Our first rainy day on this journey

After 44 days on this journey to and around the rainy Pacific Northwest, we finally had to get out our rain coats. It started raining last night, and we still had precipitation when we pulled out of our camp site at Olympic National Park.

For the first time since we arrived, Lake Crescent was calm. The clouds were reflecting on its glass-like surface as we drove by it for the last time.

Our destination was Elwha River Casino. This was a smoke-free casino in the middle of no where, but we appreciated the fact that it had five free camp sites for RVs. We also appreciated the $10 in free play for new members, and a 10-percent-off coupon at their restaurant. Since it was raining, we used that coupon for lunch and registered with their security desk for our camp site. After a very full day of hiking yesterday, we used this rainy day to do some resting and trip planning. Our original plan was to slip into Canada for part of our trip home. But we recognized that we didn't have time to do Canada justice this trip. We'll return another time. We've been without internet and phone signal for the last seven camp sites, so it was nice to catch up on what was going on in the world.

We had been hiking hard for the last few days, since we saw this rainy weather in the forecast. Even though we were in rain forest territory and everything was very green, they were in a drought by their usual standards. The locals were very glad to see this rain.

It was also a good rainy day to do laundry in nearby Port Angeles. We had also been away from a laundromat for the last week. Then we drove out to Tongue Point in Salt Creek County Recreation Park. That's the Salish Sea right behind Mark. That's the waterway that ships sail to get to the Pacific Ocean. Even though Canada was just a few miles away, it was too cloudy and rainy to see it across the sea. But we did take a picture of Mark beside the "U.S. Reference Mark." This cement post registers the northern border of the United States. Straight across the Salish Sea was Victoria, Canada.

We had read that this beach at Tongue Point was a great place to search the tide pools during low tide. But it was raining even harder this morning, so we arrived at high tide instead.

On a blue sky day, we're sure that this beach and the islands in the sea would have been especially lovely. It's also a good place to do some kayaking on a pretty day. We could see through the clear turquoise water to get an appreciation for the popularity of this park.

But on a rainy day, we had no problems finding parking spots. Also, the wildlife was not scared away by the crowds.

We hiked the Bluff Trail in the rain, and stopped in at some of the relics of the old military base. This was a decommissioned military base that was active during World War II. Some of the artillery storage barricades made for a respite from the rain.

It continued to rain for 24 hours, so we had a forced day of rest during this Pacific Northwest tour. We had been hiking pretty hard, so it was probably good for us to slow down a little. We certainly would have missed out on some beautiful views and experiences if it was raining every day. Our first rainy day on this journey made us realize how much we had been blessed with an unusual amount of sunshine.