Olympic National Park

Day 26:  Happy Birthday, Curtis!!!  Today, July 8th, Curtis celebrates 3 years cancer free!  Everyday is s blessing....I can't think if a better way to celebrate than driving to the farthest tip of the United States, Olympic National Park!  We took the western route around 101 so we could stop at the coast for some beach time.  First stop, Kolaloch Lodge for a yummy bread bowl of clam chowder.

What a view!

The boys played, skipped, and frolicked in the ocean while we relaxed and watched the whales break the waves.

We still had quite a drive around Olympic to get to our site in Sol Duc, so we loaded back up and set off on our quest.  Olympic is different than any other National Park we've been to in such that there are no roads through the park.  The 101 loops around the massive park as big as Yellowstone, so it's ALOT of driving to get anywhere.  We decided once we finally made it into our campground in the rainforest of Olympic we were going to stay put.  We unhitched and set off to explore the rain forest finding our own hot spring.

It took us over 9 hours to drive the 350 miles from Albany to Sol Duc.  These are definitely NOT Texas roads.  We cooked some tacos for dinner, played a round of Up and Down the River and went to bed.

Day 27:  Priority #1, spend as much time as possible in the Sol Duc Hot Springs, so that's what we did!

Dad would have LOVED this place!  A natural hot springs resort....in the middle of the northwest rainforest...right across from our camping site!  We spent the next 3 days in and out of the hot springs. 

When we left Zion, our besties, the Biscamp's sent us with Chris's homemade chili, and we've been saving it for just this day!  50 degree chill in the forest, and it was AMAZING!!!!!

Yum!!!!  I have to get this recipe from him!  We Schettler's love our soups and chilis!

Day 28:  We pulled in our site two days ago on less than a quarter tank of gas, so we asked where the closest gas station was....25-50 miles away!  Eek!  This summer seems to be the summer of almost running out of gas and broken windows.  We loaded up the truck and set off for gas and Port Angeles.  I've heard wonderful things about this adorable town on the coast.  We were only near the coast for a couple of days, so you know what they say...."When in Rome, do as Romans do"...I looked up "Besr Clam Chowder in Port Angeles" and it sent us to a beautiful restaurant overlooking the harbor, Downriggers.  We chose a lovely table overlooking the pier where we watched the ships and ferries dock....and lunched on Clam Chowder Bread Bowl and fresh cod Fish n Chips!  Yum!  The server even let Carson feed the fish in the fish tank.

After our filling lunch, we set off for the Olympic National Park Visitor Center to complete the Olympic Ocean Stewards and Olympic NP Junior Ranger Badges.  On the way back, we took a few short hikes to the Salmon Cascades where the salmon return to spawn every fall.

And...Ancient Groves.

We returned for more soaks in the Hot Springs, Monopoly, and Chili Dogs for dinner....relaxation!

Day 29:  Thus was our last day in Olympic, so I talked Curtis into going on a 6 mile hike up 1500 feet in elevation to Mink Lake.

He's getting stronger everyday!  We returned just in time for the boys eat breakfast.  One day, the boys will be be itching to go on these long hikes.  After our hike, we set off to soak our muscles in the hot springs and the boys worked on their whittling.

I had one more hike on the list in Olympic, and that was to the beautiful Sol Duc Falls.

Wow!  We are in the middle of a rain forest!!!!

Carson and I hopped, skipped, and jumped on the rocks while racing back to to truck.  We hit the hot springs one more time to soak, then it was time to pack up.  I cannot believe we've driven 4,500 miles and we're only half way through our trip.  Tomorrow, we start our slow trek back to Texas.  God is good!