This is the gateway to the (claimed) longest beach in the world: over 25 miles of continuous sand.
| In mid-July, my wife and I took a two-up trip around the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington. We left home late Thursday afternoon and arrived at our first stop in Long Beach, Washington just before dark. The temperature when we left home was in the low 90's, but it was about 30 degrees cooler here. Much better! This is the gateway to the (claimed) longest beach in the world: over 25 miles of continuous sand. |
| Friday morning we headed north on Highway 101, through Raymond, Aberdeen, and on to Lake Quinault, at the southwestern edge of Olympic National Park. The highway was in great shape; good pavement, little construction, and less traffic. |
| We continued north along the coastal section of the park and stopped for lunch in Forks. From Forks we headed east toward Port Angeles, with a stop at Lake Crescent. |
| From Port Angeles we turned south into the park. In about 15 twisted miles we climbed from sea level to 6500 feet into the heart of the Olympic range. This is the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center with the Olympic Mountains in the background. |
| A park resident, unimpressed with the tourists. |
| After leaving the park we continued east on Highway 101 and Highway 20 toward Port Townsend. Traveling the west end of Highway 20 (the North Cascades Highway) means riding the Keystone ferry. We took it from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island, then north over Deception Pass and on to Sedro Woolley to visit friends. On Saturday we headed south (mostly via freeway) to be home by noon. |