Monday, April 18, 2016

O is for Olympic National Park

 I’m in the middle of the A-Z challenge, listing bucket lists of places that I’ve not been, but would I’d like to visit in my life.  I doubt I will be able to make every one of these trips, but can always dream.


We’re at the letter O.  I could continue on my world tour and head to Oslo, but I don’t get too excited about cities.  Instead, I’ll stick to the states and head to another national park that I’ve yet to see.  Olympic National Park is located between the coast of Washington State and the metropolis of Seattle.  I’ve been to Seattle, but haven’t explored any outside of the city. 

Olympus National Park would be an incredible place to backpack as there are a number of unique eco-zones within the park as one travels from the coastline to 7000 plus mountain peaks with receding glaciers.  The coast side of the mountains are wet and lush, while the backside is a bit drier.  In the higher alpine areas are lakes and meadows.  A backcountry trip in the park could provide me with a number of different experiences.  Another good thing about the park is that nearly 95 percent of the land is maintained as a wilderness area. If you want to really explore the park, you have to get off the road and hike.   And then there are hot springs, the perfect place to end a hike.   Photos "lifted" from www.nps.gov/olym

13 comments:

  1. Wow those pics are stunning. I have never been to Seattle, which is high on my bucket list, so I should now add Olympic National Park as well.

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  2. It does look like an incredible place to hike. I hope I can wean my family off amusement parks and start going to more national parks like this one.

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  3. This place has definitely been on my shortlist of places to visit.

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  4. I haven't made it to Oslo, but I have hiked this park. Your pictures are stunning.

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  5. Sounds like a beautiful place to hike through!

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  6. oh wow, those are beautiful pics. I'm a big lover of parks, as is Lana

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  7. I read somewhere that the largest life form on this planet exists in this Olympic National Park. It's a fungus and it covers five square miles, but it's a single organism.

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  8. When I was a teen I loved going to the different National Parks.

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  9. Someday I would definitely like to spend more time in the Pacific Northwest. Olympic is on my list, too.

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  10. What an absolutely magical land! Your description was worth reading over several times. Thanks, Sage.

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  11. Ooh, looks lovely. I've not yet been further west than Chicago and Memphis...

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