Lake Crescent

After our Hurricane Ridge adventure, we ate a picnic lunch. In the car. Because the bees were starting to get active up on the mountain.

Then I drove us down the mountain, taking deep breaths the whole way. The greatest source of my nervousness on this trip was the driving. The road to and from Hurricane Ridge is two twisty lanes with a few pull-out lanes on the side to allow drivers to pass.

Some drivers were much more comfortable, driving 10 mph or more over the speed limit. I was happy right at the speed limit. When the fast drivers got behind me, I would pray for a pull-out to appear soon.

In addition, the road is popular with cyclists. And they don't have a bike lane. We're all in the same lane. This didn't bother me -- I'd just slow down and wait for a safe place to pass. This did bother a couple of drivers, who honked at me to pass the bikes while we were on a curve with no clue as to what vehicles might be coming in the other direction.

So, I was happy to get back to Port Angeles and back on U.S. 101. We headed west in search of Lake Crescent.

Lovely Lake Crescent

We wanted some time on the water, so we found Log Cabin Resort on Lake Crescent, where you can rent boats by the hour. It was a slow day, so we talked the boat guy into letting us rent a rowboat for 30 minutes and a paddle boat for 30 minutes.

My boat experience is limited. (In February, Julie, Allison and I took a canoe six miles down the Macal River. We were a good team, and I couldn't have accomplished it on my own.)

But I thought a rowboat would be easy. You just put the oars in and row.

Ha!

Cooper to the rescue. Cooper learned how to row this summer at Webelos residence camp. At first he tried to talk me through the process. I'm not a good student apparently. So I happily handed him the oars, and he got us moving. He knows which direction to go, when to lift one oar out of the water, when to be still.

Super duper awesome Cooper

I told him over and over how proud I was of him. He smiled the entire hour.

Cooper's in charge.

It's a strange feeling to watch your child perform a task that has absolutely nothing to do with you. He learned this skill away from the house, from a Scout dad. And until our vacation he had no opportunity to show me. I know this is just the beginning of his exploration of the world separate from me.

Cooper loved showing off his Cub Scout skills.

We worked together to row back to shore in time for the paddle boat. Cooper and Katie took turns in the left seat, and I sat in the right. (I was last in a paddle boat in 1977, I think, when Aunt Ami took me and Melane out on Bachman Lake on a sunny afternoon.)

Katie has requested that she get to row on our next trip.

Orange is our color, yes?

The stability of the paddle boat allowed us to dip our hands in the water -- clear, cold, beautiful water. And we'd occasionally stop paddling with our feet to take in the surrounding trees and mountains.

Katie gets a turn at the pedals. (She needs a couple more inches on her legs to be completely comfortable in this boat.)

After our hour was up, we bought soft-serve ice cream to enjoy before heading even farther west: Sol Duc Falls.

Goodbye, Lake Crescent!