Travelogue

Lake CrescentSince it would take us only 4 hours to get to Port Angeles, where we needed to spend the night to catch an early morning ferry to Vancouver Island, we had plenty of time to have some fun along the way.

Fortunately, Port Angeles is right near the northern end of Olympic National Park, so we decided to drive into the park and spend some time at Crescent Lake. It was still ridiculously hot, so spending time relaxing at a lake sounded perfect.

Hike to Marymere FallsThis was not our first visit to Crescent Lake. 33 years ago we traveled here on a vacation with our then one-year-old son Andrew. We lived in New Jersey then, so it was a very long day of travel - flight from Newark Airport to Seattle, rental car pickup, ferry to Bremerton, and then a drive to Crescent Lake. Despite our long travel day, it was still light out when we arrived, as we had gained 3 hours traveling West.

Herb often accuses me of trying to pack 10 pounds in a 5 pound bag when we travel. Well, I was about to pack 15. Somehow I convinced Herb that hiking to nearby Marymere falls (less than a mile from our cabin) would be a good idea. After all, we needed to stretch our legs a bit after so much sitting.

Somewhat reluctantly Herb loaded Andrew into the baby backpack and off we went to show him his first waterfall. Unfortunately, by the time we got there he was totally slumped over in the backpack fast asleep. Smart kid. We should have been too.

Bridge to Marymere FallsWell, today would be more relaxing than that.

Lake Crescent is absolutely stunning. It was formed when glaciers carved out deep valleys during the last Ice Age. The lake is 900-feet deep, one of the deepest in Washington state. Its waters are a brilliant blue and exceptionally clear, due to the low levels of nitrogen in the water, which inhibit the growth of algae.

It looked extremely inviting, but first lunch in the historic Lake Crescent Lodge with its stone fireplace and sunroom overlooking the azure waters of the lake. I’ve never met a national park lodge that I didn’t like. They are always so cozy and warm.

Marymere FallsAfter lunch, we got our chairs and headed to the small beach along the lake’s shoreline. Since the heat wave was still with us, I enjoyed dipping in and out of the lake to keep cool. It was so pleasant and relaxing after 3 long driving days.

Later that afternoon, we hiked from the beach to Marymere Falls, where we had brought our cute little Andrew so long ago. It’s a lovely short hike, about 0.9 miles each way, through an old-growth, moss-laden forest, across two scenic bridges over flowing creeks, and then 200-feet up a set of stairs to two picturesque viewpoints of 90-foot high Marymere Falls.

Lots of nice scenery for such an easy short hike.

Then it was on to the Angeles Motel, which we chose for its proximity to the Black Ball Ferry to Vancouver Island. Hotels in Port Angeles are pretty pricey because they have a captive audience of early ferry goers. It killed me to have to pay $200 for a crappy little room, when we later spent the same amount for a lovely room on the harbor in Ucluelet. Oh well.