This Spring Break we decided to take a short trip to the Olympic Peninsula. Some of it the kids have seen before so we wanted to take them to some of the places they/we have never been. It was 3 nights packed full of driving (600 miles) and sight seeing. The kids had a blast!
First stop was the Sol Duc Hot Springs. They smelled a little like sulfur but not overpowering and somehow it didn't make US stink. There were three "pools" we spent most of the time in the smallest. It was perfect at just shy of 100 degrees. The largest was around 102 and the medium pool was right around 107. They also had a freshwater, unheated pool, hanging out around 55 degrees.
Kayda and Daddy jumped in and swam across the unheated pool! Their skin was bright red when they got out because of how cold it was. Daddy and Kayda ended up jumping in twice, Dillon and Carson each went in once. Carson REALLY didn't like it. I was waiting right next to him and was able to pull him out quickly.
We were surprised by how many birch trees were in the area. The kids took to calling them "ghost trees" because of how white they were, especially when they're surrounded by evergreen trees.
We ended our first day in Neah Bay, well, the ocean side opposite Neah Bay. It was a perfect evening! There was no wind and no rain. The kids played just like they always do at the beach. Dillon was having a rough day but as soon as the sand was beneath his toes you could see the tension drain out of him. Kayda collected shells and the boys ran in and out of the waves. We only headed back in because Carson's toes got too cold!
We started Thursday out strong with the Cape Flattery trail. It's only about 1.5 miles round trip. It's actually a pretty neat trail! They have board walks and even wood rounds put in the ground for the swampier sections. The kids had a great time playing "American Ninja Warriors" treating each section of the trail like an obstacle.
Cape Flattery is considered the Northwestern tip of the contiguous United States. The kids really wanted to go to the lighthouse but that wasn't an option.
After the hike we headed south! Well, back inland and then south. We headed down to Forks. We got to the hotel too early to check in so we decided to go straight for Second beach. I had heard that it was a beautiful beach but you have to hike to it. The hike wasn't difficult at all. It was another 1.5 mile round-trip trail. The kids loved looking around at the forest. A big favorite were the trees that you could see under, through their roots. It was really nice because it actually minimized the number of people on the beach. It was fairly empty. The boys played in the sand for the couple hours we were there. Kayda went between playing in the sand and wandering around with Daddy taking pictures. The weather was about perfect! It actually doesn't get much better than that on the Washington coast! It was around 60 degrees with barely a breeze!
After a couple hours it was getting close to time to head back for food. But before we left we went and put on shoes so we could climb one of the sea stacks. The kids loved it, I know I loved it as a kid... but holy cow was I a nervous wreck having my kids up there!
Up on top! Probably around 50ft high!
The next morning it was time to go to the rainforest! Of course there were high wind warnings in place for the day and a rare spring storm which meant more rain too! The visitor center was kind of a let down. There wasn't any displays or any kind of information about the forest. After looking at the options. We decided the two loop trails (2 miles together) wasn't enough. We chose to go to mineral creek falls. 2.7 miles up the Hoh River Trail. The trail eventually goes up to the glaciers.
We took off feeling pretty optimistic. The kids were having a great time looking at the huge trees and the coatings of moss.
What we didn't expect was how swampy it would be. We were constantly finding ways around or over huge puddles. There were whole trees downed across the trail to climb over too. Carson got tired, so we carried him for a while. Then he started getting cold. He was done at 1.8 miles. Daddy took him back to the car.
Kayda and Dillon wanted to try to find the waterfall so on we went. The farther in we got the worse the trail got. At one point the entire trail disappeared into a sea of water. You couldn't tell where it went because it was under anywhere from 6 inches to a foot of water (depending on the spot). We decide to follow a little trail around the side to see if we could find the main trail. The agreement was that if it wasn't obviously the trail, we would turn around. Fortunately, it brought us around the bog to some stairs. After that we came to the stream crossing the trail. We got to use the tree bridges, the kids thought it was great fun!
We continued along and at 2.7 miles we found the waterfall. It was too cold and too wet to stay for long. We took a quick photo and headed back.
It was a rough trip back, the puddles were even deeper, making it harder to follow the trail. The kids were cold, Kayda had twisted her ankle and they were tired. They were total troopers. I had to carry Kayda for a little while toward the end. After cheering them on, watching how hard they were working to keep going for the last 1.5 miles it was actually kind of emotional when we got to the end. Considering we don't hike often this was pretty ambitious. That being said, if the trail were drier I think they would've been just fine the whole way. 5.4 miles in the rain and cold is a bit much for most people. They were both happy that they'd done it and were proud to have made it to the water fall. It doesn't seem to have put them off hiking. In the forest we were fortunate and only heard/felt the wind gusts a few times. When we got to the visitor center the storm had knocked out the power. The further west we drove, out of the forest, the windier it got. There was all kinds of debri on the road and we had to drive over some freshly fallen, large, branches. It was a long 45 minutes to get back to the hotel!
The last morning, Saturday! We treated the kids with a breakfast out, they all thought this bench was the coolest and wanted a picture. There were a few places we had wanted to see on Friday but were too beat up from the hike to make it. So we decided we'd try to see them on the way home.
We saw a sign for "The Big Cedar" and decided to check it out. It's dead. but it has a bunch of other trees growing out of the stump now. It is basically a group of gnarly roots all wrapped around a huge stump. A large portion had fallen down which was definitely a bummer.
Then we stopped by Ruby beach. The tide was in and the water was all murky from the storm. You couldn't see any of the rocks that the beach is known for. We opted for a quick look then took off for the next vista.
Ruby beach... not that you'd know it from it's current state.
Next came Kalaloch. None of the kids have ever seen this beach, I was pregnant with Kayda the last time we were here. Dillon wasn't interested in looking so he and I hung out in the car.
The other two went down to the tiny strip of beach with Daddy. It was another quick look but they've seen it now! It was a busy, tiring trip. We all had a good time even if none of us slept well. Having two kiddos with colds didn't help. For the most part the kids did great! We're trying to work up the motivation to take them on more hikes. They're all pretty interested, Carson is the only "maybe".
We managed to get all the different weather for the area. We had rain, beautiful sunshine, a wind/rain storm, we drove through snow between the rain forest and Ruby beach and it was hailing as we got home. Definitely eventful!
