Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls

After leaving Sequim we drove into Olympic National Park where we stopped to do some hiking near Lake Crescent.  Drew and I both really wanted to actually get to do some hiking and exploring and this trip and we ended up doing a lot.  At this stop we hiked about 3 miles, which, when you have a three and a half year old walking on his own, is pretty good.  We started by walking to a nature loop trail and walking that before making our way over to the lodge on lake crescent.  It is closed for the season right now, but it was still kind-of fun to see.  Alden also loved the fact that he could throw rocks in the lake at the lodge.

From the lodge we headed along a trail to Marymere Falls.  It was a very pretty hike through the forest area.  It was a little chilly the day we were there, but we were bundled up enough that once we were moving we were fine.  Alden was not too sure about hiking at first and showed a little resistance to wanting to walk on his own, but we soon got him distracted by playing "I Spy" with him.  He thought that was a lot of fun.  It was a really nice hike and I was just so happy to be in the outdoors again, exploring nature.  I don't know how to explain this but I just feel at home there and like I can find peace there.

It was a nice, level hike to the falls, well, until the last little bit when you were hiking up the side of a hill to get to an overview point for the falls.  But, besides that it was an easy hike and Alden did all of the hiking on his own!  Anders, got to ride in the carrier the whole way, and he was very happy there!  The falls were pretty and there was a pretty river at the bottom of the falls that Alden had fun throwing rocks into.  It was a great start to our explorations of Olympic National Park.

Oh, one other side note, Drew and I thought it was a little funny that we were the only family with kids on the trail this day.  We had forgotten it was Valentine's Day, but when we realized that later it made sense because we only saw couples on the trails and the only kids we did see were with Grandparents and not parents.  Apparently Drew and I don't know how to do Valentine's Day right, although I was happy and thought this was a lot of fun, even with our kids. =)

Starting off heading to the nature trail and the lodge.

Alden loved finding interesting things to look at, like this tree.

It was overcast, but this is Washington so that is just the norm and I think it makes things really pretty!

Alden loved walking along the trail next to the lake, but he was a little disappointed we didn't let him stop to throw more rocks in the water.

This is the dock in front of the lodge.

Alden finally getting to throw his rocks in the lake.

Alden would be happy doing this for hours, but we only let him have 5-10 minutes.

Anders all bundled up and Alden pointing out the green moss on the tree that was part of our "I Spy" game.

We got to hike along the river for a little bit which was really pretty.  The other picture is of Alden walking along the log so that he didn't have to step in the mud.

Drew and Alden found a gigantic tree that they thought was pretty cool.

I love my sweet boy, and exploring in the woods!

Alden was such a good hiker for the whole thing!

We made it to the base of the waterfall where the river was really pretty.

We made it up to the lookout point to see the falls.

Anders loved watching the falls and I just thought his expressions were so cute!

I hiked down a little lower to get a different viewpoint of the falls.

After seeing the falls we let Alden go do what he really wanted to do...throw rocks in the river. 

Alden was so happy finding rocks and seeing how far he could throw them into the river with Daddy.

I love getting to spend time with our family and I love doing it in fun, pretty places.

We found this log on the hike out that had amazing color stripes on it!

Daddy had fun explaining to Alden about the roots of the tree.

Alden was so excited that he found a spot that was just the right size for him!

We walked by Lake Crescent again at the end of our walk and Alden wanted to throw more rocks in the water.  It was a very pretty lake.

Alden doing one of his favorite things!

When we got back to the car we took some time to eat some snacks and Anders had fun exploring and looking at things in the car.  This was a really fun stop and a good start to our explorations of Olympic National Park.

Olympic Game Farm

After spending the night in Sequim we got up the next morning and went to Olympic Game Farm, that was about 10 minutes from our hotel.  It is a place where you get to drive through some open range areas with animals like deer, bison, llamas and more.  Then there are some areas where you drive right next to enclosures that contain bears, cougars, lynx and more.  It was really fun to take the kids there and drive through these areas where the animals come right up next to the vehicle and you can feed them.

Alden loved getting to see all the animals, although we kept his window closed most of the time so the animals were not directly in his face.  He had so much fun pointing out all the different animals and telling us which ones we should feed.  Anders had a lot of fun sitting on my lap and seeing the animals up close.  I was a little surprised that he was not more scared by some of the animals but he seemed to really enjoy it.  This was a really nice stop on our way out of town.

The animals inside the fences are rescue animals (I think).

We passed tons of seagulls and gophers at the beginning of the farm.

The llamas were not shy at all!  They knew we had food and were waiting for us.

They were very nice and friendly.

I loved trying to get all the kids and babies to come to my side to eat.  Anders was perfectly happy sitting on my lap, watching them.

Occasionally Drew would have to gently tap an animal out of the way so that we could keep driving.

This guy really wanted the food!  Drew's only comment was that his breath was horrible!

Alden had so much fun seeing the animals so close to us!

Then there were some like this one, who were perfectly content to just rest as we drove by.

Then, of course, there was the random peacock strutting around the farm.

Alden really liked seeing the bears!  These bears were very lazy and so large they really did just look like giant teddy bears.

Alden had fun throwing food out to the bears.

The animals in these cages were rescue or rehabilitation animals, if I am not mistaken.  They had area on the other side of their enclosure to get out and roam.

I thought this white peacock was beautiful!

Anders had fun with the map to the park...pretty much he just wanted to chew on it.

Anders started wanting to look further out the window to see more animals.

I actually really liked seeing the elk up close!

Drew enjoyed feeding the animals, but also made sure he paid attention to driving so no animals were in front of him.

These white deer were really funny.  They would actually take turns chasing us for food.  It was almost as if they had a rotation set up of who was supposed to be at our window.  They were very cute and nice.

Then there was the random horse.

Another deer begging Drew for food!

We also enjoyed watching the bald eagle that was flying around above the farm.

We let Alden feed a caribou with our last piece of bread...but apparently he didn't want the animal getting too close to him.

He threw the food when the caribou was still 10-15 feet away.  Still, Alden was happy that he got to fed an animal and it was a really fun stop for all of us!  It was so fun to get to see all these animals up close to touch and feed them.  This was definitely a worthwhile stop for our family!