After lunch Friday, we left LaPush and headed back inland, taking US Hwy 101 north and then east around the southern shore of Lake Crescent (where the road is currently being resurfaced). At the east end of Lake Crescent, we turned north on the fun-to-drive-and-very-scenic-but-not-for-the-faint-of-heart county roads: East Beach Road – Joyce Piedmont Road – Crescent Beach Road.

Our destination for the next 4 nights was Crescent Beach & RV Park, located directly on Crescent Bay next to the Clallam County Salt Creek Recreation Area. We had a great full hook-up site (#14) overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Vancouver Island visible just 11 miles away. There was hardly anybody camping here, even though it was a weekend (there is also camping at nearby Salt Creek, water and electric).

Crescent Bay was first explored by Americans in 1846, the same year that then-President James Polk (of war with Mexico fame) signed a treaty with Great Britain establishing the British/American boundary in the Pacific Northwest at the 49th parallel. In 1848, what is now the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming became organized and incorporated into the United States as the Oregon Territory and settlement of the Pacific Northwest was underway.

“Very interesting,” said Dale, trying to humor me. “Can you pour me some more wine?”

So, anyway, there’s a Crescent Beach in Florida that is the beach we can most easily get to on the Atlantic Ocean from our house in Gainesville and it’s actually quite similar to this Crescent Beach in a couple ways: a broad expanse of packed, fine sand; gently-breaking swells; and, surfers.

But, there’s one very big difference: about 20°F difference. I have to say, the water temperature here in Washington (about 52°F) is waaaaaaaay too cold for a Floridian.

If you look closely, you can just make out our RV at the far end of the beach in the distance, below:

So, in search of warm water, we took a day while we were camped here to drive to the Sol Duc Hot Springs which was about an hour away in the National Park. There’s a lodge and cabins for rent at the Springs and it was pretty busy when we visited, but the water was warm, about 103°F.

It felt good, but we were hard-boiled after an hour.