Marymere and Madison Falls

Good morning, my friends. We'll be moving on again today, and we've made the most of our stay here in Port Angeles. Yesterday's activity was to head down the road (backtracking the way we came in) to the Storm King Ranger Station for a hike on the Marymere Falls Trail. When we left the RV, Sadie was ensconced in her favorite quilt cocoon.

There was no parking at the ranger station, but not to worry. We found the parking lot nearly empty at the Lake Crescent Lodge just a short distance away. The hike could begin at either place, and so that's where we started. There weren't many rules at this location, but if you're packing heat, you'll need to leave it in the car.

It was mostly a nice stroll through awe-inspiring old growth forest.

We passed by Marymere Creek, responsible for the falls we would see.

We saw more immense trees. FYI, Mike is 6'1" with at least a six-foot wingspan.

Look up.

We were lucky enough to get another sunny day. I liked how the moss looked with the sun shining through.

We were treated to this view of a pileated woodpecker going to town on one of the trees.

Moving down the trail, we could see him from a little different angle.

We crossed over a bridge...

Looking east, we had a nice view of the creek.

And then we crossed another bridge created from a huge log hewn in half the long way.

Finally, these steps would take us up nearly 500 feet...

Where we could see the falls.

As we made our way back down, we came to another viewing platform where we could see it from a little different angle.

Then, we made our way back to the car. And when in Rome, right? It was lunch time, and so we had lunch at the Lake Crescent Lodge.

To my left were these cute little cabins.

This was the view of Lake Crescent from our table.

Also from our table, and looking in the other direction, it looked like this.

Lunch was good. I had a marionberry creme soda. Mmm, mmm, mmm. And after that hike I was thirsty.

I had the roasted vegetable hero sandwich. That "mush" on top is an artichoke tapenade, and it was delicious.

Mike had a burger.

Before leaving, I checked into the gift shop and scored my first shot glass of the trip.

We decided to walk out on the dock.

From there, we could see the lodge from a different angle.

Looking west, it looked like this.

Looking east, it looked like this.

You can rent a kayak here if you want to.

And then, my thanks go to my friend, LindaKay, who informed me about Madison Falls. It was on the way back to the RV, and a short hike at just .2 miles, and barely any elevation gain. We drove up the Elwha Valley, alongside the Elwha River. At a different time of the year, we're told the salmon run through here...a happy conclusion to the dam removal.

Looking to my right, it looked like this.

And here we go...just a short walk this time my friends. C'mon...you can do it.

There now. Madison Falls. Aren't you glad you came?

And that was our day. It was a good day all around. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we needed to make a quick trip to the grocery store, which meant driving back into downtown Port Angeles, a distance of about 10 miles in both directions. We were tired by then, and so we stopped at a general store on our way. We were able to find some kitty treats there, and HALLELUJAH! Because we were tired, and we really just wanted to go back to the RV and take naps.

Today, we'll be moving on to Black Diamond, Washington. There, we're planning a hike out to a ghost town, and I love a good ghost town. It's a short drive. We're considering stopping at a quilt shop in Port Gamble (thanks, Darlene!), and a chocolate shop in Bremerton (thanks, Debi!). When we're towing, those sorts of things always depend on how difficult it is to get in and out and park with our extra length. So, anything could happen. And we could decide to drive straight there. Either way, we will make a stop at a grocery store, and we need to refuel the Jeep we've been driving around for our sight-seeing adventures. 

All right then. Pack up your gear. Time to be on our way.

Port Angeles, Washington

Good morning, my friends. It was a hectic day of driving yesterday, but we got some "life" things taken care of. The biggest task was to get our leaking tire fixed. We dropped the truck off, drove to the RV park, checked in, got some lunch, and by then, the truck was ready. It seems we’d picked up a 5mm nail somewhere along the way. So, I dropped Mike at the tire place, and then drove back to the RV park to start some laundry. By the time I had the laundry started, Mike was pulling into our assigned spot. All of that took about 3 hours. 

But let's back up to yesterday morning when we drove out of the park at Neah Bay. Several times driving in and out, we found these two dogs lying in the road. We're assuming they're awaiting someone's return. They were friendly and approached our truck with wagging tails when we stopped to say hello. (Don't tell Smitty and Sadie, okay?)

Driving through the town of Neah Bay, I noticed one of these giant Adirondack chairs. We saw these all over, and on our hike. They were for folks to take selfies. We didn’t indulge.

After driving a distance, we passed by this private residence. There was a carport on the road side, and I noticed this quilt block. It isn’t painted. Instead, it’s created from blocks of wood put together to form the design.

And Happy Fall, my friends! We’re seeing that fall color. Washington is the "Evergreen State," and so we’re not seeing much fall color in the national forests.

Here, we were passing by Lake Crescent. Wikipedia tells us that

Lake Crescent is a deep lake located entirely within Olympic National Park. . . .With an official maximum depth of 624 feet (190 m), it is the second deepest lake in the state of Washington (after Lake Chelan). A lake-wide bathymetric survey . . . shows the maximum depth as being 596 feet (182 m). 

