OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON

We arrived at Elwah Dam RV Park on Sunday to stay for 3 nights.
Our first trip in the National Park was to Hurrican Ridge. The visitor's center offers an outstanding view of several glaciers, see photos. We hiked another 1/2 mile about 200 feet in elevation and got a fantastic view of the north and east of the park. We could see as far as Victoria, Vancouver, Canada.

We also saw a mule deer who was not afraid to pose for us.


The next day we took a ride to Sol Duc Hot Springs in Olympic National Park. On the way we stopped and hiked to Marymere Falls.

It was a beautiful ride to the Sol Duc Resort where you have to pay to use the natural (?) hot springs. The resort was built in 1912 around the hot springs. We went into the resort and saw the springs. They have been cemented in and painted blue to make it look more like a modern spa. However, the water is from the hot springs and they are not treated in any way with chemicals. We decided to go on the hike to the Sol Duc Falls which were awesome. The hike was about 1.5 miles through the forests which are outstanding.

On Tuesday, we took the 8:15 a.m. ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, Vancouver, Canada. The ferry ride was about 55 minutes long and we bought a tour ride to Butchart Gardens. This is one of the most beautiful gardens. Originally the area was a limestone quarry, but after the resources were exhausted, Mrs. Butchart wanted to make the area look nice so she hired people to landscape the area. There is a rose garden section, Japanese Garden, Sunken garden area, and an Italian garden. The weather on Tuesday was glorious which only enhanced the beauty of this garden.

After the garden tour we went back into Victoria and had lunch as a restaurant overlooking the water. Then we went to the British Columbia Museum. The exhibits there were wonderful and explained the history of North American and particularly British Columbia. There was a Mammoth exhibit that was excellent. We spent two hours at the museum before returning to the dock to pick up the ferry at 6:10 to return to Port Angeles. What a wonderful day!