This week we were really looking forward to having good friends come out for a visit. They wanted to see the ocean, whales and of course us! So I researched all the campgrounds on the Olympic Peninsula and came across a spot on iOverlander that listed a campground as “Nice couple’s home”. We read the reviews and felt instantly like this was our kind of place and we were right.
We made our way to “Nice Couple’s Home” which was between Forks and La Push. We were greeted by Ray and Joan and were happy that the $25 a night camping fee included a shower, a flush toilet and no additional charges for extra vehicles. We were the only ones staying there and with the rain they were forecasting for the week, we figured we’d have the place to ourselves.
Michelle and Kevin finally showed up around 8:30 pm and we were so excited to see them! Michelle had started at the Sheriff’s Office a few years back and her office was in the same hallway as mine. We realized how much we had in common and became fast friends. It was even better that our husbands got along well too. Although a few years younger than we are, they are excited about our adventure and hope to do the same thing only in a sailboat some day.
Our first day it rained nonstop. We had set up a big tarp over an EZ up tent and were happy with our tarp city. We decided to go for a drive and check out the area for a few hours. We drove to La Push but because of the rain and fog we could see nothing. Michelle braved the rain a few times when she thought she saw a sea otter. After that we had fun pointing out anything and everything just to get a rise out of her.
We made our way back to camp only to see that the water from the heavy rains was too much for the EZ up tent. We had to re-evaluate and ended up with a smaller area to hang out in, but we were dry and that was all that mattered. We taught them how to play SkipBo golf and I had to be sure they knew the Rotman and Van De Weg rules. Both my mom and dad’s sides of the family love cards and are very serious, especially when it comes to table talk. We weren’t going to have none of that.
The rain stopped for a bit and Kevin found a huge slug! After looking around a bit more he ended up with a bucket full so we decided to watch them race…slugs are pretty boring but Kevin’s time-lapse video was pretty cool (at this time he was unable to get me the video to share, stay tuned.) Thankfully our week got way more exciting than slug watching!
The week was relaxing and easy. We got up when we felt like it, Craig made us breakfast and we’d hop in the car, raining or not. Thankfully we had some dry spells between the down pours and were able to see some beautiful sights. We had times where the sun would come out and we’d stop to walk on the beach and the rain would start again. We saw many rainbows because of it.
We found roads less traveled that brought us up into the mountains and driving through clouds. If you don’t know, Forks, Washington was the setting for a book series that eventually were turned into movies. None of us are big Twighlight fans, but we did comment on how eerie the weather was and that werewolves and vampires must for sure be hiding out in the misty forests surrounding Forks.
We went to Ruby Beach which was full of huge driftwood pieces. The rocks along the shore were awesome. It was fun skipping stones and exploring. We heard there was a dead whale a little further down the beach. We made our way there to check it out. It was pretty fascinating to see.
We went back to La Push for dinner and watched the sunset and looked for sea otters. There was a break wall of huge rocks and drift wood that we carefully climbed and balanced on to get to the end. The sunset was beautiful but you could see and feel the rain coming in. We got back to the car just in time.
A drive up to Neah Bay brought us to the Cape Flattery trail and the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. We donned our rain jackets and hoped the rain would hold off which it did. The trail wound through beautiful big cedar trees and moss-covered rainforest. At the end of the trail, we found ourselves high on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. So amazing and beautiful! On our drive back, Kevin spotted a golden eagle, “Not a cormorant Michelle!” Mr. Eagle was nice enough to pose for some photos.
Another day we hit Beach 2, Beach 3 and Beach 4. Each one was a little different and it was neat to see the different scenery. On Beach 2, we came across a dead sea lion. A ranger showed up to check it out telling us it had just washed up last night or that day. He said there was a dead sea otter down the beach too. Michelle was intent on seeing the dead things and found the otter and a dead bird.
Beach 3 is where Michelle and Kevin found live sea otters hanging out and had a great time watching them playing in the water. Craig found his talent of stacking stones and Gus and I enjoyed the sunshine.
Our time back at camp was always fun. We took Gus for walks, played cards, enjoyed cocktails and good food and starred in Kevin’s time-lapse videos. Ray, the owner of the campground, bought over a contraption and said it was a shotgun trap for moles and to be careful of it. The next day we heard it go off and he was happy to show Kevin the now dead pesky mole. More dead animals…
Our last day we made our way to Hurricane Ridge. The sights were supposed to be amazing and views of Mt. Olympus were supposedly breathtaking. Unfortunately, all we saw was misty fog. The weather did not clear at all so we saw nothing. But the drive was fun and we enjoyed a nice dinner in Port Angeles.
The Burnhams left Friday morning to head back to Port Angeles to go on a whale watching tour and then fly home Saturday. They reported that they saw 40-60 humpback whales and a pod of Orcas. So happy they were able to check that off their bucket list.
It was such a fun week with great friends. It was filled with so much laughter, fun stories, quite a bit of sarcasm and definitely memories that we will cherish forever. We are not ready to go home yet, but having a little bit of home come visit us was really great. Thank you Kevin and Michelle for coming out to visit.
It continued to rain off and on as we traveled south. Our plan was to hang out in Astoria, Oregon for the weekend. We woke up to a downpour just north of Astoria with the forecast not looking good for a few days. We decided to continue on to Portland to a RV show that was going on this weekend. It’s always fun to check out different types of rigs although most aren’t our style. We got to talk to the Four Wheel Camper dealer and see the new version of our Grandby. We also were impressed with Earth Cruiser and will take a side trip down to Bend in the next few weeks to see what they have to offer. It didn’t hurt that they were serving beer out of one of the rigs.
Camping in this area is very expensive. We ended up staying at a couple of rest areas overnight. It’s not great but considering it has just been raining, we aren’t missing much.
A new noise in the truck presented itself while we were driving to Portland and Craig thinks it’s a wheel bearing. We drove north out of Portland and found a little marina with an RV park and will settle here until we get the truck fixed. The sun is finally out, there is a dog friendly brewery within walking distance, and hopefully we find a good mechanic in the area. We aren’t sure how this week is going to go but thankfully we are meeting up with some more good friends in Hood River for the weekend and are looking forward to that.
Hanging out in Cathlamet, Washington…