Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is most famous for Mount Olympus, which is the tallest mountain in the park and has some big glaciers.  We didn't see that.  When we stopped at the Visitors Center we learned that this is one of only three National Parks that you can NOT drive through.  It is primarily a hiking park...and while that is really cool, we didn't have the two months it takes to hike it.  We entered from the south and the famous mountain is seen from the north side a few hours drive away.  Instead we enjoyed a gorgeous hike in a very special place.  

The drive in was spectacular!  We drove by Cushman Lake which seems to be a very popular place for local teens to hang out on huge rocks and soak up the sun. Bob didn't photograh them because that would have obviously been creepy...but they appeared to be having a great time!  

The mountains surrounding the lake are covered with waterfalls and we did make a lot of other camera stops. 

The National Park actually begins at the end of a very long gravel road. From there you can begin any number of hikes that take you through the 1440 square mile park.  We chose a very scenic one as you can see by Bob's photos below.  

It was an enjoyable day at the park but pretty noisy!  There are bear warnings everywhere so I make as much noise as possible to avoid a close encounter.  We do have bear spray just in case I lose my voice.  Below are a few more photos of the drive out of the park.  Enjoy!