August 6, 2012 ---- Going to a rainforest sounds like going to my home country, Thailand. Who would have thought that America also has a rainforest right in the northwestern part of the country? It really made me want to go see it with my own eyes....
Nathan and I were staying in a motel at Port Angeles when we went to Olympic National Park. We had a plan with our wonderful friend whom we met in Taiwan, Melody, and her sweet husband, Chuck, to wander the park together for the day. It was also their engagement anniversary when Chuck proposed to Melody in front of a beautiful waterfall in the park. What a romantic couple! ^____^
Salt Creek State Park
Melody and Chuck met us at our motel around 10 a.m., and then we went to stores for our hiking supplies like food and maps. Chuck introduced us to the Salt Creek State Park as a place where he has scuba-dived many times. It was beautiful and interesting there. I think this is a good place for a family to come camp and learn about sea life. There were a lot of mussels, seaweed, starfish, little fish, hermit crabs, etc. One little girl showed me a small shell she picked up from the water, and a little boy showed me the stone fish at the rock in the water. How cute!
Lake Crescent
On the way to Sol Duc, we drove along Lake Crescent and made a brief stop to get a few photo shots. It was huge and gorgeous. Even though it was a very cloudy day, the water was blue and crystal clear. Chuck said he dived here before. On the way back from Sol Duc, it was sunny, so we made a stop here again. The sun shined on the water and made it even more sparkling than before. This must be a gorgeous place to do kayaking because the water is so clear that you can see the bottom of the lake where it isn't too deep.
Sol Duc Falls
Because I love waterfalls so much, I made a request that we go to Sol Duc Falls for the day. It is only a 0.8 mile one-way hike to the beautiful waterfalls, and the trail was well maintained when we went there. The rainforest was similar to those in Thailand, just some different types of trees. In Thailand we have more teak than pine trees, and you might encounter a wild elephant or a tiger instead of a black bear. Chuck taught me a lot about berries and some species in the forest. I got to taste a huckleberry but not a salmon berry.
Once we got to the waterfalls, I just couldn't stop myself from taking lots of photos of the falls. The water was flowing tremendously strong and gorgeous! It wasn't like a stunning 1000 feet tall waterfall, but it has a unique flow of water that makes the whole place a scenic spot.
We had lunch at the bench next to the waterfalls. We got some salads and sandwiches from a grocery store, and I accidentally ate Chuck's sandwich instead of mine. Well, they look the same.... :-)
After hiking to the waterfalls, Melody and Chuck had to head back to Seattle because they had to go to work the next morning. Nathan and I had such a wonderful time, and we were so sad that we couldn't spend more time with them. They are such a sweet and wonderful couple, and I hope to visit them again in the future either in Seattle or in Taiwan.
Hurricane Ridge
After taking a small break at the motel, Nathan and I grabbed a map and continued our journey to Hurricane Ridge. It was a beautiful drive, and the road wasn't too wind-y at all. There were many stops along the way for scenic views, and we saw a lot of deer hanging around the road.Hurricane Ridge is stunning! Once we got to the very top of the mountain, I felt like we were driving in Switzerland ---- the snow-peaked mountains and green-grass hills and colorful wild flowers in bloom....... It just felt like a WOW moment.
Nathan and I walked around the park and took pictures of mountains, flowers and some deer. The weather was very comfortable the day we visited, and the deer didn't seem to be scared by cars or tourists. At the end we walked to check out the Visitor Center, and I found it pretty cool.
Overall, Olympic National Park is a must-see park if you ever visit Seattle. There is a lot more of the park that Nathan and I didn't have a chance to visit on this trip, like the Hoh Rain Forest, but we will definitely come back here with more time to wander the entire park if we ever visit the west coast again.
