Even though I'm usually a hotel/spa type of girl we thought it was time to brave the wild and take the girls camping. Several days without electricity or running water, under constant threat from mosquitoes, bears, and the wayward axe murderer (not to mention stray vampires and werewolves), seemed too much to manage in theory. However, a streak of nice weather and beautiful scenery won out as we traveled to Olympic National Park, just a couple hours from home.
We were up bright and early to catch the first ferry of the morning to Port Angeles after our last Starbucks run for a week. (Thankfully my French Press was packed safely away so I didn't have to deal with the rigors of camping without my morning coffee ritual.)
The first sunny day of the summer was blinding!
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Winding roads = first carsick break of the trip. A little fresh air and a waterfall quickly put the girls back in good spirits.
Hurricane Ridge
Isabelle worked hard our entire trip taking notes in her field journal.
The girls did great on our first hike. The last time we hiked at a national park (read about it here) Maddy was in the hiking backpack and slept most of the way. What a difference a couple years make! It was an easy peasy two miles for her!
Isabelle loved the herd of deer we saw...
...while Maddy loved observing the humans...
...and her own hand.
After a night at a hotel (yep, already cheating on the whole camping thing) we drove to Lake Crescent and visited the lodge, still decorated for the 4th of July.
After a yummy picnic lunch on the shore...
...we hopped on the rowboat for a trip around the lake. Daddy was so excited to get to row all by himself for a solid hour while the three ladies relaxed. I really think it was the highlight of his trip.
Then another hike, this time to Merrymere Falls.
Camping time! I was very relieved that our 3 ft high, queen size air mattress fit in our tent after some creative thinking (and pleading) on my part. I also didn't mind the eye rolling and stares directed our way as we tried to get said mattress into the tent. I slept just fine thank you. :)
Isabelle was a huge help...
...and Madeleine did her part too by staying out of the way.
Thankfully she woke up just in time to put her new camp chair together!
Stay tuned for more of our vacation adventure! I'll give you a hint about what's to come: sand, kites, wolves, and banana split pedicures (I was pretty sure we deserved some type of reward after the rugged lifestyle we'd led).
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