On to the Olympics

October 9 - Today, we moved to our second National Park - the Olympics - leaving Rainier behind.

We were up early (for us) and hit the road after packing the car.  We made it to just outside Spanaway, before stopping for breakfast.  We had a great breakfast at the Country Rose Cafe.  Most of us had 'Hobo Hash.'  We drove on through Tacoma, over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, past Bremerton and Sequim.  We arrived a tPort Angeles early afternoon and, since the weather was clear and calm, decided to drive directly up Hurricane Ridge.  

Mt. Baker from Hurricane Ridge

We covered the 17+ miles easily, with a couple of stops to check out the views, as the road climbed to 5700 feet.  We enjoyed a stroll around the area at the end of the road, after  we toured the Visitor Center which has a wide deck with a full view of the Olympic Range.  Mt. Olympus, the highest point, is surrounded by numerous peaks just slightly lower.  The mountains are separated by  valleys  sharply v-cut by streams, and the hilsides are carpeted in trees - cedars, hemlocks, pines and Douglas firs.  To the north we had views over Port Angeles, across the fog-bound strait, to Vancouver Island with Victoria in the foreground.  The mainland Cascade Mountains, with new snow, were also visible above the San Juan Islands.   We were exceptionally lucky with the weather.

Clark's Nutcracker

Olympic Range

Mt. Olympus to the right; Blue Glacier in the middle

Looking north to Canada

We drove back down most of the way, then cut west across a back road to the Elwha River and its parallel road.  We drove upstream about 4 miles to the Glines Canyon Spillway Overlook.  This is the site of the highest-ever dam removal.  The spillway and parts of each side abatement are still in place, but the 200 foot  main concrete arch of the dam at the mouth of a mouth of a narrow canyon is gone.    The reservoir is drained and the river is under going restoration.  The removal began in 2011 and was completed in 2014.  The dam was first notched by a large shovel set on a barge, and then, as the water level dropped, the rest was demolished with explosives.  The river is already returning to its natural state, with the help of crews who planted thousands of seedlings.  A smaller dam downstream - Elwha - was also removed during this time frame.  However, we missed seeing its site since we headed west along Route 101 to Lake Crescent and its Lodge, our accommodations for the next 2 nights.  

The East side abutement

The Spillway and West side structure

Glines Canyon - note the shadow of the original spillway

The Forebay of the 'now gone' reservoir 

We were within a 1.5 mile of the Lodge when we were "delayed" by road construction for about 45 minutes.

We finally arrived at the lodge about 5:30 and checked in.  Lake Crescent is beautiful, sort of like the Columbia River gorge if the gorge stopped after 15 miles. We have 3 rooms, which appear comfortable, with views to the lake and mountains behind.  We gathered in the front porch, before having dinner.  Four of us had Caesar's Salad with either salmon or crab.  Paul had fish and chips, and I added a cup of clam chowder to my salad order.