South beach–Ruby Beach - FORKS- Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center Olympic National Park, WA – Port Angels, WA 160 miles

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Easy day today, had a big breakfast in front of the sea ,and left campground around 11:15am to Ruby beach, it is an ordinary beach with big rocks and waves rushed to wood, the stones on the beach are ground into a rounded and presenting a clean white.

We had lunch at FORKS town  where is the movie "Twilight City, "the story takes place, no wonder there's trees are long moss really suitable for the land of vampires living background.

Later we visited hurricane Ridge Visitor Center locates on top of the mountain, a great place to see mountains covered with snow and meet deer in parking area.  

We also went to the natural bridge area again where we visited in year 2008, time flies…

I could not remember where we stayed in year 2008, I just picked a hotel closes to the pier with nice view, 

we saw two local young people catching crabs on the pier. 

Randle, WA – Mountain Rainier National Park, WA – South Beach, Olympic National Park 291 miles

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Randle, WA – Mountain Rainier National Park, WA – South Beach, Olympic National Park 291 miles


10:15 we arrived at Mount Rainier Nation Park the south  entrance, foggy, rainy, park ranger suggested that we take the Northern Line, as also may see the highest peak of the park - - Rainier peak (14,410 feet high).
With the rise of altitude, the air is becoming more and more cold, snow on both sides of the road up more slowly. Scenery the best place to count in Altitude 6350 feet of the front of the visitor center, snowy, chilly air. With the fog is slowly sinking, snow-capped mountains in the distance began to clear, vague, continuous, like a fairyland. Unfortunately, the park ranger said the fog until late afternoon to completely disperse; we cannot clearly see the panoramic view of Mount Rainier peak, this little regret.
Rainier peak snow-capped mountains of the national park, the peak is open only in June each year - in September, like a beautiful night-blooming cereus, is only a short time now, but enough to make you memorable, we had dozens of sharp turns, slope and shake the very test of my driving techniques.

Out of the park, along the 4 hours driven, we reach the Olympic National Park (Olympic National Park) 17:10. As one of the most popular national park in the United States, she is to known, equivalent to Yellowstone Park.
Tonight's campground is located in the south beach, just by the Pacific Ocean, is a standard unrivaled views. In order to protect the natural ecological environment , camping placing without any camp supporting facilities, which is a $ 10 per night camping fee visitors consciously on a standard camping location wooden box, did not see any management personnel.

After dinner, half past nine p.m. the night sea becomes rough, completely different from the gentle quiet during the day, this is the first time I looked on the waves of the sea sound sleep. The middle of the night under heavy rain, in the dark of the night, listening to the rain outside the tent and the sound of the waves, hiding in a warm sleeping bag and I really have a sense of happiness!

Tulee Lake, CA - Mount St. Helens National Monument, WA - Randle, WA 518 miles

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We left hotel around 0845am, five minutes later we entering into Oregon again, perhaps the bad experience we had on 7/4, I just feel this state is so different…... 

Today's destination is Mount St. Helens Nation Monument,  which had a volcanic eruptions on May 18, 1980.

A lot of driving on the road, about 16:30 pm, we passed a bridge on road 502 and entered into the blast zone and then arrived at Mount St. Helens.  We saw a lot of new planted trees on the road, as volunteers came here to help after 1980.

Best landscapes in the park should be in the Johnston Ridge Observatory, the air here has become extremely cold temperatures retreated to 19 degrees Celsius. Time here like solidified, although the distance volcanic eruption has been more than thirty years, lay scorched by lava trees, the mountain is still in disorder of any clear feel terrible scene volcanic eruptions. Crater in three decades gradually raised, as if waiting for the next outbreak, like an end to wake Sleeping Beauty, who knows. 

After we left Mt. St Helens, the gps shows a shortcut to our destination, unpaved road.  I learned lesson and did not take the chance. 

21:00 pm in Season Motel, good facilities, tomorrow, we are going to visit Mountain Rainer National park. . 

San Francisco, CA – Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA – Lava Beds National Monument, CA—Tulee Lake, CA 411 miles

As Rachel wanted to see more volcano related national parks, Rachel and I decided to change the trip to torward north, I had oil change and having technician check my car, as I know we are going into the mountain again,  all aspects of vehicle performance normally only one brake light bulb replaced. Leaving San Francisco, the sun is still very harsh, but the temperature is only 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius). We went to COSTCO to buy supplies and had lunch there.

 We need to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park, where although it has also sulfur, but different from the Yellowstone National Park. 14:10 far you can see the volcano,   Here is more suitable to drive all the way to look at the scenery, relatively deep impression at an altitude of 8000 feet Helen Lake, lake blue. Across boulders, there is an isolated cliff edge, beyond that, the air is getting cold, scorching sun, the snow here look a crystal made of.
17:20 left Lassen Volcanic National Park, because here getting dark late, so we decided to go visit Lava Beds National Monument and stay in hotel to save time for setting up tents.

Lava Beds National Monument is a land of turmoil, both geological and historical. Over the last half-million years, volcanic eruptions on the Medicine Lake shield volcano have created a rugged landscape dotted with diverse volcanic features. More than 700 caves, Native American rock art sites, historic battlefields and campsites, and a high desert wilderness experience await you!  we visited,five major caves,   each cave  can see the volcanic eruption remains of former lava road, like potholed cement wall, we are trying to Osaka next small but solid as a rock. Each cave is deep, dark and cold, and sometimes bats appear, it is a little scary when the time we got there.
One hour after we left in the afterglow of sunset lava bed Volcanoes National Park, the park is still beautiful scenery. The left is a charred mountain after the volcanic eruption the human acquired reclamation of farmland on the right kinds of green crops, automatic sprinklers beautiful arc to draw a road in the vast fields.

We stayed at Ellis Hotel located by the roadside, room is little old with a small kitchen, the room fare is fair.