Today is our final full day on the Olympic Peninsula and at Olympic National Park. We’re heading to the western side of the park to see the Pacific Ocean and rain forests.
Buena Luz Bakery
Unfortunately, we got a later start than intended this morning, so we had to modify our plans throughout the day and skip a few things. Delays aside, we were at least able to find a breakfast that was open – Buena Luz Bakery in Port Angeles. It’s a small, cozy bakery with a fairly expansive menu to make up for it’s lack of inside space/seating.
Knowing we weren’t likely to have many eating opportunities the rest of the day, we ordered a substantial amount of food. Mom got “the best ever carrot cake muffin” with pineapple and walnuts, sans frosting. Faith got a slice of peach coffee cake and a ham and cheese savory roll (flakey pastry rolled around ham, cheddar, black pepper, and chives). Dad and I split a variety of items, and periodically tore off bites to give to the other three passengers as we drove. We ordered a marionberry “jammer” (a buttermilk biscuit with jam baked in the center), a “cardamom nest” (challah dough sweetened and filled with orange cardamom pastry cream), a cranberry orange muffin, a challah dough cinnamon roll, and an ham English muffin breakfast sandwich. I also got a ginger molasses cookie for later.
We also ordered coffee (2 drips, 1 latte, 1 mocha latte) to-go, and some sandwiches to eat later. Dad, Faith, and I got the “turkey honey”, with smoked turkey, honey schmear, roasted red peppers, and mixed greens on house made focaccia. Mom and Walker both got a kids-sized ham and provolone, which each came with a pickle and shortbread cookie.
The pastries were all very good, especially the cardamom nest, carrot cake muffin, and warmed cinnamon roll.
Buena Luz Bakery
Port Angeles, WA
Excellent pastries, bread, baked goods, sandwiches, etc.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
Hoh Rain Forest, Part 1
We drove back past Lake Crescent, stopped for a bathroom break in Forks (apparently the setting for the Twilight series; wouldn’t know, never read/seen it and don’t intend to) and continued around to the northwestern side of the park. Our original intention was to follow the advice of the rangers in Port Angeles and arrive at the Hoh Rain Forest entrance by 09:00. Since we were running late, the line was backed up over two miles from the entrance gate, and rangers were only allowing new cars to enter as other vehicles exited. We sat in line for a while, but decided to cut our losses and head somewhere else.
Ruby Beach
40 minutes later, we pulled off of US-101 into the parking lot for Ruby Beach, one of the park’s most popular and easily accessible beaches. The beach is famous for its many sea stacks, which are small “islands” in the ocean formed by wave erosion. Four miles offshore, Destruction Island is home to a decommissioned lighthouse and the Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge.
The walk down to the beach is fairly smooth, albeit steep, but once you reach true sea level, you have to climb over hundreds of driftwood logs to get to the ocean. We spent some time walking around the shoreline, which is part sand, and part smooth pebbles/rocks.
Back at the top, we paused to eat some snacks, feed Walker his sandwich, and take a picture of some of the many wildflowers that grow in the park.
Kalaloch
Our next stop was Kalaloch (pronounced “kuh-LAY-lock”) Beach. During our 2008 visit to the area, we ate at the lodge restaurant and hiked on the beach to the Tree of Life, but this time we decided to skip all that in favor of seeing new things.
Big Cedar
We did repeat one thing from our previous trip: the Kalaloch Cedar. This was the world’s tallest/largest western redcedar tree until a storm toppled part of it in 2014. It still stands 175ft tall and still produces leaves, despite its “injury”. The Duncan Memorial Cedar, closer to Ruby Beach, is the tallest at 178ft and is nearly 20ft in diameter. Botanists believe the two trees are roughly 1,000 years old.
Back in the parking lot, we spotted a local tour guide eating some berries off a bush. We asked about them, and he didn’t know the name, but said they were tasty and safe to eat. We tried a few, and very much enjoyed them. We’d later learn they were salmonberries, which are native to the Pacific Northwest, and have a flavor similar to rhubarb.
Beach 4
Near the Kalaloch Lodge, we made a quick stop at Beach 4, but decided not to walk down to the beach.
Quinault Rain Forest
We continued south along the Pacific Coast, cutting back inland after crossing the Queets River towards Lake Quinault and the Quinault Rain Forest. In Quinault National Forest, we hiked a short loop trail around Willaby Creek and through old-growth forest. The area gets a whopping 140″ of rain annually, but we were there on an atypical cloud-free hot summer day.
