Sunday, August 16: We left for our first day of touring the Olympic National Park this morning. Our first stop was in Hoquiam, WA set on Grays Harbor. We stopped at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge but there really wasn’t much to see there so we continued on.

Our second stop was at Quinault Lake. We visited the historic Lodge there and had lunch on the lawn overlooking the lake.

From there the road turned to the west and we were finally able to see the Pacific Ocean (first time every for me!). We walked down the trail at Kalaloch Beach #2 and were greeted by a fantastic view of the ocean.

First glimpse of the Pacific Ocean

We also stopped at the Kalaloch Lodge and had a break for coffee and ice cream.

Up the coast about 10 miles we stopped at Ruby Beach and took another trail down to the ocean. This beach featured several sea stacks that added interest to the scene.

Our last turn off for the day was a drive inland about 20 miles to the Hoh Rain Forest. We hiked the Trail of the Mosses and spent quite a bit of time in this unique forest. The moss was not as abundant and dryer than what we were expecting but the trail was very beautiful none the less.

We took another break in the picnic area there - even the picnic tables had moss growing on them.

From there we had a 67 miles drive to Port Angeles where we had reservations to stay for the night. Along that drive we hugged the southern banks of beautiful Lake Crescent.