LABOR DAY ~ Friday

It would be hard to pack more into one weekend than we did over the Labor Day holiday! Eric took Friday off for our plans to head to the Olympic Peninsula for a weekend of camping in the rain forest. Well, when the forecast predicted cold and rain (and lots of it), we reluctantly nixed that idea. But since we didn't want to give up on seeing the national park, we decided to make a day trip out of it. Of course the peninsula is big enough that it would take a month of vacation to just get a taste of everything... so we narrowed down our options to driving up through Port Angeles and on to Hurricane Ridge. Friday was sunny and warm - a perfect day! In fact it was so nice that by the time we got to the campground that we had planned on staying at, we were so mad that we didn't just pack our stuff and try it for one night. (I felt better about our decision though later that night and the next morning as I listened to the rain pouring down!!) It was breathtakingly beautiful. The whole experience, in fact. Wow. There aren't words to describe how gorgeous the Olympic Peninsula is. Hurricane Ridge has panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains to the South and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the North. We couldn't have picked a better day since it was so clear. I could not stop taking pictures! We were thrilled when we realized how close we live to such a wild and beautiful place. Next summer can't come soon enough! Eric and I are so excited to explore it all!The ferry ride across to the peninsula was an adventure in and of itself! Gabe was thrilled to be on a boat ("it's a BIG one") on the waaaater!

HURRICANE RIDGE

Had to put this darling picture first. There is a story behind those bare little leggies. You guessed it, he peed through his pants in the car. They were soaked! So for several hours he ran around like some half-naked peasant child! Note the deer in picture. I told him to go a little closer for me to take a picture of him so he proceeded to run straight for it with me getting more and more nervous the closer he got. Eventually I was yelling for him to stop and come back, running myself! He got the hint and booked it back to me. Below are pictures of the story unfolding! Plus, some pics of a buck and a doe and tiny fawn we saw too. As you can see, the views were spectacular. Cameras just never do it justice...The views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. That is Canada in the distance.