Lake Quinault

For our anniversary I decided to surprise my husband with an overnight at Lake Quinault Lodge on the Olympic Peninsula. He'd recently told me he wanted to ease into hiking again and the rain forest seemed like a good place to start. 

We took the long way from Olympia, forgoing 101 for a winding, yet more interesting route and arrived just in time for lunch at the lodge. After an adventurous hike in the hills and along the lake trail that was washed out and strewn with icy logs, the communal lodge complete with a warm fire and leather couches seemed the most inviting place to do some homework from Stephanie Bower's Craftsy class, Perspective for Sketchers

The next morning I found a patch of sunlight where I could sit before the sun slid behind the hill and the grass started growing frost. The lodge is old and spacious, built in 1926, after the first had burnt down. Historic photos line the walls telling the story of its development. The workers, and, I imagine, their bosses, were quite industrious, finishing the building in 62 days!