No vacation with my family would be complete without at least one totally bonkers day. And this was it.

We love National Parks and seem to visit to get a feel and then go back to do more things if we really love it. The challenge here is that Olympic National Park is huge, with a ton to see. But, we were close so figured we’d give it shot.

There were a few key considerations. First, we’d need a vehicle since we hadn’t rented one for the week. Second, we’d need snacks. Third, we’d need a plan. Fortunately, since we’re planners, arrangements had been made in advance.

Instacart brought us food and water right after we checked into the hotel on Monday. And my amazing wife had outlined a trip plan to maximize our opportunities at Olympic.

This was the rough idea. Leave Seattle and take the southern route along ONP and up to Ruby Beach. Then head to Hoh Rainforest, finally on to Marymore Falls, Devil’s Punchbowl, Port Angeles for dinner, and back to Seattle. For those of you familiar with the area, that likely sounds crazy. For good reason. It was projected at roughly 10 hours of just driving. That didn’t include stops or hikes. But, it’s who we are.

Stretch and I took off on foot to be at the Hyatt Regency to pick up our rental cars when Sixt opened. Shameless plug: for anyone who hasn’t used them before, they are the BEST. I no longer use anyone else if I can help it. Rates and cars are better than anyone.

He picked up his Pathfinder (they total 5 requiring a larger vehicle) and I picked up a BMW X3. We were both happy and expected to cover the distance in comfort.

Back to the hotel for a quick departure. Packed up and on the road at about 9:30am. Later than we would’ve liked, but not the end of the world. We had warm clothes, rain gear, salty snacks, water, and Monster. Nothing would stop us.

The drive along the southern edge of the park was beautiful. The staggeringly tall dense evergreens and sporadic little towns reminded me of growing up in Maine. We made a stop and used a rest room at a bathroom in a local park – no place had public restrooms – before continuing on to Ruby Beach.

I had seen pictures of the beach and I’d seen the Oregon coast many years ago, but this was stunning. The rocky beach (plenty for skipping and my grandfather would still be there challenging 10 year old me to skip them all…) and small misty chunks of rock and trees just off the beach made it something out of a dream. The beach itself was covered with “driftwood” from the forests, which exactly what it sounds. Spoiler alert: some pieces were huge.

We had a blast exploring and spent much more time there than anticipated.

From the beach we were off to our next stop at Hoh Rainforest. It is the largest temperate rain forest in the US and is dominated by Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock. Some reach almost 300 feet tall. It is also the home to banana slugs, which I was excited to see. They grow as long as nine inches, which sounds amazing.

We read that there can be long waits to enter, but since we’d be arriving in the afternoon, we hoped for the best. We were wrong. When we were six miles from the visitors center, we stopped in traffic due to metered entry.

The first sign we saw showed a two hour wait. And that’s when the discussions started about whether we wait or not.

We waited. It wasn’t two hours. But it was long enough, just short of an hour. We drove into the parking area and jumped out for the visitors center at a couple minutes past 5pm.

This accomplished two things. First, there were still hours of daylight left for us to hike. Second, this is the only visitor center open past 5pm which allowed us to satisfy our OCD need to get a stamp for our National Park book. Crisis averted.

We decided to do a short hike, but took a wrong turn and ended up doing a longer one. Twice as long. Still short and easy, only a mile and a half, but slowed us down. Especially because we still had to do the originally intended hike. It was only a total of just under five miles, and well worth it, but it cost us time.

It was pretty. There was moss. But given what was becoming a time crunch, I don’t know that I’d be as willing to wait based on what I know now. For a first time visit, go for it. But I just didn’t find it exciting enough for a return trip.

Leaving Hoh Rainforest we decided to skip Marymere Falls and head by Lake Crescent to Devil’s Punchbowl. We knew we’d be fighting darkness at this point and the Punchbowl was a 2+ mile round trip hike. After an almost 90 minute drive from the rainforest.

We were able to get through Forks, WA, the home of the Twilight series, before their 4th of July festivities started and choked traffic.

Lake Crescent is a beautiful place. The steep mountain drops into the water with limited construction on the banks made it look pristine. Even in the waning light you could tell the water was an otherworldly blue.

After a windy two mile drive down a barely two lane road, we got to the parking area for Devil’s Punchbowl. Light was escaping so we figured we’d check the trail board and make a quick decision.

Not getting a ton of guidance, the trail showed a fairly straightforward hike along an old railway to the Punchbowl. The only concerning item was the warning about cougar activity and the need to be cautious about hiking in the area. Fun! At least they aren’t nocturnal or perfect killing machines. I’m sure we’d be fine. And the “Dial 911” was hysterical. We hadn’t had service for a while.

As we approached the trail, we were greeted by a family who had misjudged their bike ride and needed to hitchhike to get a car so they weren’t making a 25 mile ride in the dark. First, the 25 mile number didn’t seem realistic based on where we were. Second, we didn’t have space. Finally, if you’re taking your family on any type of outdoor adventure, plan ahead, consider time, and know your limits.

Four of us hit the trail and didn’t waste time. The “out” portion went quickly and was free from feline accompaniment. At the end of the trail was a small sign that pointed to Devils Punchbowl to the left of a particularly ominous old railroad tunnel. To be clear, if a cougar had showed up, I might have taken my chances doing battle versus a run into the tunnel.

This was about 9pm and the sun was dropping fast. We headed down the path and were about to call it when someone spotted the bridge and we were so excited about the view.

We hung out for a few minutes, took a couple pictures, and ran back up the trail to the tunnel. From there is was a quick mile walk back to the car listening to screech owls and things rustling in the bushes. No cougars that we saw, which worked out nicely.

Technically, this was the end of our day except for the drive back. It was 10pm. We hadn’t really eaten. And we had a 3 hour drive back.

We see t through the Wendy’s drive through in Port Angeles and then drove straight back. Arriving at the hotel at about 1:15am.

Long day. And it was awesome.