July 7, 2018 - Stehekin

We had a full day in Stehekin.  According to ranger’s recommendation, we decided to hike on the Coon Lake Trail.  To reach the trailhead, we had to take the shuttle bus to High Bridge.  On the way, the bus stopped at the only bakery shop in the area for visitors to have coffee or breakfast.  On the bus, we learned that some of the passengers are hikers doing PCT Trail (Pacific Crest Trail) which is a trail starting from Canada boarder all the way to Mexico boarder.  The Coon Lake Trail is a part of the PCT Trail.  

It is a beautiful trail with nice terrain and sceneries.  After a while, we noticed our hiking was getting a bit tougher.  After extra effort, we finally reached the Coon Lake. At the same time, we saw a group of guided horseback riders arriving to the same area.  After talking to the guide, we realized that we made a wrong turn somewhere in the middle of the trail and ended up at the other side of the lake.  

After we got back on the right trail, we were taking our time to enjoy the hike.  At one point, where the trail has a 90 degree turn upward, the front man in our hiking group was Ben. To his surprise, he found that he was facing a black bear who was coming down from the same trail.  Ben was shocked and yelled “Bear”. At the same time, we saw the bear made a turn and dashed out to the other direction.  The bear was running and jumping to try to get away from us.  Of course, we aimed our cameras at him and tried to take photos for this rare opportunity of bear encounter.  Unfortunately, it happened too fast and June was the only person who caught a shot of the bear's backside.  This photo provides the proof of our bear encounter and validates our bear story.

When we reached to the Coon Lake, we found another tranquilized and peaceful scenic spot for photo opportunities.

After we got back to the shuttle bus station, we still had time to wondering around the High Bridge area.  We found a wonderful spot with creek water rushing down and creating a beautiful Kodak spot.

We decided to get food form the bakery shop and had dinner on our lakefront-view patio.

After dinner, there was still time before sunset.  Therefore, we took a nice walk along the lake and tried to take sunset pictures. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy for sunset photos.  However, the walk was relaxing and enjoyable.

July 8, 2018 - Back from Stehekin to Chelan

This was a traveling day from Stehekin to Chelan via Lady Express. Since our ferry was at Noon, we had an relaxing outdoor breakfast on the deck overlooking the Chelan Lake and McGregor Mountain. 

After breakfast, we walked to the nearby Lakeshore Trail.  It is a long trail, therefore, we  only tried the first few hundred feet of the trail along Lake Chelan. The view was breathtaking as we clicked away our cameras.  We didn't go too far on the trail, but it was fine with us to just enjoy the view.

 After we got to Wenatchee, it was afternoon already and we were all ready for dinner.  We decided to try the Mongolia Steak House in downtown.  After dinner, we wondered around downtown and went to a sculpture park by the river.  We took some time for photos and it was a relaxing after-dinner walk.

 We stayed overnight at Wenatchee for tomorrow’s drive to Olympic National Park.

July 9, 2018 - Drive to Olympic National Park

It was another traveling day from Wenatchee to Segium near the Olympic National Park.  When we got to the hotel, it was in late afternoon.  At the hotel lobby, we found out that there are quite a few lavender farms around town and they are having lavender festival in the following weeks.  After checking with the receptionist, we also found out that there are few lavender farms open for visitors.  Therefore, it was an easy decision for all of us to check out these farms.  The first one we visited was a smaller one.  However, there were llamas relaxing near their field before we drove in.  We had photo opportunities there. However, we were all felt that we need to visit a bigger one. 

The next one we visited was a bigger one and we had more photo opportunities.  However, we had to cut short due to the rain.

As part of our plan, we drove up to the nearby Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center.  It was a beautiful drive up to the mountain top.  However, the weather was not helping.  After a couple of miles of driving, we decided to turn around.  We figured that even after we drive up to the top, we won’t be able to see anything anyway.  We turned back to a spot where we saw "Sea of Clouds" earlier.  It was a prefect weather condition for us to see the "Sea of Clouds".  

After we got down to street level, the weather condition for driving improved.  Since we had more time before dinner, we decided to drive to the casino we spotted earlier on our way to Seguim.  It is 7Ceder Casino located on an Indian Reservation.  They even have totem poles in their front entrance. 

Then, we decided to have dinner at the 7 Brothers Restaurant inside the casino.  It was surprisingly good. 

July 10, 2018 - Olympic National Park Quilcenc Trail Area, Sol Duc Area, Hot Tin Rain Forest and Ruby Beach

We started our day with Marymere Falls Trail near Lake Crescent to see the Marymere Falls.  It is an easy trail ending at the Marymere Falls.

Then we drove further west to the Sol Due Road and visited Sol Due Falls located at the end of the trail.

On the way, we stopped by the Salmon Cascades and saw the spot where salmons would jump over the creek.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the right time for salmons to get back to this area. Hopefully we can come back one day to see salmons in action.

Next, we drove further west to the Hot Rain Forest. It was an unexpected long drive for us.  After we got there, the nearby visitor center closed already.  Therefore, we only hiked on the famous Hall of Mosses trail.  Along the trail, there are a lot of trees with mosses on it.  It felt like we were in a horror movie.  However, it was an unique experience of seeing a rainforest like this one.  Some rangers told us that this is the only rainforest in the US Continent.

One of the must-to-visit spot in Olympic National Park for photographers like Ben and JC is the Ruby Beach during sunset time.  We clocked it just right to be there at Ruby Beach for the sunset.  It was windy and cold at the time of the day there.  However, a little bit cold could not stop photographers like Ben and JC.  

After the sunset photo session, we drove back to Seguim and arrived at our hotel after midnight.

July 11, 2018 - Olympic National Park Hurricane Ridge and Ralito Beach, Drove to Puyallup

We decided to revisit the Hurricane Ridge area which we missed two days ago.  This was a beautiful day to visit Hurricane Ridge area.  We did an easy hike on Cirque Rim Trail.  Some of us did more hiking up to the Sunrise Point via High Ridge Trail.  Then we had our lunch at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center’s back deck with mountain view in front of us.

When we were in the visitor center, JC saw a beautiful photo hanging on their wall. The  ranger told him that it was taken in the "Hole in the Wall" area of Ralito Beach. Therefore, we decided to drive to Ralito Beach.  When we got there, it was around 4PM.  One of the visitors there told us where are the "Hole in the Wall" and "Split Rock".  And he warmed us that we need to watch for the tide situation to avoid being restrained there by the high tide.  It caused some concern in regard to walking over 2 miles to see these attractions.  However, Ben was determined to see it and led the way.  We all followed and were very happy with his decision.  This wonderful nature spot was worth to visit and gave us chance of taking more photos.

 With the good experience of dinner we had at 7 Brothers Restaurant, we went back to have dinner there again.  After dinner, we drove to Puyallup for our next lodging.