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.