Camping on the Olympic Peninsula: Day 5: Marymere Falls and the Return Home
Our camping trip is at an end... time to pack up! Well, after the kids wake up anyway:

Our campsite has been ideal. I'm glad we were able to reserve the group site. The downside has been... no running water and a vaulted toilet. But real toilets, showers, and running water are not too far away. The minor inconvenience really was only a small price to pay for the isolation and quiet we have enjoyed.

After we packed the camp site up, we started our trip home. We stopped at the Lake Crescent Ranger Station and hiked up to Marymere Falls and then had some lunch.

The ferry ride back from the peninsula:

Back at home.

Camping on the Olympic Peninsula: Day 4: Exploring the Hoh Rain Forest
On the agenda today is a journey from Sol Duc to the Hoh Rain Forest (by way of Forks). Along the way, we saw some huge trees:

The first thing we did after arriving at the Hoh Ranger Station was take a guided tour of the nature trail. It was an interesting presentation, but I was underwhelmed by the "Rain Forest" flora. The rain forest just seemed like the forests back by our house near Sammamish with the addition of a bunch of moss:

We took a total of two nature walks around the Hoh ranger station. One that went through the "Hall of Mosses" (above) and another loop that meandered over near the Hoh River. The kids hiked them both well:

Camping on the Olympic Peninsula: Day 3: Exploring Sol Duc
It is Kristy's birthday today and we are here in Sol Duc "celebrating" it, or rather "acknowledging" it. We spent our first night in the tent last night. Our private (quiet) campground is great; the kids (and Kristy and I) all slept well. Here are a pics taken this morning:

After breakfast we went for a small 1-mile hike to Sol Duc falls to invigorate the constitution:

We spent the rest of the day at the Sol Duc Hot Springs and pool. The birthday girl left with Scott and Ang (and their kids) in the evening after dinner. (She is prepping for a big Sorenson reunion this coming weekend.)

Camping on the Olympic Peninsula: Day 2: Sequim and Sol Duc
Today was a travel day. We left Fort Worden and drove to Sequim where we attended an LDS Service in the morning and visited the Olympic Game Farm after lunch. Part of the Game Farm is accessible only by car, see below:

There was a small petting zoo for kids:

From Sequim, we drove to the Sol Duc campground in the Olympic National Forest. We are camping at the campground's group campsite which is situated adjacent to the Sol Duc river. We have lots of elbow room and no camping neighbors... we are quite literally all by ourselves. As a result, it is peaceful and quiet. Nice.

Camping on the Olympic Peninsula: Day 1: Port Townsend and Camp Worden
We are spending the next five days camping on the Olympic Peninsula. Our ultimate destination is the Olympic National Forest, but we are stopping at Fort Worden (which is located in Port Townsend) for one night. We traveled here by ferry (which in hindsight we should have avoided) and met up with Laura (and her Jenna), Karen, Robert, Dick, Bertha, Scott and Angela (and their kids). It is a sizable group. Once we all arrived in Port Townsend... first order of business was food. Pizza!

After we were checked in at Fort Worden, we explored a bit of the old military compound including the lighthouse, the artillery museum, and the complex of large, abandoned bunkers and battlements. This place is incredible. Here are a few pics of the lighthouse.

We booked our reservation at Fort Worden last minute and so I thought that (perhaps) we might be stuck with some short sticks. But, wow, just wow... our accommodations were nothing short of incredible (given the low price). Dick and Bertha stayed in Alexander's Castle, a building that pre-dated the Fort (which itself opened in 1902). We stayed in one of the restored quarters on Officers' Row where a former Brigadier General David Ayres Depue (D.A.D.) Ogden lived. Our place was huge... vaulted ceilings on the main floor, extra-large dining and sitting rooms, a full kitchen, two bathrooms with hot water and a shower, and three large (very large) bedrooms. Check it out: