Hurricane Ridge

This post is more to show a picture Tim took, since I actually really like it. Don't tell him, it's best that he continues to think that I don't like most things he does. It's just better that way, I promise.

I know there are a million pictures of flowers out there, but I like this one.

This is somewhat representative of the area, though. There were a number of wildflowers up near the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center in Olympic National Park. The view is probably what attracts most people, though. Having a great view seems to be the general theme of the Olympic Peninsula. The steepness of the mountains protruding right from the surrounding lowlands and water seems to make for some great places to take a picture or two. The Olympics are certainly nothing in comparison to the Cascades . . . at least on paper. The tallest peak in Olympic National Park only reaches 7,980 feet, puny by comparison to Mt. Rainier at 14,441. The prominence (the height of the mountain over the surrounding area) of Mt. Olympus is 7,838 feet, compare this to the 7,706 foot prominence of Mt. Hood. This is what makes the mountains of the area just as impressive. They're tall compared to where you're standing. Unless, of course, if where you are standing is Hurricane Ridge. The elevation of Hurricane Ridge is approximately 5,200 feet. All of this means smaller glaciers and (I would think) less snow overall than the Cascades, but other than that it still seems impressive.

The view from Hurricane Ridge is interesting. When I've had a good view of the Olympics from the other side of the sound (either Whidbey Island or Seattle), they always looked tall and jagged. From Hurricane Ridge, you feel like you're looking right into a rugged but relatively flat landscape. Sure, the ridges are steep and quite the odd formation of land, but overall everything doesn't seem much higher or lower than where you are standing. Mt. Olympus is barely distinguishable from the other peaks in the range. None of this detracts from the overall beauty of the area, it just makes it unique. When you're up here, you feel like you're in a slightly different world. It's alpine, it's open, but it's still the Pacific Northwest. Even on a perfectly clear, warm day you can still tell that it rains. There are wildflowers and the green of a Washington forest. There was even still a pile of snow in the parking lot (on July 3rd), clearly from plowing, but still late in the year for 5,200 feet above sea level. Don't hold me to it, but I would guess that the ridge is poised at least partially in the rain shadow. The Hoh Rain Forest on the southwest side of the park gets around 12 feet of rain a year. I'm sure that number is a lot higher than Hurricane Ridge.

The point . . . what was the point? I don't remember. We didn't spend much time here because of the dog, but it was clear that there is a lot to do. Don't bring your dog and you'll be able to do one of the many hikes in the area. Next time though for us. For now, a few pictures is enough for me.

Here are the specifics:

Fee: $15 or a National Parks Pass

Pets: Pets are welcome in the parking lots, but not allowed on trails.

Facilities: Flush toilets and picnic tables available.

Camping: In the park, yes

Season: Year round, check for conditions out of summer

Coordinates: 47.969123, -123.498259 (Unverified) (Google shows a through road to Elwha, from what I've seen this is a trail and not a road - keep this in mind when looking up directions online)

Governmental Agency Land: Olympic National Park

Nearest town: Port Angeles, Washington (18 miles)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Silverdale, Washington (18 miles)

County: Clallam, Washington

My rating (out of 6): 3.5

More Information: Olympic National Park

Cites: Elevation information from Wikipedia

My Current Location: Work, Portland, Oregon

A Deeper Warning?

LaPush, Washington. Quileute Nation.

Is this really a problem or is there a metaphor here that I’m missing?

Maybe you should be careful because the bridge of your life is unsafe.

Whatever the case, I don’t recommend crossing this bridge even in the best of conditions.

LaPush is a cute, albeit depressed appearing little town. The setting is spectacular. Remote. I felt bad being a tourist in this tiny town. Even though I don’t think I did anything to disturb it, there are just some places where you feel like “another one of those damn tourists”. It’s worth the trip just to see the scenery if only for a minute, though, if you are willing to disturb the place. However, I have a feeling that if you were to ask around you’d be welcomed warmly.

Here are the specifics:

Fee: None
Pets: Not really applicable, but I suppose they may be welcome.
Facilities: None.
Camping: No
Season: Year round.
Coordinates: 47.915003, -124.63540 (Unverified)
Governmental Agency Land: Possibly private property on Quiletue Tribal Land
Nearest town: La Push, Washington (0.5 miles)
Nearest 10,000+ city: Port Angeles, Washington (68 miles)
County: Clallam, Washington
My rating (out of 6): 4.5, although not sure what I’m rating here.
More Information: Quileute Nation

My Current Location: Home, Portland, Oregon

3 Crabs Restaurant

In researching for our visit to the Olympic Peninsula, I stumbled across someone's note that stated something along the lines of 3 Crabs being the place to eat in the area. For some reason this stuck in my head and we went there. Who knows, this could have been something planted somewhere on the internet by the owners of the restaurant itself, but I'm always up for trying something new. That hasn't always been true, but I've been taught that when you're in a new town, you try the local fare (thanks, Victoria!). I've enjoyed this new way of travel . . . a lot.

When entering the restaurant, I questioned whether or not it would be too fancy for us based on the settings on the table. Trying to be a fancy restaurant for the older crowd is not what I would expect from a restaurant in a tiny town on what is essentially the beach. I was a little worried at this point and then we were asked if we had reservations. This question always bothers me since if you have reservations, you would mention it. If you don't, you just feel like an idiot for trying to get into a restaurant that (as I found out later) recommends that you have reservations. It isn't an appropriate question for a place that isn't even 25% full. I felt a bit out of place there as it was just the two of us dining with several families, but it wasn't too bad.

When we were seated, we were ignored for a bit (a little longer than I think is acceptable). When we were helped (by a woman in a t-shirt and jeans - not fitting to the decor), she noticed a bug on our table, took it, excused herself and came back. She explained that this had never happened before, which is probably true. She was friendly enough, but left our drinks sitting on the counter until she realized we didn't have anything to drink when our food came out. The service was certainly fast enough.

The food was pretty good. Tim had the halibut sandwich with coleslaw and seemed to like it a lot. I had the crab cake sandwich and potato salad. Be warned that the potato salad has olives in it (I know, I know, most people would probably love that but some of us don't . . . right Charlotte?). The crab cake sandwich didn't have the best sauce on it, but the crab cake itself was quite good.

The thing to note about this restaurant is that it is situated on a piece of property right on Dungeness Bay. The view from the window seats in the restaurant? The parking lot. Sure, you can see the lighthouse out on the spit (next time we won't bring the dog and we'll walk out to it). Sure, you can see the bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. You're just overlooking a gravel parking lot and cars to see it. Not much that can be done about it now, but who decided to build the building back so far? We weren't even in a window seat (even though the host told us we would be), so it didn't matter much. We took some time when we were done with lunch to let the dog out of the car to play around on the beach a bit. That's another thing this place should have, though, clearly marked beach access at least for customers. Certainly the appeal of a restaurant like this lies in two things - its fresh seafood (I'm not exactly an expert on food, so who knows if it was or not) and its location. When most of the division between the . . . parking lot (I can barely say it) . . . and the beach is marked "Stay off the rocks and flower beds", it certainly isn't inviting to take a walk on the beach when you're done with your meal. Maybe the reasoning for this is to keep people that haven't been to the restaurant off of their beach. Maybe the reasoning is that they don't even want those that have been to the restaurant on their beach. Who knows, but it should be a welcoming dessert. I know the desserts on the menu weren't. They seemed to consist of just over-fluffed pies that were $32 each. Sure, $4 a slice sounds reasonable, but when you aren't able to buy a whole pie for a lower price, it just sounds ridiculous.

Here are the specifics:

Price: Ranging from about $10 for a sandwich to $20 for a steak or seafood meal.
Cuisine: Seafood
Reservations: "Recommended"
Pets: No outside seating, so no pets.

