Time Event Range Remaining 8:45 am Departed Sequim 304 9:29 am Arrive Olympic Visitors Center 279 Range/Distance ratio: 1.39 Conditions: Highway then surface streets, 61°F The drive to the main Visitors Center for Olympic National Park was not too far. We found the quickly consulted the Ranger outside and collected Junior Ranger activity books for the children.

But it was also clear very quickly that my children needed to use the restroom again. Fortunately this Visitors Center had very nice and clean bathrooms. In my research ahead of the trip I learned that Olympic National Park was very large, larger than I remembered from my visit as a child, and its interior takes substantial amounts of time to access. Two regions of interest to me where I have never been were Hurricane Ridge and Sol Duc. I have been to Hoh Rain Forest on my parents' road trip when I was eleven. I know now that access to each involves driving around a large loop road skirting the circumference of Olympic National Park then taking an independent out-and-back road into each of those three points of interest.

Every time I tried to calculate a route that included Hurricane Ridge or Sol Duc in addition to Hoh Rain Forest, the time that would take would result in an unacceptably late arrival at our next hotel, so late that it could impair our next day's visit. We just didn't have the time to properly visit two, much less three, of these sites in Olympic (allowing time to hike, sightsee, use the restroom, eat, etc.) in one day and get to our next hotel. We need to stay multiple nights near Olympic in order to see it all.

Besides this wasn't a good year to visit Olympic because I read on their web site that the road to Hurricane Ridge was restricted and congested due to an ongoing human-directed mountain goat relocation.

We decided that someday we would return to the Seattle area for a few days to see friends there and a few days at Olympic. For this one day I could choose one, and only one, major point of interest inside Olympic National Park.

As we continued our drive, my plan was to arrive at the Forks Supercharger with the possibility of having lunch at Pacific Pizza across the street. Time Event Range Remaining 9:39 am Depart Olympic Visitors Center 279 10:46 am Arrived Forks Supercharger 212 Range/Distance ratio: 1.16 Conditions: Sightseeing, 65°F Cost to Charge: $0

My son was the first to notice the internal-combustion engine truck tractor illegally and rudely blocking a charging stall. This is known as an "ICEd" charging stall. If you do not think that's a problem, imagine a parked vehicle that doesn't take gas blocking a gas station stall.

It turns out we arrived before Pacific Pizza opened, and my daughter was not yet hungry, so we carried out an alternative plan. Instead, while the car charged, we shopped at the Thriftway a little further south to pack a lunch, snacks, and drinks. This worked well.

Our visit today was my carrying the fascination forward to my children. It was easy to reach the access road to the Hoh Rain Forest, and once we entered it became another world. My iPhone's Music playlist happened to pick Beethoven's 6th Symphony, and that became a very fitting way to enter this part of Olympic National Park.

We could see the trees and the flora change. At times it was dense enough it was like driving through a tunnel of green plant life.

The Ranger waved us through the gate after I showed my receipt for my NPS Annual Pass, and we found an excellent parking spot near the Hoh Rain Forest Visitors Center. Time Event Range Remaining 11:11 am Depart Forks 285 11:58 am Arrived Hoh Rain Forest Visitors Center 248 Range/Distance ratio: 1.19 Conditions: Slight uphill, Road to a Rain Forest

As we approached, my daughter became hungry, so a top priority was to find a place for lunch. I knew in advance this area had picnic tables, so we found one that just freed up and settled in for lunch. There were birds here and there eagerly awaiting what scraps we might leave behind, so we advised the children to protect the food. Nonetheless, as a highly enjoyable alternative to attempts at dine-in service, this is one of the many amazing places we ate lunch on the trip.

After lunch, the Hall of Mosses, an easy hike through the Hoh Rain Forest, was by far the highlight of the day. It was so beautiful. I think this is the hike I remember from childhood. We felt like this was a forest that really came alive in a way unlike any other place in the world. The forests in Maui and Kauai are the right idea, but those just aren't the same as this. We took a modest pace through here, taking loads of pictures and trying to absorb every detail. It was just amazing and took us into another world.

But eventually we had to leave. The gift shop was closed, but we took another restroom break here before we left. This was an awesome place. When we return we should explore some of the other hikes from here too. The road back out to the loop slowly took us back into more normal world, and the track of Beethoven's 6th ended timed perfectly with our exit from the access road to the highway.

Time	Event	Range Remaining
1:45 pm	Depart Hoh Rain Forest	247
2:36 pm	Arrived Ruby Beach	214

Range/Distance ratio: 1.03
Conditions: Slight downhill, Road from a Rain Forest

We were able to spend a little more time here at another classic Pacific Northwest beach, much like our visit to Rosario Beach at Deception Pass the day before. Again there were tidepools here, but the tide was too high at our visit. Parking here was quite full, but we managed to find a spot and spend some time walking the beach. I remember seeing washed up kelp here as a child, but this time I did not see any kelp. I kept on eye on the clock to try to time our next arrival to a Supercharger to be about 5 pm, where there happened to be an interesting place for dinner. I wanted us to stay as long as we reasonably could without pushing our arrival at the hotel too late. Our next leg of the journey took us by scenic coastline, then turned inland. We saw many miles of farmed trees here, apparently for lumber. The land seemed to be the Quinault Indian Reservation, so of course we would not be allowed in during the pandemic.

Time Event Range Remaining 3:24 pm Depart Olympic Visitors Center 208 5:10 pm Arrived Aberdeen Supercharger 116 Range/Distance ratio: 1.12 Conditions: Sightseeing Aberdeen seemed to be a classic coastal town with a substantial fishing industry. The dinner location I found in advance that caught my interest was Breakwater Seafood & Chowder House a short walk south. We enjoyed dinner there outdoors. I had a bowl of their clam chowder and a fish sandwich. Cost to Charge: $0

After dinner we drove east and find our way away from the coast and inland towards the mountains. After we crossed east of I-5, we found ourselves in mountain forests again and found a viewpoint of Alder Dam, another example of hydroelectric power in Washington.

Time Event Range Remaining 5:50 pm Departed Aberdeen 283 7:54 pm Arrived Alexander's Lodge 140 Range/Distance ratio: 1.28 Conditions: Uphill Alexander's Lodge was the member of the Tesla Destination Network closest to Mount Rainer. This was the only other place on the trip where we were to stay two nights in a row. It was a very lovely place, with a view of a pond, some small hiking trails, and even a working water wheel. After we checked in and I plugged in the car, we showered and settled in for the night. I hatched some unique plans for our assault on Mount Rainer the next day.

Cost to Charge: $0