Olympic National Park

My parents and some friends from out of town visited Olympic National Park for a weekend. This is the big green region on the map.

Our destination was the Sol Doc Hotsprings campground where we set up our tents and enjoyed the hotsprings and nearby hikes. You can see all the pictures on my Flickr set Olympic National Park.

Port Angeles

On our way to this place we stopped at Port Angeles. Zoom in one level on map to see its location. It is relatively small and quiet town with a touristy-feel to it.

Note the sale of Paintball supplies and $$GUNS$$ in an Antiquies and Collectibles store! Wild.

I witnessed the destruction of a car sand sculpture by a tractor. The car had been standing there for a while and I guess the time for recyling the sand came. Philosophically it was a profound event.

Nearby were other sculptures. An annual sand scultping event takes places in Port Angeles around July, and we arrived a few days after it ended. The aritists are either talented hobbyists or professional ice sculptors from all over north america. The scultures remain standing for as long as they can withstand weathering. After completion, the artists sprayed their creation with a mix of elmers glue and water to increase their longevity.

Olympic National Park

Here we are setting up the campground with a green rain cover over the picnic table.

Time for some food!

Food and other odor-emitting substances (like perfumes) should be stored in the provided iron locker. That way when a bear comes he won't look in the tent where you are likely sleeping.

The forest around our campground was remarkable. The trees were tall and lush.

There's an obligatory trail through the forest that leads to a waterfall.

Hurricane Ridge

This is a place near the park that boasts a long and winding but not strenuous hike to reach a point from which you can get a wonderful view of the surrounding area, even Canada. Unfortunately that day was marred with clouds, so Canada wasn't visible.

The usual moutain inhabitants:

The clouds added a level of mystery that made some of these pictures come out pretty well.

Pacific Ocean and Hoh Rainforest

My trip to the peninsula ended on sunday, but my folks and their friends went farther out to the west and set up camp closer to the ocean. Since I was absent during the exposure of these photos, I can't say much about them. The last few are from the Hoh rain forest.

After seeing these pictures I regret not having the opportunity to stay out longer and see this beautiful terrain.