Deeper In: Olympic National Park

We decided to drive home from Quinault the LONG way. Long, meaning our way took us around the entire Olympic Peninsula. I don't know if we thought this one out well. We ended up turning a 2.5 hour drive into a six-and-a-half-hour drive just to see...wait for it...hold...ta da! THE HALL OF MOSSES. Does that sound like something that makes an extra three hours of driving two days before leaving on our two-and-a-half-day drive home worth it? And when we got there, we only had about 25 minutes to walk around in order to get back to my parent's house in time for the dinner with extended family my mom had planned. Was that worth the extra 3 hours of drive time? And my poor mom had to get the house ready and dinner going all on her own. Worth it? Hmmm....

Well, in a way, it was.

My mom and Adam went home the short way because Adam had to get back to the airport and my mom volunteered to drive him so I could take the boys to the rainforest. It's funny to call it that, but Olympic National Forest is, in fact, a rainforest, just not the tropical kind that you typically think of when you think of rainforests, instead it's a temperate rainforest.

With all the rain things grow freakishly large. The trees are huge, the moss is huge, it's all very prehistoric. You'd almost expect to see a tyrannosaur come crashing through the bushes in search of a tasty tourist morsel. The boys thought it was incredibly neat. It was all I could do to keep them on the trail as per the rules of the national park, when all they wanted to do was explore here, there and everywhere. In addition, Jason, Leah's boyfriend, had never been anywhere like it. He didn't do a lot of woodsy stuff growing up, so watching his fascination with the forest, especially the unique features of Olympic National Park, was so cool. It was great!

Even though I was really tired and travel-weary by the time we got back to my parents' house, remembering the looks of pleasure and discovery on the boys' and Jason's faces as they were witness to new and exciting things was definitely worth the extra trouble.

After leaving the Hall of Mosses we continued up around the peninsula which took us through Forks where we stopped for lunch. Yep! All you Twilight fans...I was there! And the town has definitely embraced the Twilight spirit! There are stores (Twilight themed on both the Native American werewolf spin and the vampire spin) and tours (Jacob tour or Edward tour or the deluxe that includes both!) and signs in windows that say things like, "This is the place Bella did ________ in book number __ !" We also went through Port Angeles which also has seized its celebrity. Unfortunately, it was much too sunny for any Cullens to be about and I saw neither hide nor hair of any werewolves. Too bad.

To the Rainforest: Lake Quinault

After leaving Ocean Shores we drove inland to Lake Quinault that lies on the outskirts of Olympic National Park. My parents had arranged to use the lakeside cabin of some family friends that was built in 1927 by their grandfather and is on the National Historic Registry. How cool! The setting was stunning! The beautiful tree-coated peaks surround a lake of bright blue, inviting water. And we had perfectly warm weather for the two days we were there to make the time swimming and hiking and hanging by the lake so much more pleasant.

Upon arrival the boys went straight to the water. And when I say boys I mean all of them, including Adam and Jason! It was a little cool for us ladies, but we enjoyed watching our men having a great time. Luke wasn't ready for the cold water either but had his own little party throwing rock after rock in the water. We had a late dinner, prepared by my mom, who is a fabulous cook and watched the sun slowly descend, lingering until late as it does in Washington, on what could only be described as THE perfect vacation day.

The next day the boys were up early and begging to go down to the water before breakfast was even finished. I went for a run on the nearby loop trail, savoring the damp, green air and soft dirt trail. The smells and colors of the forest brought me back to the endless runs I've done through various Western Washington woods since I started running my freshman year of high school.

We spent the long morning on the dock, swimming, playing on the paddleboard, and sunning before heading to lunch at the Lake Quinault Lodge for an early birthday celebration for my sis. We had been warned that the kitchen was a little backed up when we were seated on the patio, but we didn't realize that our server meant that she would take forever to bring our drinks or fail to check on us in general, but with the big lawn of the Lodge spread out before us and my wonderful family around to chat with, we didn't mind the lingering lunch much and only made snarky comments to each other about the service occasionally.

After lunch we took a hike around the lovely loop trail, starting at a different point from where I had run and going backwards. It was a great hike for the kids and we got through it with minimal whining from our tired boys. Both Tommy and Luke conked out and got little naps for part of the hike, but I think all of them could have benefited from a nice nap with the late nights and early mornings they'd been having for the past four weeks.

I just love our Washington forests. The undergrowth alone is amazing. I can't imagine trying to get through the underbrush without a trail as the Native Americans in the area would have once done. And the trees in the Olympic National Forest are HUGE. Some of the largest trees in the United States are found in the area around Lake Quinault. Not surprising since the annual rainfall of the forest averages 12 feet, that's FEET! We were fortunate to see not a drop of rain nor a single dark cloud while we were there.

The afternoon was spent...guess where.... On the dock and in the water! We didn't even have to leave the water for dinner. The firepit was located right on the waterline. We cooked up plump hotdogs, juicy brats, and sugary sweet s'mores aplenty then watched the sun set behind the peaks of the Olympic Mountain Range. It was the last night of our vacation to the peninsula and it was wonderful. The next day Adam would be flying back to Colorado and the rest of us would head to Issaquah to stay with my parents for a few days before beginning the drive back to Colorado ourselves, so we savored the glorious moments and went to bed peacefully contented.