Friday, August 28, 2009

Olympic Park Water Falls

Yesterday, after a slow start to the morning, we decided to head to Port Angeles and Olympic National Park. Our trip today was to find a couple of the many waterfalls that are in the park.

When we got to Port Angeles, we decided to call Rod and Deb and see if they would like to join us for the afternoon. They quickly said yes, but had not had lunch. Well, neither had we. Deb suggested the

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8th Street Bridge Grill. Burgers and fries, salads and sandwiches, and milk shakes in about 54 different flavors. What more could one ask for. So, after a quick stop at the park visitor center for Ellie and I to pick up a National Park Passport Book, we met Deb and Rod for lunch. Great choice and everything we had including the shakes was great.

We decided that we could all pile in the jeep, so Rod dropped their truck off by the house and we stopped

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to pick them up. Time to head out to the park, but not before Mark

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picked himself an apple off of the tree in the backyard.

So, with apple in hand, we headed into the park, and around

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Crescent Lake. This is a beautiful cold, clear glacially-carved lake. It owes its existence to ice. Its depth is 624 feet and was gouged by huge ice sheets thousands of years ago. As the ice retreated, it left a steep valley that filled with clear blue water. The lake has very little nitrogen which limits the growth of tiny plants like algae. Without them, the waters stay crystal clear. In some places you can see as far down as 60 feet. The clarity and reflecting light give it the beautiful blue-green color.

It’s protected waters are home to fish like the Beardslee and Crescenti trout, two types of fish found nowhere else in the world.

After a few pictures here, we headed on to the

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Storm King Ranger Station where we picked up the trail head for

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Marymere Falls. We all headed down the trail which took us

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through the tunnel. Deb says

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come on through.

We wound around and through

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the trees. And, I might add, some

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big tree they were. We needed seven people to go all the way around this one!

Andrew, Lauren, and Zachary….I wish you guys had been here to see this.

As we continued on down the trial, we saw

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bridges made from tree trunks and

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beautiful blooming plants. We climbed

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steps and

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visited with a ranger along the way. But, at last, we

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we found the falls. We are so glad that

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Rod and Deb decided to join us today.

Well, time to head back down the trail, but first,

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Jim and Mark had to compare a camera setting or two. Then, we made our way back across the

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one lane bridge and by

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this little guy who was enjoying an afternoon snack. It was back through the

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tall tall trees and it wasn’t long until we were back to the

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Ranger Station where we started.

We still had time for one more stop, so we headed to

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Madison Falls. This was just a short walk around the trail past

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this very large tree stump and the

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ferns that grow wild all along the paths. And, once again, at the end of the trail we found

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the falls. Everyone took

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advantage of the cool and shady lookout. After a short rest, we started back. Once we were back to the car, Rod remembered that we were not far from some hot springs. We drove and drove, only to find out that when we got to the

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end of the road, it was still a hike to get there. It was getting late and we had already been on 2 hikes so we headed back down the mountain. We did stop at a pullout to get

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a picture of this lake.

Once we were back to Port Angeles, we dropped Rod and Deb off at their trailer, made plans to return to Port Angeles on Saturday for dinner at their house and then we headed home to Chimacum.

Another great day!

5 comments:

  1. What beautiful photos, Dortha and Mark. Olympic National Park is one of my favorite places.

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  2. I'm so jealous that you all were together! But, glad for you, too. Have fun! Hugs to all.

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  3. Good Morning... What beautiful photos you had to share with us today. It really sounded like my kind of fun and I am wishing I was there with you guys. Washington is just a beautiful sate and has so many photo opportunities.

    Have Fun & Travel Safe
    Keep the wonderful photos coming!
    Donna

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  4. Great pictures! We are enjoying your posts! Keep them coming!

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  5. Sounds like so much fun.. Love the pictures.. Hope to make it there some day.

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