For Christmas, we gave Molly a senior trip and told her she could pick where we went but that it had to be in the United States and excluded Hawaii and Alaska. Right away she knew she wanted to go to a national park, but she thought for a little while about which park she wanted to see most (she wants to see them all). We were also restricted on dates since summer is swamped and she has to report to school/soccer late July. She finally settled on Olympic National Park, we consulted the calendar, and we booked the trip for the last weekend in April. We hoped we would stay somewhat dry but knew it was not likely and, honestly, Molly was hoping for some rain. We also went really wild and crazy and instead of booking a traditional hotel room or VRBO, we rented a Winnebago for the extended weekend. Her dream of living in a van was going to come true for a few days! We packed our bags and headed to the airport early early Friday morning, April 25th, for our adventure.
Our flight left that morning at 6:55 and we landed in Seattle around 8. We had a little bit of a wait before we could pick up the van so we found a Denny's, ate some breakfast, and killed time making graduation announcements before an uber took us to Bellevue where the van was waiting. After an orientation on how to work all the gadgets in the van, we were off! The first adventure was Justin getting used to driving the van in the streets of Seattle. He did great and I was so glad it was him and not me-I had no desire to get behind the wheel of that thing! We navigated to Port Angeles and, unbeknownst to us, ended up being navigated to board on a ferry...and then ended up being the last vehicle to get loaded onto said ferry that took us across the Sound. So that was fun! I also got to have some delicious clam chowder from the ferry kitchen which felt very authentic for that situation.
After the 30-minute ferry ride it was a straight shot to the park and Justin got more and more comfortable driving the van. We stopped just outside the park at a Walmart for some groceries and then our first stop in the park was Madison Falls, a short little hike to our first waterfall of the weekend. We explored around the waterfall and also took a walk up the street to explore the banks of the Elwha River which was in that area as well. Our first glimpse of the park was not a disappointment and had us exited for the next two days of exploration!
It had been a really long day, the sun was going down, and we were exhausted. We found a campsite at Fairholme Campground and called it a night. There was a bed for Justin and I and pop-up bunk on the top of the van for Molly that was quite spacious.
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| dinner outside at the campground |
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| the next morning before leaving camp |
We packed the next day full of site-seeing. First spot was Hurricane Ridge, the highest elevation in the park. It was a climb up to the top with a couple of spots to get out and see along the way. There was still a lot of snow at the top so we weren't able to do any hikes but we did look all around before heading down and to our next destination.
Lake Crescent was next and, wow! It was gorgeous...lined with pine trees and the clearest and most blue water I have ever seen. We walked out on one of the docks, took a few pictures, and breathed in that clear mountain air. Then we found the trailhead of our first hike that day, that cute little ranger cabin.
This hike was to Marymere Falls and it was just incredible. Green and moss everywhere, a meandering river through it all, and giant trees to boot. With an impressive waterfall at the end to reward us after our climb. The air really cooled down by the waterfall-the sound of the falls and the smell and the fresh air was so amazing. 
It was lunchtime so we drove a little further up the road to the Lake Crescent Lodge. This was our fancy meal of the weekend and it was so good. We got a few different things and shared...fish and chips, lobster mac and cheese, caesar salad and some sort of delicious dessert. The lodge would be a fun place to stay if we ever went back, it felt very early 1900's. We would have loved to do some canoeing here but it was too early in the season so we had to settle for the picturesque views. Some people were sunbathing on the shore but no one was in the water.
On our way to the next stop, we found this river where fish were jumping up these rapids against the current. Justin loved the all the rivers in the park and wanted to stop at all of them. Molly and I basked in the sun on those rocks while he was wandering around. It was very peaceful.
Our next hike was to Sol Duc Falls. This was my favorite waterfall. The hike was amazing and then the waterfall was breathtaking. The hike took you to the top of the falls and instead of just one simple waterfall, it was like 3 1/2 falls going down into the river. There was a bridge and a bench at the top and we took our time sitting in the peacefulness and trying our best to capture the beauty with our phone cameras, with not a lot of success. Pictures really do not do it justice.
We wanted to camp that night close to the beach so we heading that way, passing through Forks on the way. Molly has two friends who love the Twilight movies and has forced Molly to watch them. She is not a fan. But she had to stop at the sign and send them a picture. We saw lots of people doing the same thing.
We got to camp late that night and got ready for bed in the dark. When we woke up and went outside, we were able to see how pretty it was. We also could hear the ocean and knew it was really close. Molly had opened her window during the night so she could sleep to the sound of the ocean waves.
In the morning we decided to walk down and see the beach before we left for the day. Wow, this was a moment! The beach was so close and it was vast and rugged and foggy...and just really amazing. This might have been my favorite moment of the whole trip because I really was left speechless. We walked all the way down to the water and soaked in the ocean air. I think all three of us were in awe so we took our time and enjoyed the moment.
The Hoh Rainforest was closed and had been since December to rebuild a road. So we were bummed not to see that but we drove a little further to see the Quinnault Rainforest. It was worth the trip. We hiked the rainforest loop and saw amazing trees and foliage and then we went back around it but detoured over the bridge across the river and walked down to Quinnault Lake. Very picturesque and peaceful.
We drove about 5 miles up the road to Merriman Falls. We loved this little drive because it wound us through the little town located there. It was really neat to see manicured yards with the wild of the rainforest surrounding them...and the flowers were vibrant and bright which I enjoyed. I'm always fascinated to see where and how other people live when I go to different parts of the world. The falls were just right off the road so we parked and only had to walk across the street. Justin got very adventurous and climbed as high up as he could. Molly went about halfway and I stayed at the bottom and watched him get in the background of everyone's photos. Haha.
Justin made us some grilled turkey sandwiches in the van and we were also able to see the world's largest spruce tree before we left Quinnault. It was in a totally random spot, not really in the forest and at the back of a sort of run-down trailer campground, but it was very big!
I was anxious to explore one of the beaches since we really only got a sneak peek that morning. We drove north back up the coastline and landed at one pretty neat beach. I wish I could remember which one but I researched so many and I can't actually remember which one we visited (Molly thinks it was Rialto Beach). But-it was incredibly amazing! I have never seen a beach like this, so rugged and wild. We spent plenty of time walking up and down the beach and climbing on the rocks. I don't know that I could pin down a favorite from the whole weekend but, if I really had to, it might be this. It really was indescribable for me and I loved it so much.
And that was the last of it. We debated going to another beach to see the sunset, which would have been amazing, but it was quite out of the way and we were all exhausted. We had an early start the next morning to get back to Seattle so we called it a night. We drove back to Port Angeles to see if anything was open for souvenirs (no luck) so we just ended up at the campground where we stayed the first night. The same campsite actually since we had liked it so much. In the morning we started our drive back to Seattle but not before we stopped and took a picture of Molly in front of the Olympic National Park sign. We had meant to stop all weekend but hadn't done it yet. We also had to get one with the van in the back because that sure was a fun way to see the park.
The trip was pretty much finished...we drove back to Seattle to drop of the van. Rachelle met us there and took us to her house. About time we made it to the Brown's house, they have lived in Seattle for a long time and we've never visited! They have an amazing view of the Puget Sound right out their kitchen window, Molly was so jealous.
We got to go to Andrew's soccer game that night. We visited with Rachelle and Andrew and Grayson and Rachelle took us to the airport the next morning. We caught our flight home, Gene picked us up from the airport, and we finally made it home to Heber, our other kids, and our hectic schedule. It was a perfect break from a busy time of year, we made great memories, and I will always cherish the one-on-one time we got with Molly before she embarks on her new adventures!
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