Travel day! Decided to explore some of the coastal portion of Olympic National Park as we moved south. Traveling along the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway we stopped at Beach #4 after passing Ruby Beach that looked crowded. Beautiful, wild and rugged! Olympic is home to the longest undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States.
Our journey continued along the coast somewhat as we got glimpses of the ocean from time to time. Basecamp for this evening …Cape Disappointment State Park for the win! What an incredible and interesting place to visit. The beach is a short easy access, two minute walk from basecamp. Cape Disappointment was named by British fur trader John Meares in 1788 after he mistook the mouth of the Columbia River for a bay.
Since we are only here one night at Cape Disappointment we had to hustle as soon as we landed at our campsite. Unhitched and away we went. We had two lighthouses to visit and both included hikes and it was 4pm.
The first lighthouse we visited is really the second lighthouse built here because the first one had difficulty being seen. Meaning many shipwrecks continued to occur because the lighthouse was not seen in time.
North Head Lighthouse was put into service in 1898. The much needed lighthouse helped ships navigate the treacherous entrance to the Columbia River. This lighthouse has been carefully preserved along with the still standing beautiful Lighthouse Keeper’s Residences. The residences may now be reserved as vacation rentals. This place is breathtaking!
Next up was a longer hike out to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. This one was put into service in 1856. The trail leads past the U.S. Coast Guard Station - Cape Disappointment. Then past Deadman’s Cove and finally the last stretch up to the lighthouse. The actual lighthouse is not as beautiful but the views are just as spectacular. Both lighthouses are working lighthouses.
In our departure from the parking lot we drove up to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. It was closed but would be nice to see. Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean here at the mouth of the Columbia River. Just need more time that we don’t have!
On our way back down to basecamp we took a quick drive out past Waikiki Beach and out to North Jetty. As it was now getting dark we needed to get back to eat and walk Jett. She enjoyed her walk on the beach and should sleep good tonight as tomorrow will be another travel day to a ‘crown jewel’ of another state park system.
Sunset: 7:34 pm
Sunrise: 6:51 am
Elevation: 20’
Miles from home:
3,129 miles
Miles driven:
12,044 miles
Wildlife viewings:
Canada Geese
Black Tail Deer
Pelicans
Squirrel
Seagulls
Blue Heron
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