Avoiding Bears in Olympic National Park
On our journey from Oregon to Washington, we spent a few days in Olympic National Park. As we began our trek through the western edge of the Olympic National Park, we kept seeing signs touting the largest trees in the world.
“See the world’s largest Spruce”, “See the world’s largest Cedar”, “See the world’s largest Douglas Fir”. Alright, it got our attention, so we stopped and took a few photos.
For a slide show of this trip, click here: http://www.webetripping.com/Gallery_USA_WA_OlympicNationalPark.asp.
The Mossy forests of Olympic National Park
World’s Largest Spruce
Our first stop was the world’s largest Spruce tree. Accessible via a quick hike, we reached it quickly. It was large. Not as large as some of the Sequoia’s we saw in Sequoia National Park, but certainly respectable in size. Notice closely on the tree, I am standing just above the base!
World’s Largest Spruce
World’s Largest Cedar
The Cedar was cool, you could walk inside it which offered up a great photo opp.
Worlds Largest Cedar
Worlds Largest Cedar
Along the way, we saw lots of other magnificent waterfalls and trees.
Waterfalls in Olympic National Park
Trees in Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park
Kestner Homestead Trail
We also hiked the Kestner Homestead Trail, it leads back to an old homestead that they are starting to revamp for public viewing. It offered some great views and nice pictures.
As we made our way along the trail, Lynn shouted “bear!”. I turned around to see what the commotion was all about to find out that she had seen a bear cross our path only about 30 yards ahead. We high-tailed it out of there, going back the way we came in! Luckily, we had already made it through the homestead before seeing the bear, so we came back with some pictures to share.
Kestner Homestead Trail
Kestner Homestead Trail
Kestner Homestead Trail
Kestner Homestead Trail
Kestner Homestead Trail
We also found a cool beach called Ruby Beach that is a haven for thousands of marine creatures. It also offers up some great views of the Pacific Ocean.
Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach
Ruby Beach
As we ended the day, we stopped into Sol Duc Hot Springs to soak our weary bones. After relaxing in the mineral springs, we stopped by Crescent Lake. This pristine lake, created by a glacier, was spectacular. Although the pictures don’t do it justice, you could see the bottom of the lake until it dropped off into a blue hole of nothingness.
Crescent Lake
Crescent Lake
I will leave you with a couple more pictures of Port Angeles. The final one was a hoot — this raccoon was begging for scraps.
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