We’ve Been Busy Tourists

All of a sudden, it’s Friday, and I haven’t posted since Monday.  I have some catching up to do!

On Tuesday, we had a day off from sightseeing after our long day on Monday.  We needed to make a Walmart run, and the closest Superwalmart is in the town of Poulsbo, about 25 miles from here, so that was our big event for the day.

Wednesday, the 4 of us headed into Port Townsend so Dortha and I could attend our Weight Watchers meeting in the morning.  We met 3 other women from the SKP park there, so it was really enjoyable.  After the meeting, yes, it was time to go out to eat.  This time, we opted for breakfast at a restaurant recommended by one of the women we met at the meeting.  It turned out to be a great choice!

After breakfast, we made a stop at a marine supply store so Mark could purchase a couple of chairs that were on sale.  Then we visited Fort Worden State Park.  Several people had mentioned it to us, so it was definitely on our list of places to visit.  It was a beautiful day, and we could see Mt. Baker across the channel:

There is a campground there, but when we’d checked availability, there weren’t any sites available.  I can understand why, it’s a great location, and of course, there is a lighthouse!

Deb and Rod came over to have dinner Wednesday evening, which consisted of grilled brats, fresh corn on the cob, potato salad, zucchini and a wonderful strawberry pie.  We had a good visit with them.

That brings us up to Thursday.  We got a slow start to the day, but then decided to find a couple of waterfalls in Olympic National Park.  We have a printout of quite a few waterfalls, and these two were within a reasonable distance, so we headed out a little before noon.  We made a stop in Port Angeles to go to the park visitor center.  Dortha and I have been wanting to get park Passports to keep track of the parks we visit, so we each got one. 

Deb and Rod met us for lunch at a local hamburger stand they frequent, another good choice.  I had a salad, which was really good, especially for being from a take-out burger stand.  After lunch, Rod went to fill up his truck, then he dropped it off at home and we all got into the jeep for a trip to the waterfalls.

The first stop was at Lake Crescent:

Our next stop was at the ranger station located at the trailhead to Marymear Falls.  We started off on the trail, which began with a tunnel under the roadway:

What a beautiful and interesting trail!  This tree looks more like a creature from “The Hobbit” than a tree:

There are some very tall trees:

And some very big trees!

After just 3/4 of a mile, we came to the falls:

At this time of the year, the falls are not really very dramatic, but still pretty.

We made our way back to the jeep, and headed towards our next stop, Madison Falls:

We drove along the Elwah River until there was no more road, but we did find another beautiful lake:

And then it was time to get back home, since Dortha had a laundry appointment at 8:00.  What a fabulous day!

Today was another slow start, we seem to be enjoying  our slow mornings very much!  Our laundry appointment was this morning, so we did need to get up and gather the clothes together for Jim to take over to the laundry room.  But soon that was done, and we decided to make a run to the mall in Silverdale, about 25 miles from here.  We made stops at all the major department stores before we went to an early dinner at Olive Garden.  A quick stop at Costco completed the shopping day and we got home a little while ago.

The other thing that has been keeping us busy this week is planning and researching our next few stops along the road. There are some grand adventures coming up, but of course, it takes some planning, and lots of research into the best places to stay along the way.  However, we’re not quite finished with this awesome place, so stay tuned for continuing adventures!