Staircase Hike in the Olympic National Park

David has been working a lot this summer. I mean A LOT. He has been going out to the field with the ROTC for days at a time. When he's home he's been pulling 17 hour days (yep, that is going in at 6 a.m.and coming home at 11:00 p.m. Some days it isn't that bad, but on those days he usually comes home and then heads out to do Elders Quorum visits. So like I said, he's been gone a lot. This week, David finally had a day off (his first in the month of July). We took advantage of the day and drove to Olympic National Park for a hike. 

It was a two-hour drive, so we had lunch as soon as we got there.  We found a picnic spot down by the river.




After lunch, we hit the trail.  The hike we went on was called Staircase.  It was named for a cedar staircase built into the mountain back in the 1800s.  The staircase is no longer there, but the name has stuck.  It is a beautiful location.

The trees are amazing.

 There was this really huge cedar tree that has fallen over.  We spent quite a while climbing on it

 and inside of it.

 Throwing rocks into the river was an important part of our day.

We found a spot that was perfect for wading..except for the fact that the water was ice cold.  It had probably been part of a glacier that morning.

 Yep, I even put my feet in the water.

 It was so beautiful!  And so amazingly green!

Another hiker volunteered to get our whole family in this photo.  Who knows, it may end up being our Christmas card photo... (although Kate fell in the water and her pants are soaked)

 Good thing my family is so strong--they even held up this huge rock!

 William was pretty good about riding in the backpack.  Obviously it didn't slow David down.

 Huge trees, rocks to throw, water to wade in, and logs to climb on--all made for a pretty great hike!