there is this to look at.
We are on US-101, heading north at 60MPH, sure beats driving on a gravel road everytime.
The miles flew by and soon we were entering Olympic National Park (#44 of 51 for us).
We needed to have a Ranger escort to reach our site, because we had to go the wrong way
Soon we were listening to the loud crashing sound of the ocean waves.
And if we look in "just the right place", we can even see them from our big dinette window.
We saw this tree on the way down to the unassumingly named Beach 4 tidepooling area.
This tree contorted its trunk to reach out into the sunlight.
That's where we're headed, down to those rocks in the surf.
The trail came up short of reaching the sand and we had to climb our way down.
That is the aptly named Destruction Island Lighthouse you see 3.5-miles offshore.
It's carcass washed high up onto the beach.
I assume it was fairly recently judging by the lack of decay and little smell.
There was a second whale on the beach about 200-yards further north.
There was no lack of sea anemone among the rocks.
Tricia first spotted this brown and white sea star underwater.
Then she saw something very colorful hanging from that big rock over there.
It turned out to be a whole lot more sea stars.
And they weren't alone. Around the other side there were many more to observe.
This one was hanging out by itself away from the others.
Turns out they were everywhere.
Look how big those mussels are. No, not Tricia's muscles.
We haven't seen these pink and clear sea anenomes before.
There were some very strange looking rock formations here at Beach 4.
I'm glad Tricia looked up from all her "down low" sightseeing to spot this bald eagle.
Time to head back up to the parking lot, we've got more places to see today.
This is the trail that leads down to Beach 1 from the parking on the side of US-101.
It was a long way down to reach the beach, so we turned around here.
There are a great number of trees here with abnormal, tumor-like outgrowths on their trunks.
These are called burls and are highly valued by woodworkers
From the parking on the side of US-101 this is all you can see of Beach 2.
Again there is a well marked trail down to the beach through all the burl wood trees.
We finally made it all the way down to the beach...
...where we found lots and lots of dried out driftwood.
This piece of driftwood may have been one of the burls we saw on the trees.
The last stop for the day is right back here at Kalaloch Campground.
A short walk down to the beach from the parking lot will put you in front of...
...what's known as the Kalaloch Tree of Life, a large Sitka spruce tree that appears
Back up these rickety old stairs is where we'll find ROVER to take us to our campsite.
We didn't even have to leave our campsite to begin today's sightseeing.
If you've been keeping track, you know we haven't visited Beach 3 yet.
Well, we can check that off our list now.
Again, it's way too far to hike down to the sand.
This trail will lead us to what's touted as the world's 3rd largest Cedar Tree.
The tree is definely showing it's 1000-year old age.
I'm not even sure if the top of the tree is still there to make it 175' tall.
For our second tidepooling location we've arrived at Ruby Beach.
From Ruby Beach we had a slightly better view of the lighthouse on Destruction Island.
There were several large sea stacks here on Ruby Beach.
This small arch lead out to the edge of the surf at low tide.
It was out here where most of the good tidepooling was found.
These small limpets were stuck like glue to the side of the rocks....
...and they were everywhere.
The anenomes above water were all closed up, while the ones below water were wide open.
There were very few sea stars here at Ruby Beach, not like yesterday at Beach 4.
This was where everyone wanted their photo taken, finally it was vacant.
Time to head back up to the parking lot and head for home.
