Dragon Tears

 Well after a day of fooling around it was time to head into Olympic National Park and find the much sought-after Sol Duc Hot Springs.

Heading out of Puerto Angles everyone said it is only about 20 miles to Sol Duc.  20 miles will get you to the boundary of the National Park, but the actual road to the hot springs is all the way around Crescent Lake and is about 40 miles away from Puerto Angles.   

Turning onto the hot springs road you enter a steep rain forest canyon, with massive old growth Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and western redcedar. The black cottonwood and big leaf maple are also in abundance and make the passage so dark that Ohms turned the rarely visible instrument lighting.

Big Leaf Maples

After riding for a while, and following the Sol Duc river, I was wondering just where we were headed. Finally I could smell the sulfur, and after a few more turns there it was.

The little cabins are quite nice. Our cabins were kitchen equipped and had a small electric stove, microwave oven, coffee pot, with some strange packages of a coffee like substance. Lots of drawers, and cabinets, and not a single utensil, pot, pan, plate, dish towel, can opener or any of the normal things you would think a kitchen equipped cabin would have.

Make amerika Grate Again

 

Our cabin does have a electric water heater, and an electric baseboard heat. The lodge and even the campground are connected to the power grid.  Apparently none of the springs hot water is used as green energy like Chena.

 I was anxious to soak in the waters of Sol Duc, so it did not take me long to find my swimming costume, and sandals and make it over to the soothing waters.

I grabbed a towel from the front desk man and found my way to the hot pool.

Enjoying the warm water I started to notice that after a while that people were leaving. Good I thought more hot water for me! Soon I had the pool to myself. Excellent I thought. But then all of a sudden the fountain in the middle of the pool shut down, and I realized that the famous Sol Duc hot springs was closing for the day at 7:30 p.m.

Well I have now shut down two hot springs. Chena at midnight, and Sol Duc at a measly 7:30

Fortunately, my compadre figured out the system while I soaked, and she booked us for two separate soaks tomorrow. One in the morning and one near closing.

The Main Lodge

Staying here two nights is a must and gives time for wandering around. Enjoying the hot water more than once and having a pack of Steller Jays wake up the entire compound, just because I ran out of almonds. Bring lots of almonds.

The small take away kitchen in the lodge served up some excellent food. I recommend the Elk Burger if you ever find yourself hungry and nearby.

Not using the heat for green energy is puzzling but handing out a paper with your cabin location and a map of the place, that states that the creation of both the Olympic and Sol Duc hot springs were because dragons were fighting, and the water is heated by dragon tears is ridiculous and dangerous, especially in a nation like amerika where the faithful still maintain their roadside trump monuments.

Science is the only way forward. 

 

Thanks for reading…