Jun 042013
 

Airstream trailer road trip and glamping around the Olympic National Park

Day two takes us north from beautiful Pacific Beach State Park to a day full of beach explorations, rainforest discoveries and settling into our new campsite.

Olympic Peninsula Loop Day 2 with our Airstream

Have a look at our beautiful Washington Coast.  With miles upon miles of undeveloped land, it is easy to sink in the vast beauty that is found here.  For me, this rest stop was special as I was really able to feel like I was “away from it all.”

view point along the olympic peninsula with our Airstream

Here we are at Ruby Beach.  Definitely plenty of parking if you come with your RV/trailer (no worries there).  Ruby Beach gets her name the from rose-colored gemstone fragments found in the grey sand and the tide pool waters cast a beautiful red hue . . . definitely a must see!  I could have easily spent the day here and maybe next time we will ♥

set 3

The trail down to the beach and picking out the perfect “skipping stones” . . .

Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

Majestic sea stacks and driftwood galore . . .

Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

Ruby Beach Olympic National Park

After we departed Ruby Beach, we made our way to the Hoh Rainforest — but first a stop at the Lake Quinault Lodge for lunch before our afternoon hike through the forest . . .

Lake Quinault Lodge on the Olympic Peninsula

The peaceful, quiet Hoh Rainforest . . . all we heard during our hike were the birds singing.  Hubby said I should have recorded them, they sounded so sweet ♥

Hoh Rainforest

Hoh Rainforest Memorial Day Weekend

Soon it was time to head to our campsite in La Push – specifically the Quileute Oceanside Resort where I began an experimental recipe with pork chops for dinner.  While they were cooking away, we explored the beach . . .

Quileute Oceanside Resort

This place is a mecca for surfers — they even set up “surf camp,” ensuring that they catch the waves in the wee-hours of the morning . . .

Sufers along the Washington Coast

Sufers along the Washington Coast

Surfs up Washington Coast

Sufers along the Washington Coast

And when we came back to the Airstream?  I was relieved, as my experimental recipe turned out delicious.

In the pressure cooker with a dash of olive oil, I had seared three boneless pork chops until they had a nice golden brown color all around, added one big sliced onion, a pinch of thyme, a dash of smoky paprika, a can of root beer (*gasp*), pinch of salt & pepper and two veggie bouillon cubes – oh and a splash of Maggi seasoning (never leave home without it).  To that I simply covered the pork chops with two inches of water and brought the pressure cooker up to pressure under medium high heat and let her go for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes I brought the cooker down from pressure (let her depressurize naturally instead of pushing the “steam release” button – don’t need any more condensation in the Airstream, that’s for sure) and found that when I opened the lid, those pieces of pork were easily torn apart with two forks.  I then removed the chops and brought the pot back up to a boil and let the sauce reduce down and thicken (adding more S&P as needed to taste) and poured that, with the pork chops atop a bed of beautiful Pappardelle’s pasta and garnished with more thyme (I keep a little thyme herb plant with me in the Airstream) ♥

I could have let the sauce reduce down even more, but the boys were starving so . . .

30 Minute Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

Airstream Kitchen cooking Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

And here was our view.  Not bad.  Not great, but we were not complaining as we felt lucky to have secured a spot last minute on our Memorial Day weekend loop around the Olympic Peninsula.  This was site 60.  The RV’s you see in front of us had a view of the ocean from the front of their RV/Trailers but in a way, we liked our view better.  Next time we do the Olympic Peninsula Loop we’ll be smart and make reservations at Kalaloch Campground well in advance.  Some pretty amazing (and private) ocean view sites in there.

Quileute Oceanside Resort Site 60 in La Push

  4 Responses to “{Olympic Peninsula Loop} Part 2: Ruby Beach & Hoh Rainforest”

  1. What a wonderful post! We traveled the same route at the beginning of September last year. It was absolutely gorgeous, but much less green. After a hot, dry summer the rainforest had a brownish hue, so I was delighted to see your photos of it as the lush oasis that it should be. Thanks fro bringing back the memories!

  2. Now I want to go back! So beautiful. ❈

    • I know it — we want to go back to! We are planning a trip to Hood Canal this weekend. We passed a darling little RV Park called, “Rest a While” in Hoodsport. Hoping to get some clams xoxo

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