Camping (Day 1): Crabs, Elk & Deer Oh My!

We really enjoy camping, so we were excited to share some camping adventures with the Shrums while they were here. We took a ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula and camped in the Olympic National Forest. Half the fun was the journey there though! We passed through the lovely town of Sequim (pronounced Squim), where there are fields and fields of lavender. You could smell their wonderful fragrance just by rolling down the windows. I wouldn't mind living here...
















The drive was beautiful with the Olympic Mountains to our left and a body of water known as the Strait of Juan de Fuca to our right. It connects the Pacific Ocean with the Puget Sound and on the other side of it is Canada, which we could see in the distance. We found an out-of-the-way lunch spot right on the water overlooking Canada called 3 Crabs. The food was great, but it made us kind of crabby... I blame my dad for my corny sense of humor! Oh well, it's all I got! Had to get a picture of this sign:
















Funny: "Sorry, if you're not a crab, or crabby maybe :), you can't park here." Irony: ONLY for "3 Crabs" - as if there were a lot of other reasons to go down a long dirt road in the middle of nowhere, the only destination being this restaurant. "Sorry, if you meant to go to McDonald's 50 miles in the opposite direction, you can't park here." Thanks, sign, for giving us some good laughs!

Part of our journey led us along Lake Crescent, the most sparkling crystal-blue lake I think I've ever seen. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was stunning.
















I'll include this for any Twilight fans... or non-fans. Forks was the last town we went through before our turn-off to the campground. Yes, we were in "vampire" country. And, oh my, has Forks gotten in on all the hype! On one of the guys' trips out for ice they spoke to a store employee that said there are people from other countries traveling to Forks just to take their Twilight Tours. Aside from some pretty scenery, there is absolutely nothing out here! And it's not even like they're traveling to some historical setting. It's not real. Hard to believe what some people will do.
















Several hours after departing from home, we finally arrived at the Hoh Rain Forest campground. It had been a fun day, but the girls especially were ready to be at our final destination! At our brief stop at the ranger station to pay our park fee we read about the danger in getting too close to the elk, which apparently were there in abundance. A distance of less than 100 feet could cause them to charge. With that in mind, before we could even begin unloading our vehicle at our campsite, Mr. Elk came sauntering up. Most of us cautiously got back in the car, while Kevin captured some great pictures, as he passed slowly through our site. It was exciting to see one this close. The girls still haven't stopped talking about the elk they got to see!





















As we put up the tents and prepared for dinner, this deer joined us. Our trip had only just begun and we were excited to have already had these visitors! (I was fine as long as I didn't think about the possibility of something bigger and not-so-cuddly coming around at night!)

<














There's just something about food cooked over a campfire that tastes so good! (Especially when it involves marshmallows, chocolate & graham crackers - got to be my favorite part of camping!)































And the girls haven't been quite this excited to go to "bed" in a long time! It was sweet listening in from outside the tent as they talked & giggled before falling asleep, which they did do - eventually. Good memories I hope they'll keep with them!