Notices
General Trip Reports Reports that don't fit in to the other categories

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 20 Jun 20, 11:12 AM  
Link to this Post
#1
katiebaz
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Feb 13

katiebaz's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Pacific Northwest Aug 2019 Day 20 Rainforest, more beach and Lake Quinault

There was no breakfast at the Forks Motel so we carried on the theme and got a disappointing breakfast from the local supermarket instead. This included pop tarts, not-very-tasty porridge, bread and juice. We checked out, not sad to leave, and headed for HOH Rainforest area of Olympic National Park. This area is very different again to the mountain, lake and coast regions of the park and one of the only few temperate rain forests in America. Before we left Forks as I did make the family stop at the Cullen House, from Twilight. The boys have not watched the films so it meant nothing to them but they indulged me anyway.



At HOH Rainforest, the lush, green canopy of plants and trees made it feel quite magical. We parked up at the visitor centre, had mooch around and listened to a really informative talk about the Rainforest from one of the rangers. We then did two short hikes: the Spruce and Trail of Mosses through the forest, lucky to enjoy warm weather into the 80s as usually colder than that here.





Following our hikes we found a picnic table and enjoyed our lunch, even managing to save someone else’s picnic from some very hungry birds when they went back to the car to get something. There are not many hiking trails in this area so after a couple of hours we left and headed back to the coast and visited Beach 2 (it seems like the people of Washington State were not very inspired when it comes to naming their beaches….). The walk to the beach involved a steep descent and a scramble over the rocks where I sadly dropped Dan’s brand new water bottle, smashing the lid. He took it surprisingly well and I did promise to buy him another at our next stop.


Back in the car we continued down the coast and went past Kalaloch Lodge, which is an Olympic National Park lodge. It was beautifully situated overlooking the sea and we wished we had stayed there instead of Forks for our previous night. After about an hour’s driving we arrived at our final Olympic National Park destination of the trip - Lake Quinault. There is a lovely ( but very expensive) lodge at the lake which we weren’t staying at but decided to visit as there is a beach on the lake you can swim from and we fancied a dip in the water.

The lodge was gorgeous looking and we did wish we were staying there. Instead we had a nice wonder around visiting the gift shop, stocking up on Olympic National Park t-shirts and hoodies and replacing Daniel’s water bottle. We then had a swim in the lake, watching people on paddle boards and canoes, whilst Daniel being the only one brave enough to jump off the pontoon.





After drying off we drove the short distance to our hotel, the Quinault River Inn. This was a lovely family owned motel with really friendly owners and well equipped large rooms with patios overlooking the river. For dinner that night we drove to the Salmon House restaurant which had been recommended by the owners of our hotel and enjoyed a delicious meal. Sadly the service was not so great and we had to chase for refills on our drinks, missing sides and our waitress did that annoying thing of asking if we wanted dessert whilst we were still eating our main course and thrusting the bill on the table. This certainly did not endear us to ordering dessert so we headed back to the Inn and enjoyed drinks on our patio watching the sun go down until the mosquitoes decided to make us into a tasty snack.

Edited at 04:45 PM.
katiebaz is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 20 Jun 20, 03:33 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
Wordsworth
Very Serious Dibber
 
Join Date: Sep 18
Location: Auld Reekie
The obsession in the some places in the US with rushing you through a meal drives me mad. I also hate when my main arrives while I’m still eating the appetiser.
Wordsworth is offline Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 20 Jun 20, 04:06 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
katiebaz
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Feb 13

katiebaz's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Originally Posted by Wordsworth View Post
The obsession in the some places in the US with rushing you through a meal drives me mad. I also hate when my main arrives while I’m still eating the appetiser.
Totally agree and we just want to relax and enjoy a meal instead of rushing through it at top speed.
katiebaz is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 20 Jun 20, 09:35 PM  
Link to this Post
#4
CrispyA
Imagineer
 
Join Date: Oct 11
Beautiful pictures again and the lake looks gorgeous, such a lovely colour. I hate being rushed through a meal like that - really makes you feel unwelcome
CrispyA is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 21 Jun 20, 07:20 PM  
Link to this Post
#5
katiebaz
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Feb 13

katiebaz's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Originally Posted by CrispyA View Post
Beautiful pictures again and the lake looks gorgeous, such a lovely colour. I hate being rushed through a meal like that - really makes you feel unwelcome
The lake was gorgeous and the added bonus of being warm enough to swim in. I do find the downside of eating out in the states is being rushed through a meal as if they can’t get you out quick enough.
katiebaz is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 30 Jun 20, 11:35 AM  
Link to this Post
#6
smithlane
VIP Dibber
 
smithlane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 15
The rainforest and lake areas look lovely. It seems there is so much to do in Olympic NP, you need more than just a few nights there!
__________________
All my previous reports can be found HERE

IG - alicialanesmith
smithlane is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 30 Jun 20, 04:46 PM  
Link to this Post
#7
katiebaz
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Feb 13

katiebaz's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Originally Posted by smithlane View Post
The rainforest and lake areas look lovely. It seems there is so much to do in Olympic NP, you need more than just a few nights there!
It is so vast and with no through road it definitely needs a few days to explore. It is really beautiful though.
katiebaz is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 1 Jul 20, 06:07 PM  
Link to this Post
#8
Sparksy72
VIP Dibber
 
Sparksy72's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 14

Sparksy72's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
I love your rainforest walks, so lush and green. Lake Quinalt looks like it has loads of activities to keep you busy too. We find the hardest thing about road trips in the States is fitting everything in!
Sparksy72 is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:04 PM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »
Aquatica Orlando announce the grand opening of its newest attraction, Tassie’s Underwater Twist, on 15... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2327
CaxtonFX  $1.2300
Covent Garden FX  $1.2488
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2320
TESCO  $1.2343
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 11:00 28/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1426
CaxtonFX  €1.1400
Covent Garden FX  €1.1505
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1419
TESCO  €1.1425
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 11:00 28/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X