Parking: Abundant and abundant with gravel

Address: 113 Crabs Rd - Sequim, WA (in the community of Dungeness)
Nearest town: Dungeness, Sequim, Washington (0-5.2 miles)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Port Angeles, Washington (19 miles)

County: Clallam, Washington

My rating (out of 6): 3 for service, 4 for food, 2 for decor, 4 for view - average 3

More Information: 3 Crabs

My Current Location: Home, Portland, Oregon

View from beach in front of 3 Crabs Restaurant (looking out over Dungeness Bay toward spit and lighthouse)

Red Lion Hotel - Port Angeles

I wanted out of the condo and out of the city. I always do. I've used up all of Tim's vacation in planning out the entire year with camping and a number of other trips. I've always wanted to spend some time on the Olympic Peninsula, so I thought I would take advantage of the three day weekend. I looked around and figured that Port Angeles would be the best central point for doing everything I wanted to do. I think I was right.

In doing my usual research for where to stay, I found that Port Angeles is not brimming with hotel rooms on the water, as you might expect. I'm sure there are some out of town a bit, but I couldn't find any online other than the Red Lion and I didn't see any when driving through the town. It is important to point out that I have an aversion to hotel chains I haven't heard of, so those are usually removed from the list of possibilities right from the beginning (I don't remember seeing any of those on the water either). I also don't usually look at hotels in the national parks, since I assume they charge more and may also be run down (I'm sure I'm often wrong and missing out here). I liked the idea of staying in a larger city and on the water, so I booked the room at the Red Lion.

I ended up being pleasantly surprised by a few things and a little disappointed by a few others. The first impression was, as always, at the front desk where the woman helping me was very friendly and personable (even if the lobby seemed a little unprofessional - loud music clearly meant for the workers and she was singing along while she helped me). I had searched for information regarding the hotel's pet policy since we were bringing along our 75 pound German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix, but couldn't find it. I made a note that we were bringing him and for them to let me know if this was a problem. I later found that the pet policy was right on their website, I just missed the link (it's under "amenities" then the pet policy link). I was told that the fee would be $20 per night, but it was waived if we were a Red Lion club member.

Entering the hotel and then our room, it was clear that it was older. The place was dated (as I've found most Red Lions to be), but for the most part they had repainted or replaced what was needed. The shower was in need of a re-grouting and the fan was rusted out, but other than that everything was in very nice shape and was clean. Each room seemed to have a private deck the width of the room (in our case looking out on the harbor). I was instantly impressed and amazed by the view. Of course it was a beautiful weekend weather-wise, so that made it all the better. The room looked right out at the spit, a freighter anchored in the harbor, the city's pier and the ferries that come and go to Victoria, British Columbia. I was quite happy with my choice of hotel.

The next morning, I was a little less impressed with my choice of hotel when I realized that we had gone through the night without air conditioning and the room was pretty warm. I didn't bother saying anything though, since it was right on the water and the air could cool the room on its own just fine. I also forgot to mention it when I checked out, so I can't say that they wouldn't have come right out and fixed it. When we came back from touring around the area, our keys didn't work. Since it was both of our keys, I have to assume that it was programmed wrong the first time. Mistakes happen, no big deal. I went up to the front desk and explained that they weren't working. The woman that helped me this time was rude and didn't apologize for the mistake. She acted like it happened all the time and almost seemed put out by me for asking to be let back into my room. This was the only negative of the experience here.

That night (July 4th), once everyone started camping out along the path in front of the hotel, I realized that we were going to be in perfect position for the fireworks show put on by the community. This was a complete surprise; I did not book the hotel room with any intention of seeing fireworks (this may explain the somewhat high fee, although the view, location and being the only place in town that could offer these things may make it this price all summer). The show was not bad at all for a town of 18,000 people. We very much enjoyed it.

All in all, this is a very nice hotel. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone overly picky about service or quality, but if you want a place to stay with a beautiful view right in the heart of Port Angeles, I definitely recommend it.

Here are the specifics:

Fee: Averaged $175.10 for our stay per night, plus 10.4% tax
Pets: Pets are welcome. The fee is $20 per night, which is waived if you are a member of their rewards club.