Continuing on, Wikipedia tells us

Lake Crescent is known for brilliant blue waters and exceptional clarity caused by low levels of nitrogen in the water that inhibit the growth of algae. The lake was formed when glaciers carved deep valleys during the last Ice Age. Initially, the Lake Crescent valley drained into the Indian Creek valley and then into Elwha River. Anadromous fish such as steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout migrated into the valley from lower waters.

Approximately 8,000 years ago, a great landslide from one of the Olympic Mountains dammed Indian Creek, and the deep valley filled with water. Many geologists believe that Lake Crescent and nearby Lake Sutherland formed at the same time, but became separated by the landslide. This theory is supported by Klallam tribe legend which tells a story of Mount Storm King being angered by warring tribes and throwing a boulder to cut Lake Sutherland in two, resulting in Lake Crescent. 

We’re in an RV park. It has a good vibe. It was good to find a nice laundry room for my first laundry day of the trip. We’re close to where the Elwha Dam once existed. It was breached in March of 2012 in order to restore salmon habitat. You can read more about it right here. Nevertheless, there is an "interpretive center" and a "viewing platform" nearby. One wonders what we might see there, and so our curiosity will force us to check it out.

There are some funny and inspirational signs posted around the park, giving the place a friendly feel.

There’s a “help yourself” vegetable garden. 

Things are pretty well picked over at this point, but it’s a nice idea.

There were flowers too.

The pocket angel below was tucked into the pot with the black-eyed Susans.

I've seen the next quote before, but I didn't know it was from Audrey Hepburn.

Okay, so on today’s agenda, we’re going to Hike the Marymere Falls Trail. It’s a 1.8 mile hike,. We’ll drive back to the Storm King Mountain visitor center in Olympic National Park. We should reach a big waterfall at the end, but there’s no telling how much water will be flowing so late in the year. It’ll be a good walk through old growth forest either way. Here's what our AllTrails app says about the trail:

The Marymere Falls Trail is a short hike through wonderful Pacific Northwest scenery from Lake Crescent, through large towering trees, and encompassing incredible river views. It is one of the most popular trails in Olympic National Park. The trail begins by the Storm King Ranger Station and features a nice gentle rise in elevation up to the falls and a pleasant descent. 

Lush greenery and beautiful waterways abound on this short trek. The waterfall is breathtaking. The beginning of the trail is relatively flat but eventually, it goes into well-maintained switchbacks. The switchbacks are nothing to fear, there are only 2 or 3 of them. 

We're also going to need to make a quick trip to a grocery store. We're nearly out of kitty treats, and so you can see it is an impending emergency. There are a couple of other items on our list too.

We'll probably wait until after lunch when the weather is supposed to be a little better. I believe I heard rain on our roof last night. There's a 20% chance of rain up until around the noon hour, but then little chance after that. So far, our rain gear has remained in the closet. 

All right then. Strap on your hiking boots if you're coming with us. 

Nothing Doing...or Doing Nothing

Good morning, my friends. Since we took advantage of yesterday's nice weather for our hike on the Cape Flattery Trail, we had nothing on the day's agenda. That meant a day of relaxation. We're not sure if Sadie was happy for us to hang around or not. She was doing her Greta Garbo routine: "I vant to be alone." She took her morning nap inside the cubby over our bed, dedicated to the use of the kitties when we're in the camper.

In the morning, I took the first stitches on the last block for the "Snowmen and Reindeer" project.

Mike suggested driving into Neah Bay for lunch. There wasn't much open on a Monday, but we found a place the served fried oysters. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Mike's basket looked a lot like mine except that he had fresh ling cod instead of fried oysters.

As we paid, I noticed the images and art work on the walls. I love this kind of art. For my next "Quilter's Choice" quilt, I might decide to do something like this.

Here's some information about the artist.

Outside, and across the street from the restaurant, were these two figures. They were on the front lawn of a Makah Cultural Museum. We're not really museum people, and so we didn't go to the museum, but I liked these guys.

Back at the campground, we took a walk out to the beach. Along the way, I spied these wild asters.

Also this clover.

Now you might think this photo was taken in black and white, but it wasn't. It's in full color, but this is how it looked. We didn't really get any rain...just a little misting in the morning. By afternoon, the sun appeared occasionally, but it was cloudy and gray most of the day.

It was breezy and cool on the beach, so we were only out for a few minutes. Back at the camper, I spent some more time on my slow-stitching.

And that was our day. A day of rest is always good.

This morning, we'll be heading toward Port Angeles. We have an appointment at the local Les Schwab to get our tire fixed, and then we'll have two nights in Port Angeles. We have one hike on our agenda, and we're hoping for good weather tomorrow for that. The forecast is looking good so far.

So buckle your seatbelts, my friends. I hope y'all have enjoyed your own day of rest. You'll probably want to rest up again today. Our hike tomorrow is about two miles with a 324 foot elevation gain. Get a good night sleep, okay?