We have been hearing about Hurricane Ridge ever since we moved here. We finally decided to see it on August 15, 2012.
It's only 40 miles from our house in Sequim and the drive took only about an hour. As you can see there is an excellent road, but it can be a bit twisty for a passenger looking over the sides of the many cliffs on the way.
We didn't see much traffic on the road and so we didn't realize how popular this place is until we got to the parking lot. That building is the Ranger Station/Snack Bar/Gift Shop/Restroom.
The view's the thing. The weather for our outing could not have been better.
Marty studies geology. The little white patch barely visible over the pass is Port Angeles, on the coast. With a little imagination one could see the Strait. One knows it's there.
Here is a magnified shot of PA (as it's known locally) and the Strait.
Sure enough, as rumored, a little snow on the north slope.
Typical Washington vegetation. Looked better in real life.
Another "wilderness feature" in the vicinity was a couple of very tame black-tailed deer. They looked to me like mule deer and we found out indeed they are a sub-species. We are so used to deer-up-close from our residence in Ohio that we barely took notice, but here they drew crowds and clicking cameras.
All-in-all we had a very enjoyable afternoon and will probably go back and try some different trails. A bear or a cougar spotted will defintely get his picture taken.