We flew in about 10:30 Wednesday morning, got our car and then stopped at the school where they filmed 10 Things I hate about you. I can't imagine going to school there. It is old and beautiful and the football stadium overlooks the water. It was really cool.
We stopped in Port Angeles and checked into our hotel room and then went and did a couple of hikes - Marymere Falls and Sol Duc Falls. Marymere Falls is right be Lake Crescent and the drive in was beautiful. Sol Duc Falls was a little further down the road, and the falls were gorgeous. After that we headed back into Port Angeles and drove by the paper mill so we could see where my dad worked and then drove out on the Nook. It was so pretty. We grabbed some dinner at the slowest Chipotle ever and then headed back to our room.
Thursday morning we got up really early because we wanted to get to Hoh Rainforest before the parking lot filled up. We grabbed a picture by the Forks sign on the way through and then headed to Hoh. We got there about 7:30 and got a parking spot. We did the Hall of the Mosses and the Nature trail and they were both beautiful.
We went to Ruby Beach and then to Beach Number 4. It was overcast and a little chilly but we were able to do a little tide-pooling and see some fun star fish. Then we headed back to Forks to visit the Twilight Museum and get a Coke Icee but the museum was full for the day so Emmy was kind of sad. So we headed back down around the bottom of Olympic National Park and stopped at the Quinault Rainforest and then made it to our hotel.
Friday we got up early again to hike Mt Rainier. I was a little worried because as soon as we got in the park there were already signs that said the parking lot was full and it wasn't even 7 yet, but we got up there and found one of the last spots in the lower parking lot. There are 3 fires burning in Spokane and we had talked to people that said that Mt. Rainier had been so smoky so I was a little worried. I had prayed for clear skies and it was completely clear and gorgeous. I felt blessed. We ran into a park ranger on the way in and she gave us a couple suggestions about trails. We followed her advice and it got us away from the crowds a little bit. It was one of the prettiest hikes I have ever been you. You really felt like you could reach out and touch the mountain. It was crazy. We stopped at Narada Falls on the way back down and then stopped at the Copper Creek Inn and got some lunch and blackberry pie. It was yummy. Then we headed back to Seattle. We checked into our hotel and then ran up to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.