Pacific Northwest 2021: Hurricane Hill, Madison Falls, Lake Crescent, Rialto Beach

 We left early to head out to the Olympic Peninsula.  It was foggy and gray.

Driving onto the ferry

Google maps showing us on a ferry route

Passing the ferry going the opposite direction

The mostly empty passenger area of the ferry

View from the back of the ferry. It was gray and the water was a bit choppy.

Pulling into port.

We drove up to Hurricane Ridge. It was clear and beautiful.

We saw a few deer.

There were lots of wildflowers in bloom!

Heading out on a hike. We had planned on doing the Hurricane Hill hike but the road up to it was closed as they were painting lines on the road. Instead, we hiked to Sunset Point as well as some of the Klahhane Ridge Trail. 

One of the many nice views along the hike.

Me, Megan and Matthew admiring the view.

Hiking along one of the open areas of the trail. It was a pretty steep drop off to the right of the trail and Megan almost fell down it on our way back. Thankfully, Me was able to grab her before she slid down the hill.

Some of the wildflowers along the trail.

Nice panoramic of the area.

There was a cloud cover over the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Canada visible on the other side.

Me. Can you spy Canada in the distance?
Me to Sarah: Look! There's Canada.
Sarah, singing: Oh Canada. Blah blah blah blah blah blah.
(This is how one of Me's Canadian companions sang the National Anthem. So that's how our children have learned it.)

Our cell phones thought we were in Canada.

U on some of the snow we saw along the trail.

Megan, Sarah and snow.

Matthew sliding down the snow.

Another view over the Strait.

Matthew, Megan and Me with large tree trunk near Madison Falls.

We did a short hike to Madison Falls which was lovely.

U with Madison Falls.

U went exploring around the waterfall and downstream.

Matthew joined him on the exploration. Here are a few pictures from their adventure.

Megan took a nap on Me. Me and Sarah visited.

There was a small cave by the waterfall.

Megan and Me with Madison Falls behind.

The Elwha River by Madison Falls was flowing quickly. The glacial rivers look cold.

We stopped by Crescent Lake. The water was very clear and pretty. The kids wanted to go swimming but settled for putting their feet in the water since we did not have towels. The water was chilly!

Matthew, Me, Megan and Sarah sitting on the dock.

A few photos of Lake Crescent. It is very beautiful!

We then checked into the Quillayete River Resort. It was quite nice and was located at the intersection of three rivers. After eating dinner, we explored the resort a bit. 

Matthew waded into a pool by the river.

U down by the river.

Sarah in the river.

Really pretty flowers.

Megan and Matthew enjoyed swinging on the wooden swing and even convinced mom to join them in the fun.

We headed to Rialto Beach for a brief visit. It was foggy and quite windy.

U with the ocean. Notice the lack of sea stacks visible behind him.

Stormy sea

The kids huddled together for warmth.

The resort had some puzzles that we checked out and put together. U and Matthew played chess as well.