Eye of a Hurricane

We got up early with very little sleep. Tom and I didn't care. For me, it was very uncomfortable sleeping in the car. Tom was already inside sleeping stretch out on backseat. He probably felt better, I couldn't lean back. :(
We took down the tent and shook it out. Once we got it folded up neatly with the tarp, we tossed it in the trunk. Then, remember the two male elk jousting in the meadow near our campsite, we walked over to see if they were in the same place. Turns out, they were. Another awesome duel that National Geographic could never show you at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. haha. And, to our surprise there was a hurd of elk behind them towards the exit. This fight didn't last as long, but you can't beat the squealing noises and the large antlers crashing together. After viewing and taking photos we got in the car. We saw about 3 deers now began to get really exciting. As we went around the bend, we notice the herd of elk we couldn't quite see being near our campsite. There were about 35 of them. From little to tall, bull elk and cow elk (male and female). They were very peaceful. The female elk had her hind legs in the parking lot when she saw us coming, she moved. Pause: photo time! Then, we preceded. As we drove the 15 miles out of the campsite and back to the main road this occurred twice. Approximately, a herd of 13 elk ran across the road in front of us. Twenty seconds later, 10 more elk from another tribe ran across in front of us. That's how we got to seeing an estimated 60 elk the whole time we were there in the Hoh Rainforest.
When we left the park, we decided we'd like to check out other attractions in the Olympic National Park. We entered Sol Duc Hot Springs. Unfortunately, the hot springs weren't active. Nothing really to see. We pressed onward. We entered La Poel. While were here, this was when the griping started to take precedence. I wore a rain poncho Tom loaned to me. I began bitch because my clothes from last night were still on and soaked and it was raining once more. But, Tom was determined to see Marymere Falls. It was hike through puddles of mud. The bridges were cool, I'll give you that though something just didn't feel right. Oh, probably that this waterfall we were seeing it kind of reminding me of the freakin' one we saw at Tom's Creek!!! haha. However this one, you could only see from the top if you wanted to walk up about 40 stairs. Yikes!! It sounds pretty rough, but it was only 10-15 feet in elevation from the main trail. Tom, being a smooth talker he is got me back on my curiouser and curiouser mindset and we made the mile and half walk back to the car. Crescent Lake, by the way, ruled!!! I think it was the biggest lake in all of Washington. Next, we came to Elwha. I think this area of ONP was more of a hikers' paradise, and I decided to let Tom go and adventure outward from the vistor center. No, what really happened was we had lunch. Park ranger wasn't around, so Tom got a fire going after we had cans of soup and peanut butter sandwiches. He went hiking, and I stood by the fire as the heat from the fired dried my wet clothes. It didn't thoroughly dry me, but my clothes weren't as wet as before. Port Angeles. Wow, the first big town we came to outside the wilderness. Families were out trick or treating. We actually saw the sun while in Port Angeles. We decided to finish the game. We ditched Port Angeles and headed out to Hurricane Ridge. First it was Heart O' the Hills. Very lovely, familiar deers walking around, some trees cut down. Let's go. Tom was trying to convince me to camp there. I was like, no way. Finally, going up and up the curvy road we reached the top of Hurricane Ridge!!! We had chilly, gusty winds blowing at us. We saw a lot of breathtaking features. We stayed up there longer than we should, it was fantastic!! We read a sign that said after 10/31 all guests had to drive up with chains on their tires. We lucked again. Plus they closed the visitor center. The annoucement on the radio station sounded like the whole park was closed. We went through anyway fuck that! lol
We made our way back to the Highway 101 and we determined to find another motel. This is when I pulled out the AAA Book. Tom did not want to stay a night in Port Angeles, so we looked for motels in Sequim. We studies the motels attempting to find the cheapest rates. We located one that was $59 a night. And with my AAA card the cost was still under $60. Yes!! And the Chinese man who rung me was cool gave me a nice room upstairs. I told him single, no problem. We brought everything up to our room except for the tent, sleeping bags, and mats. We got through almost all of the beer cans and bottles and we finished off the top ramen. Tom was still hungry and drunk. I went out to Burger King I bought him a double cheeseburger. Oops!! He wanted a double whopper with cheese. I order for myself a regular whopper. Believe it or not, he took my whopper and I ate the double cheeseburger. He wanted me to go back, I said no. So, he put the oatmeal we usually eat in the morning away. Oh well, it was a choice I was willing to make. It filled him up good. Good night!!! End of Day 3.