National Forest Hike
The nature trail, maintained by the National Forest Service, was under a mile, and wound through more beautiful groves of giant trees.
Big Sitka Spruce
Leaving the National Forest and entering back into the National Park boundary, we took the South Shore Road beside the lake, and stopped again for another short hike. This trail went to the world’s largest sitka spruce, which is on the property of a privately-run lakeside resort. According to their website: “The world’s largest spruce with a circumference of 58′ 11″, a diameter of 18′ 9″ and 191′ tall.”
Merriman Falls
Continuing along the south shore, we stopped at Merriman Falls, a roadside waterfall situated on the very edge of the rain forest. The picturesque waterfall has a large upper drop, and then disperses into tiny cascades as the flow continues downhill towards the lake. I climbed up to the base of the upper drop, and got thoroughly soaked from spray – I certainly didn’t mind, given the hot weather.
Picnic Lunch
After the waterfall, we decided to turn around and head back to a picnic table we saw earlier, so we could eat our sandwiches from Buena Luz. It was across the street from the Quinault Mercantile, an old general store that is still serving the Quinault area after 106+ years. I ran inside the store to grab a few supplementary items, and then we ate our lunch at a shaded roadside picnic table.
The historic Lake Quinault Lodge was just down the road from where we ate.
Hoh Rain Forest, Part 2
We left the Quinault area and drove north back to the Hoh Rain Forest, hoping that the line had subsided. Along the way, we drove through a very short-lived thunderstorm. Otherwise, the drive was beautiful, and lined with innumerable wildflowers. Unfortunately, I was only able to get a mostly-blurry photo.
When we arrived at Hoh, there was still a line, but it was significantly shorter than earlier, so we decided to stick it out. When we finally made it inside the gate, the visitor center had already closed. I’d originally hoped to hike part of Hoh River Trail, but we didn’t have time since we didn’t make our morning arrival time goal. Instead, we repeated the shorter Hall of Mosses trail, which Dad and I hiked in 2018. It’s a fairly short and mostly flat stroll through “bearded” mossy trees and tranquil, almost-eerily-quiet old-growth forest.
As we drove back out of the Hoh River Valley, the sun glistened through the treetops, casting golden shadows on the road below. We saw a small herd of Roosevelt elk by the side of the road, and slowed down to take a few pictures.
Forks, Plastic Forks, and Cold Pizza
Leaving the Hoh Rain Forest, we began our journey back to Sequim. We stopped at Forks Outfitters, an IGA grocery store, to grab a few pre-fab items (and some plasticware) from their deli to tide us over and give Walker an almost-on-time dinner. Faith got a chicken caesar salad, Dad got a ham and cheese sandwich, and Mom and I opted to munch on our car snacks instead.
As we passed Lake Crescent and the Elwha River Valley, the sunset cast red shadows on the mountainsides.
Back in Sequim, we polished off the leftover pizza from yesterday, packed up as much of our suitcases as we could, and headed to bed.
Video
Here’s a short video from today’s adventures.
The Best Things we Saw Today
Isaac
The best thing I saw today was… “Merriman Falls and the Hall of Mosses”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the cardamom nest and the ginger molasses cookie”.
Faith
The best thing I saw today was… “the Hoh Rain Forest”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the ham and cheddar scone”.
Jerry
The best thing I saw today was… “Ruby Beach”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the cardamom nest”.
Amy
The best thing I saw today was… “seeing the Pacific Ocean, but the waterfall and wildflowers are a close second”.
The best thing I ate today was… “salmonberries”.
Conclusion
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Tomorrow, we’ll finish up the Olympic Peninsula and take a ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.
– Isaac, Faith, Jerry, Amy, and Walker
3 Responses
Wow! There was just so much that you put into one day!
Found the rocks on the beach interesting. All the trees and flowers and berries were so gorgeous. Enjoyed seeing the large spruce trees. Always enjoy seeing the waterfalls. The bakery items made my mouth “water”.
I thought rain forests were only in tropical areas-learn something new everyday!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for chronicling this special day. The peaceful solitude of nature was wonderful to see and hear.
Your bakery pictures made me hungry. I love rhubarb so would have enjoyed the berries. Waterfalls are always beautiful to me. And the tree that went over the road was amazing. Love all your pictures, thanks for sharing.