Olympic National Park – Port Angeles

Odometer: approx. 56,550

Time: 08:30

We drive out of town westwards and eventually get to HWY 101 north. We once more drive through countryside Washington, with lots of small villages and grassland in between. A lot of trucks loaded with timber are coming down from the north. We go almost all the way to the pacific. In Aberdeen, which actually is at a bay of the ocean, the HWY takes a turn north towards the Olympic National Park. There we see where the timber comes from: hugh forests, they have divided the forests into section and then they harvest one whole section and afterwards plant new trees (which will probably be ready for harvesting in about 20 to 30 years from now).

At Quinault we turn right; the road leads along Quinault Lake, where we stop for a walk to the worlds largest Sitka Spruce Tree (Fichte). The tree is the world’s largest Spruce with a circumference of 58 feet and 11 inches, a diameter of 18 feet and 9 inches, it is 191 feet tall and about 1000 years old! Along this road we also take walks to the Quinault Lake, the river and through thick rain forest. We see a lot of logs lying on the ground and they are all huge. Today I feel really tiny at times next to these enormous trees.

Back on HWY 101 we finally get to the Pacific Ocean again. It is wonderful to see the ocean and breath the salty air after so long. We have seen so many beautiful and impressive sights, but the ocean still has something magic.

In the afternoon we take another detour off HWY 101 and drive to the Hoh Rain Forest. It’s about 18 miles from the HWY (one way). We see some more crystal clear rivers and ponds and dark very dense forest. We take our time to really feel and enjoy the settings of this very beautiful place!

We arrive in Port Angeles after 7:00 pm and quickly find a motel to stay. Before unpacking we walk along the ocean to the port to find something for dinner. Port Angeles is one of very few cities that we have seen on our trip that has some character and invites to stay – very nice and not too crowded.

Overnight Stay: Riviera Inn, Port Angeles, WA

Dinner: Thai at the port