Ruth's Life is Good: Monday 9-18-23 Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park

After spending the night at 7 Cedar Casino we moved on to Olympic National Park.

I crawled out of bed at 6:45 and made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. After breakfast we put things away and secure. Our next destination for camping is Olympic National Park, which is 30 miles away. We were on the road by 7:30. Before going there we did a couple of stops.

First stop was in Sequim at the Laundry and Car Wash. Today it wasn't that busy but the parking wasn't good for RVs. Larry helped me take the laundry inside and then parked the Minnie across the street at Safeway. While he was doing that I sorted the clothes. A nice lady and her husband said their laundry was almost done and I was welcome to use their machines. I thanked her but when Larry came back he found three washing machines that cost $3.00 instead of $4.25 a load. After putting the laundry in the machines Larry went over to the attendant, who happens to be the owner and asked about taking showers. She said it's $5.00 per person for 15 minutes. It comes with a towel and washcloth. She and her husband have owned the business for 30 years. Larry took a shower and I visited with the couple who offered their machines to us. After he was done I took my shower. When I finished Larry was loading the clothes in the dryer. The cost of the dryer was $.25 for 4 minutes. While the dryer was drying the clothes. I stayed and visited and Larry went back to the Minnie. A half hour later he was back with hangers. We highly recommend the Laundry and Car Wash because it was clean and well maintained. It looks like the owners aren't afraid to put money in their business. The owner was very friendly and excited about the work. She was a joy to be around.

Second stop was Port Angeles Fine Arts Center. The actual center was closed on Mondays but the grounds are open for you to walk. The center was donated by Esther Webster to city. It was her home and she was an artist herself. The design was unique because it's semi-circular and sits in the crest of Beaver Hill. It has vistas of the city, harbor, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the horizons of Canada's Vancouver Island. The center had a beautiful fountain, the fountain was leaves. There were sculptures throughout the grounds. We walked around and saw a lot of unique sculptures. There were trails, that took you through the grounds. Many of the sculptures were hanging from trees or semi hidden in the trees, it was easy to miss something. There were great views of the city and harbor. We had a great time walking around.

Port Angeles Fine Art Center

The fountain in front of the center

View of the city and harbor

Fox made out of welded stainless steel by Greg Neal

Star Gazer by Steve Belz

After visiting Port Angeles Fine Arts Center we went to Olympic National Park. On the way to the campground we stopped at the visitor center and got some information. The lady was very helpful. She told us that they close the rode to Hurricane Ridge between 12:00 and 1:00 to cars because of limited bathroom facilities. The lodge and visitor center had burned down in May and they put in temporary toilets. She also said if we were in the campground we were allowed to go up anytime during our stay. As we were leaving the visitor center we saw an old cabin, it was called The Beaumont Cabin. Beaumont had lived in the cabin for 50 years. There is a sign on the cabin telling the story. We got to entrance gate to the campground shortly afterwards. Larry showed the ranger our pass and she gave us more information. She gave us the shuttle schedule. The shuttle takes you to the top of the mountain as far as Hurricane Ridge Area, where there is some hiking. She also told us which loops in the campground were open.

The Beaumont Cabin

We drove around the campground and found a great site, #61. It is a pull through, level and it's by the bathrooms. The bathrooms have running water but no showers. Check-In was a little confusing. Here in Olympic National Park you have to go online to get a site or write your credit card number on a form. They don't take any cash or checks. I'm glad I have Larry because he figured it out. He went online and got our site. After getting the site we filled out the form. We put the large form in the pay slot and the smaller one with the site #, days staying and our name in the slot on the board to say the site was taken. There is no hook on the pole to put a stub saying the site is taken. I think this would cause a problem if you leave and someone else takes your site.

After paying for a couple of nights we had lunch. Then we took the last shuttle up to Hurricane Ridge. It was a 30 minute drive up the mountain on a curvy road. Because it was the last shuttle our bus was full and a few people had to stand. Once on top we walked around. He hiked about 1.5 miles on a couple of small trails. The view on top was a little smoking because they have seven fires going on in the area. They had a map of where the fires are. We saw one from where we were. We were surprised, that Olympic Mountains had glaciers, we thought it was mainly rain forest. But the rain forest is just part of the park. We saw a couple of deer. As we walked around we saw the remains of an old ski lift and ski patrol cabins. The cabins look like they are still being used. It was chilly on the top. We also saw the bay. When it was time to go they had two busses waiting because they were the last busses. It was pretty at Hurricane Ridge and we saw a lot of beautiful vistas of the mountain. It cost $1 a piece going up and going down.