Olympic National Park - Day 6 Thursday July 28

We started our day with a long 4.5 hour ride in the car, heading from Portland, Oregon to Olympic National Park. The park encompasses nearly a million acres, so we will barely scratch the surface of what there is to see and do.

The "must do" event of the day is the mandated COVID testing for our upcoming Alaska cruise. We have had an appointment with Quest Lab for weeks, arrived on time, and waited...and waited...because of computer glitches. Thankfully, we finally got the deed accomplished, so now we just hope for good results (and I am anxious because I have started with a cough).

We entered Olympic National Park by 3 PM and headed right up to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. At 5,242 feet elevation, the 17-mile winding road from Port Angeles (where we had out tests) was an ear-popping thrill ride. There were a few mountain tunnels to add to the charm.

The outdoor platform behind the visitor center affords the most majestic panorama of the Olympic mountains that you can imagine.

These two prominent glaciers are the Carrie Glacier...

...and the Blue Glacier. Both have receded significantly over the years.

We walked along the Hurricane Ridge Scenic Trail, which smelled like Christmas and looked like Maria Von Trapp might be twirling around any bend.

Today's wildlife sighting included deer...

...but fortunately not this bear. A park ranger was posted not far from the sign keeping the bear in sight as it has been making appearances all day.

The most beautiful wildflowers were along the roadside by the cliff death drops, so there is no photo evidence of those. These do not compare, but will have to compensate.

We are staying within the park at the Lake Crescent Lodge. There is no AC or WiFi in the room, which caused some crankiness. (But postscript: I got the best night's sleep of the trip..we were in the bed by 9 PM and there is not a sound out here. Slept until 7:30 AM. (I think the mobility challenges are catching up with me.)

Here is the hotel's historic main building and the lobby.

Finally, here is the featured performer of this stop...beautiful Crescent Lake.

Photos are tagged Alaska and Olympic_NP