Olympic National Park ...

More pictures to share ... if we don't keep up with posting them as we go, then we'll drown under all of them! We drove up the west side of Olympic NP and hit up the coast and the Hoh Rainforest, then around to the north side of the park and hiked up to some natural hot springs and Hurricane Hill. We then putted around Seattle to meet up with our friends Elisa and Jake (so glad you guys came out!!!) and now we're just east of the Cascades. We'll probably be in Spokane tomorrow or Friday ...

Coastal rainforest campground

Mmmm ... old growth and moss

Washington produce stand! All this and a fillet of wild-caught pink salmon for $25!

 

  Hiking in the Hoh Rainforest

Hoh River

More Hoh

There was a nice waterfall up the creek but the picture didn't turn out

We have never seen more wild mushrooms in our lives!

Primate in a Pro-tec: A Raft Guide in its Truest Form

Salmon Falls on the Sol Duc River

The colors of the rock reminds me of the Chattooga

See any salmon? (Me either)

Happy to be here!

I love this man!

Sittin' on a stump

Lake Crescent from Hwy 101

On top of Hurricane Hill looking east ...

... looking north at Canada and the Strait ...

... looking south at Mount Olympus, who was shy that morning...

(Me too! Me too!)

Inverter issues

 

Lazy lookout

Free campsite!

We stayed three nights here: the price was right and the view stunning!

It's been getting colder every night ... we got a little snow two days ago!

Olympic was incredibly beautiful and all the leaves were changing when we left. I love the fall! The only negative thing we can say about it was that Black Dog couldn't go hiking with us (no dogs allowed on trails in National Parks), but we understand and made sure to take her on walks around the campgrounds when we came home.

The next set of pictures will come after we've explored Glacier National Park, so be on the lookout in another week or so! We'll eat a fresh, crisp, sweet Washington apple for you while we're here!

Kelly and Zach

Fun 101

Today concludes the end of week one on our glorious month-long road trip! We are writing from Olympia, WA before we head west to the Olympic Peninsula! So far, so good ... we're having a blast and seeing lots of amazing places. We've taken a few pictures to share .. enjoy!

First tunnel with the bus!

Jade loves the ocean!

Doh!

BD says hello!

View from a top the bus at our second campsite in Tillicum State Park, OR

Rabbit in upper right corner ...

Picked around our campsite and served in pancakes!

Waiting for the tsunami ...

...

Jade smelled like "a lobster", as Zach said, so he gave her a bath ...

and she was NOT happy about it ...

Mountains meet the sea at Cape Lookout State Park

Sheer cliffs hiking out to Cape Lookout

Zach observing from a safe distance!

I think this is a Sitka Spruce ...

Love that coastal rainforest!

Triple rocks! Triple rocks! 100 paces to the old restaurant and the treasure!

(Cannon Beach, OR)

OH NO! THE FRATELLI'S ARE COMING!

There's no such thing as a straight face when Zach is in the picture

The Peter Iredale got stuck on this sand bar at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1909 ...

we got to see it in Fort Stevens State Park

And what trip to Northwest Oregon would be complete without a stop in Astoria to see Mikey and Brand's house? We didn't take a picture of the house 'cause we thought that might be rude ... so we took a picture of this sign to prove we were there!

We also met up with Zach's cousin Nate and his fiance Val yesterday for dinner and beer. It was great to meet them on my part and we enjoyed hanging out with them. It's not every day you see family so far from home! Come visit us in MT, guys!

We've met lots of good folks along the way, stopped in neat towns, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly thus far. We're excited about Olympic National Park and will be sure to post pictures when we work our way back to internet service!

Kelly and Zach

Added 10/07/09 -- I forgot to mention that we went to the Rogue Brewery (most expensive brewery we've ever been too!) and the Tillamook Cheese Factory (good cheese, amazing ice cream!). Sorry Brian, we didn't go to Dooger's ... fuel is expensive :(

All Forward!

Well, it's Saturday and we leave on Monday! This may be the last time we update before we hit the road. We have a semi-set route (anything can change!) and it goes a little something like this:

From Lake of the Woods, head to the Oregon Coast. Drive up the coast to Cannon Beach and Astoria (Goonies!), then around to Portland.  From Portland, cruise up to Olympic National Park and Seattle, then off to Spokane, Glacier National Park, and back down to Big Sky! (Plus lots of potential side trips!)

If you're going to be anywhere close to any of those places during the coming month, we'd love to stop by and say hello :)

WE ARE SO EXCITED AND JUST CAN'T HIDE IT!!!!!

I thought I'd post some more pictures of life at the lake before we say farewell ...

 

Bus outside of Klamath Falls

Our awesomely shaded parking spot

Hollow logs

Zach installing our new power inverter (we can run on batteries now! another step closer to solar!)

Hearty tomato plants!

Zach cooking with our tomato bounty

Jade loves sticks (and I love taking funny pictures of her!)

Cool building built by the CCC in the 30's

Chasing and digging

That's not a dog, it's an ostrich!

 

Wednesday Night Ride comes to Lake of the Woods! (We really enjoyed having you guys!)

Morning after

Couldn't do this without him :)

There's some fungus among us

We'll be sure to post while we're on the road ...

'Til next time!

Kelly and Zach