Though we are still visiting Olympic National Park, today we moved to a campground on the north coast, Elwah Dam RV Park near Port Angeles. The motorhomes sit close together, but we needed to recharge and get some laundry done and this campground got us central to the sights we still have left to see. After driving the RV and getting set up, we took a scenic drive to Hurricane Ridge. In the winter, it can get very windy here, up to 75 mph. They average 350 inches of snow each year, topping out once in the winter of 98-99 at 650 inches. This is the first time we felt like we could have been in CO. Hurricane Ridge, the surrounding forest, and the mountain range looks like the mountains and trees we have back home. The terrain was more rocky and there was a range of mountains, none of which were volcanoes. We were at an elevation of 5200′ and the forest didn’t have any of the undergrowth of ferns and mosses like everywhere else we have been in WA. There were 2 forest fires burning here in the park, we could actually see flames at the base of each. We watched a helicopter dropping water over one, but for the most part, they were letting the fires burn themselves out. We did learn that fires climb a ridge quickly but don’t generally drop over and descend the other side. Of course the National Park will be keeping a close eye out, but they weren’t taking huge measures to get the fires out for now. We were both craving an easy evening of sitting down in a restaurant for dinner after all of our driving today. We stopped in at Woodfire Grill in Port Angeles. I had smoked salmon linguini and a local WA wine. It was absolutely delicious. I’ve never had smoked salmon, and feel in love with the distinct strong flavor and seasonings. It was locally caught and the chef on sight smoked it himself. Mark had a seafood platter with clams, halibut, shrimp and scallops that he loved too. I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed a night out in a nice restaurant after camping and eating quick meals for the last 2 weeks. We went to bed with full bellies ready for our next adventures in this new area.