Pool: Yes (in the middle of the parking lot)
Elevators: No (2 story building)
Internet: Free wireless - decent quality
Parking: Free, uncovered
Best Season: Summer for outdoor activities

Address: 221 N. Lincoln - Port Angeles, WA 98362
Nearest town: Port Angeles, Washington (located downtown)

Nearest 10,000+ city: Port Angeles, Washington (located downtown)

County: Clallam, Washington

My rating (out of 6): 2 for service, 3 for amenities, 5 for view - average 3.5

More Information: Red Lion Hotels

My Current Location: Work, Portland, Oregon

City Pier from hotel room - slightly foggy morning


Boats in the harbor from hotel room


View from hotel room at night

Cape Flattery

Here is where I introduce the fact that we have a dog. A crazy one. He's a thousand times better than he was when we adopted him 7 1/2 months ago, but still crazy. We felt he needed a home and that we had a connection with him even though we knew he'd turn our lives upside down. Out of all of his neuroses that he came with, we have him down to just two that make our lives a little more difficult. The first is that he can't be left home alone, the second is that he can't be out in public. This makes the whole travel thing a little more difficult, but luckily there's daycare. Not this time though.

As part of our Port Angeles/Olympic Peninsula trip, I wanted to go out to the "most northwestern point" in the contiguous United States. This point is said to be Cape Flattery, Washington. The hike is 3/4 miles long (each way) and one of the best hikes I have been on in a long time. Even after the dog threw his fit about seeing other dogs about 20 times and bit me once in the process (he didn't know my finger was there), I'd still do it again. The hike itself it worth it. Just the work the (I'm assuming) Makah Tribe put into building this trail is beautiful. The boardwalks, the properly placed tree stumps, the well-maintained rest of the trail, all of it is great. It's a very leisurely walk (ignore their warnings about it being "moderate" or "not advised for those with weak ankles, knees or backs" - this is probably a fair warning that I don't actually want you to ignore, but in terms of trail ratings it really should get an easy). There are a couple observation decks on the way out to the end, where the true beauty of the area is found. The water at the tip of the cape where the Pacific Ocean meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca is the bluest I have ever seen in the Northwest. The rocks are amazing formations that rival even the Oregon Coast. The viewpoint looks right out at what I believe to be Tatoosh Island with its lighthouse marking the entry to the strait. The weather here is absolutely perfect. Okay, that last one may have just been luck on our part. This is one of the rainiest places in the country and we happen to be there on a day that you can see for miles with perfectly blue sky. Maybe this is also the reason for the beautiful blue water, but it doesn't take away from the rest of it. I can't imagine the hike not being worth it in any weather condition, but who knows.

We're not done with our trip yet, but I would bet that this will remain the highlight of it. If you're in the area, I would recommend making this the top priority if you aren't taking the time to hike deep into the Olympic National Park, where there may quite possibly be better beaches or better sights on the top of a mountain or deep in a valley that we were not able to go with the dog. It also gets one of those bizarre things checked off my list - visit the most northwestern point of the contiguous United States. Done. If you like this type of thing, there's also the most western zip code in the contiguous United States (La Push, Washington) and the most western populated place in the contiguous United States (Ozette, Washington). Just be warned that to my knowledge, there isn't a short path between these three locations, even though they are relatively close together. We attempted to follow our navigation system's instructions from Cape Flattery to Ozette, and ran into a logging gate halfway down a road that nature did not want to be a road. This is to say that it was not often used, dirt and very overgrown. It may be advised to go back to the main road between each location you try to reach in this area.

Here are the specifics:
Fee: There is a $10 recreation pass that is necessary for parking on the Makah Tribal land. This pass can be purchased at a number of places in Neah Bay. See signs upon entry to Neah Bay.
Pets: Pets are welcome.
Facilities: Vault toilets are available at the parking lot to Cape Flattery. Picnic tables available. Pack out your garbage.
Camping: No
Season: Year round, but pick a sunny day for best views
Coordinates: 48.383118, -124.714411 (Unverified - I forgot to do this!)
Governmental Agency Land: Makah Indian Tribe
Nearest town: Neah Bay, Washington (7.9 miles)
Nearest 10,000+ city: Port Angeles, Washington (74 miles)
County: Clallam, Washington
My rating (out of 6): 5.5
More Information: Makah Tribe

My Current Location: Red Lion Hotel, Port Angeles, Washington