6-28-17

We went to bed before 9:30 last night. It wasn't even fully dark but I was cold and when I snuggled into my covers for warmth, I was happy to go to sleep. I can't say enough for the fleece blankets we bought on this trip. They have made sleeping even more enjoyable. I was awake by 5:15. The sounds of odd birds and a rustling in the trees around us plus the light of the not yet fully up sun and a good nights rest had me ready to get up but I snoozed for 30 more minutes so I wouldn't wake Lorelei. At 5:45 I got up and covered her with my extra blanket and told her to snooze for a while longer while I went to take a shower. I unzipped the tent and there, 8 feet away was Bambi. Small but lovely a single deer roaming through the campground. I was surprised and didn't step out any further. I had obviously disturbed his breakfast and he walked away. My favorite times in nature have always been the early morning when the animals are out and enjoying the world before most of us people are up to ruin it. 

We ate a breakfast of rolls, yogurt and banana and left the campground by 8:00. Two more deer were out along the roadway as we were leaving.  We had about a 15 minute drive to Ebeys Landjng historical reserves visitor building. This is the only historical Reserve in the parks system and is a partnership between public and private entities. It maintains one of the oldest towns in Washington. Coupeville is a little Harbor town and was a quaint place to visit. We had a ferry to catch at 11:45 but were done visiting the town by 10:15 so we drove out to the ferry terminal and played cards. Lorelei got mad because I beat her at UNO twice in a row. We made sandwiches while waiting on the ferry. 

A 30 minute ride across the bay and we were in Port Townsend. Another 75 minute drive and we were arriving in Port Angeles and turning into the road to visit Olympic National Park. We watched the movie which got me really excited because of the diversity this park has to offer. We took the 45 minute drive up to Hurricane Ridge and hiked the Sunrise Ridge Trail. At the top, the view cleared up from the clouds that had plagued us most of the day and we had a beautiful view of the Olympic mountains. 

There was still snow on the ridge with a temperature of about 58 and deer everywhere. We went to the 4 PM ranger talk on Mountain Goats which are not native and can be pesky. Just after the ranger finished we saw 5 adults and 2 kids on the ridge where we hiked.  We were getting hungry so we headed back to town to setup our tent, do laundry and make pancakes. Tomorrow we head west on the peninsula to check out some of the diversity including the beach and the temperate rainforest. We will also be stopping in Forks, home of the Cullen's from Twilight and visiting La Push beach. Maybe we will see a vampire too.