Hoh Rainforest and Ruby Beach, Olympic NP, WA

After a very comfortable night at the RW Services and RV Park, I made my way to the Hoh Rainforest early in the morning. I read there could be long lines to enter later in the day. Indeed, as I got closer to the entrance, there were signs at specific spots on the narrow road that displayed the wait times from those spots. This particular morning, there was no line, traffic was light. I found my way to the visitor center and got a parking spot in the RV section. I noticed that more cars were arriving and the parking lot was filling fast. Got information at the VC, viewed exhibits and listened in to a ranger presentation for kids on rainforest ecology. All very educational. Then went on three hikes that started near the visitor center: the Hall of Moses Trail, the Spruce Nature Trail and part of the Hoh River Trail. The rainforest was surreal, hard to describe, one has to be there to experience it. I felt like I was in the valley of the dinosaurs. Photos could not do justice to the scenery.

After lunch in my RV, I went to check out Sol Duc Hot Springs. Unfortunately, I could not even get near it, there was no place to park. After driving around twice, I gave up, it was starting to drizzle. Decided to check out Ruby Beach nearby instead. Easy drive despite the fog and drizzle, parking was on the road on top, with a steep path down to the beach. There was a lot of drift wood and logs and views of the Pacific Ocean were partially obscured by fog.

I spent just a short time at the beach as I wanted to get to Bogachiel State Park before it got dark. Arrived there just in time to make camp, there was electricity at my site. Unfortunately I found that power will be cutt off at 10 pm due to scheduled construction work, but will be restored in the morning.

Hiking waterfall trails, Olympic NP

My first full day in ONP! Decided to hike some easy trails to waterfalls, beginning with Marymere Falls. Passed Lake Crescent on the way there, beautiful and serene scenery. Surprisingly quiet, not many people around. I guess the summer crowd has yet to arrive.

Next up were the Soleduck Falls; this trail had a few more people. The entire park was lush and green, the weather was mild which made it ideal for hiking.

Earlier in the day, I found some places to camp nearby. The Bogachiel State Park had a spot but only for tomorrow night, which I reserved using my phone. For tonight, Hipcamp offered a spot in the RW Services and RV Park in the town of Forks. Non electric but it was near the Hoh Rainforest entrance, so I took it. I headed there, found that it was partly a construction camp next to the main road past Forks, but there were spaces for a few RVs further in, next to a creek. In fact there were two spots with full hook ups next to the workshop. There was even wifi access! The owners were very nice, when the lady heard about my coach battery problem, she upgraded me to the vacant FHU spot for free even though I offered to pay the full rate. There were modern toilets but no showers in the park, so I took a shower in my RV. Spent a very comfortable night in the RV hooked up to power. This would be my first choice for camping if I ever come this way again.

The Olympic Peninsula, WA

I spent last evening catching up with Judy, a family friend I have not seen for almost 20 years. She lives in a quiet part of Tacoma, and said there were no restrictions on parking my RV overnight next to her house. I showered at her place, did laundry and spent an peaceful night on the street. This morning I took a slow drive towards Port Angeles, the gateway to Olympic National Park, the goal for the long trip out of Maryland. I have never been in this part of the US, although I have visited Portland and Seattle before. The drive was scenic. I stopped at a Walmart in town, stocked up on groceries and water, and confirmed that overnight parking was not allowed at this Walmart.

I had time to stop by the ONP Visitor Center in Port Angeles. It was busy! Talked to the rangers, gathered brochures and information. I could not get a campsite in the NP, when I looked a few months back. So, I had to find someplace to boondock for the night.

Prior research for boondocking spots turned up the Elwha River Casino which allows free overnight parking for RVs. It was located in a rather secluded area, a little difficult to find. It was a little small but there was plenty of space for parking. I checked in with security inside the casino, filled up a form with the license no. of my RV, showed my ID, and was given a pass for the night since that was all I needed. The max is 3 nights I think. I really appreciated the free parking, and reciprocated by having drinks and snacks in their restaurant. The prices were reasonable; I had planned to have dinner there later, but once back in the RV, did not feel like getting out again. The staff were all very friendly. Too bad I forgot to take photos of the place!

Waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge

Early next morning, I left Lepage Park to check out the surrounding areas. I did not plan to return to the park since there was nothing to do there, plus it would mean doubling back instead of heading west. It was rather quiet, but beautiful especially with Mt. Hood in full view from the highway. Stopped at the Dalles to check out the dam although the visitor center was not open that early in the morning.

Decided that instead of dealing with traffic and parking along the narrow roads where the waterfall trails are located, it would be better to park my RV on a secure lot and take the hop-on hop-off waterfall trolley. That turned out to be a great decision. I went to Corbett, OR where the trolley was based, parked my RV, paid $39 for a ticket and got on a waiting trolley. It was so nice to let someone else drive, listened to the driver/guide as we passed interesting features or buildings.

The trolley made ten stops, but I had time to do two hikes only. The first was Bridal Veil which was a short trail to the falls there.

The 2nd hike was Multnomah Falls which took the bulk of my time as I hiked all the way to the top of the falls. It was quite a strenuous hike, most visitors (and there were tons of them from big tour buses) just stayed at the bottom of Multnomah Falls for photos. The views from the top of the trail were amazing.

The photo below is a close up of the top/start of Multnomah Falls, amazing how small the stream was and how far down its waters fall. The 2nd photo shows the parking lot off Hwy 84 way, way down below. By the time I got down from my hike, it was very crowded with a lot of international visitors and traffic. So glad to hop back on a trolley going to Corbett after only a few minutes' wait.

I decided to drive on to Tacoma, about 3 hours west, to visit with an old family friend. I will be parking the RV overnight on her side street.

Onward to Oregon

Started driving towards OR this morning; after 2+ weeks with a traveling companion, I'm on my own again. Have a reservation for 2 nights at the Lepage Park, a CoE (Corps of Engineer) campground at the John Day Lock and Dam, Lake Umatilla near Wasco, OR. At $15 a night with electric hookup (with my senior pass discount) this was a good base to explore the Columbia River Gorge area, or so I thought. The plan was to stop for breakfast at the Baker Truck Corral and Restaurant in Baker City just to check out the place since it allowed overnight RV parking. The place was rather quiet, not many people about, and right next to the main highway. The food was good though and the service friendly. I had the Grilled German Sausage and Eggs breakfast plate with coffee.

Back on the road, I went to the National Historic Oregon Trail Intepretative Center nearby. This is a 500 acre site managed by the Bureau of Land Management and has a nice visitor center with exhibits. Entrance was $8 but free with the Senior Lifetime Interagency Pass. I spent a couple of hours walking through the indoor and outdoor exhibits that were very well done.

On the way out, I took in the wide open space the pioneers must have gone through on their way west. Stopped at the Oregon Trail Ruts Access area to see the ruts made by their wagons that were still faintly visible today.

Finally saw the Columbia River, and made it to the CoE campground. It was not quite what I expected, pretty bare although it has views of the bridge over the river. There was really nothing much to do there, plus no cell signal (Verizon). But it was nice to have electricity and I could turn on the a/c. Spent a rather boring night in the RV.

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