After a quick drive up the coast and visit to Ecola state park (last surfing destination...for those interested, the waves were small, but fun and provided a good chance to get used to my board...especially the fast quad fin setup) our trip shifted gears a bit as we pulled into a Victorian mansion come B&B. This leg of the trip will be spent with my parents, which is especially fun for Finn, who might be getting just a little worn out.
So far, we've really enjoyed their company and have exhausted ourselves with beach hikes, forest hikes, tide pool gazing, choosing just the right campsite, and thousands of questions: what is that starfish doing, why is it on the rock, what does it eat; why is the tide low, can waves get us here; why are barnacles on rocks; how deep can cormorants dive, is that an anemone; daddy you should surf here...why don't you just steer around the rocks; where are we going; where are Nana and Papa?...
The highlight though was definitely the long crazy drive from 0' to 5500' in the interior of Oly NP to gain the Deer Park campground set in a subalpine environment. After a foggy 4 mile hike we enjoyed near solitude, another great meal, and the slow unveiling of one of the most beautiful views from a "front country" site...billows of white to gray fog enshrouding the thick forested foothills of the glacier carved and partially snow covered Olympic Mountains....wow.
We packed up quickly in the mist and rain, drove down the narrow winding road, shoveled down all a nearby Starbucks had to offer, and made our Port Townsend ferry with room to spare. Our next stop is Orcas Island, where all of our thoroughly damp camping gear will stay neatly tucked away in the rocket box as we look forward to showers and maybe even a chance to break the newly formed rust off of our bike chains.
PS - for more photos, see previous post.
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