After a really great drive through the Cascade Mountains, I was in for a rude snap back to reality as I reentered civilization.
Initially the trip was nice and scenic, but it very quickly grew congested.
From malfunctioning traffic lights to bumper-to-bumper traffic jams on the expressway, I was already missing the remote places I got to visit in the recent week.
Between me getting a late start and the unexpected heavy traffic I ran into, I got to Olympia National Forest a bit later than I was hoping, but I arrived just as the sun had gone down so I had a pretty cool sunset and twilight view coming in.
These pictures were taken the next day. This was a very cool free (with Discover Pass) campground that felt like a rainforest, which was helped with the on and off rain during my stay.
Discover Pass is used by the state of Washington for their campgrounds and some other public access areas. It’s $30 for the year and funds almost the entire state park system in Washington State, which I found to be absolutely amazing, so I was happy to pay for it. I think this was the 3rd place I used it at, so it’s paying off already.
The ever familiar board of rules.
My site, which I chose in total darkness and rain which was interesting.
Here’s a 360 view of my spot.
Everything was such a bright color of green. This is the road leading into my campsite.
Short little trails that surrounded the park.
The campground bordered a river or creek or stream – not really sure which one, but it was pretty!
Some video I managed to get through the trees.
Love the tall trees.
This was a cool place to stop and was a bit more quiet than I was expecting since Olympia is one of the busier national forests.
Here’s the route we took.
Some highlights from the drive.
And if you have 40 minutes to waste, here’s my entire trip from start to finish. Feel free to skip around. This drive included a little bit of everything.