Rich’s comments on Washington

Rich has a few comments on the drive.

Have you ever had a preconceived idea that was just shattered? Well I just had one on our journey.

My conception of Washington State, and maybe quite a few other Midwesterners, is a cool dreary, drizzly place. I feel that’s what they want us to think. Except for some early morning fog that lifted by mid morning along the coast we didn’t see a cloud for 4 days just beautiful clear blue skies.

Upon entering the state from Idaho you are greeted by rolling plains planted in wheat waving in the gentle breezes that seem to stretch to and beyond the horizon. Interspersed among these fields after a short drive along US Route 2 are lava fields and huge boulders left by eruptions. After a few hours journey the fields are left behind and you are greeted with a stark landscape of peaks and valleys that reminds one of the west Texas desert. After a 2000 foot drop in 6 miles into the Wanatchee River valley we are greeted by rows and rows of fruit trees planted and irrigated by the river. The surrounding hills still look like a desert. Climbing out of the valley to the East or South as we did, into the Cascades the landscape changes dramatically in just a few minutes. A climb of just a few hundred feet takes one into a beautiful pine forest and once you descend again the landscape changes back to desert within a few miles as you approach Yakima.

The climb back into the Cascades and past Mt. Rainier is again a beautiful pine forest and it extends all the way to our destination in Port Angeles on the Olympic peninsula where you are greeted by snow capped mountains of Olympic National Park. Could it get any better or different? Of course it could as we visited the Hoh rain forest with its moss covered pines, big leaf maples and firs with some towering 300 feet into the beautiful clear blue sky. Or how about Mt. St. Helens the most active volcano in the continental 48 states with its huge eruption on May 18^th 1980 that created a wall of water of over 20 billion gallons that completely changed the landscape for hundreds of square miles?

What an amazing diverse state this is and completely unexpected. And what a joy it has been to spend time here.

A volcanic boulder -middle of wheat field

Can you believe a 300' tree?

Quiet for the moment....

New Photo Collection Part I

Sorry for the delay – you know how it goes, there’s never enough time in the day to get everything sorted out. Here is the start of a photo collection that was sent over earlier this week, two parts. -Pat

The Big Horn Sheep were very interested in what was going on with the human population.

Apparently they were looking for more salt, a lot like Jack……….

Big Horned Sheep, Glacier State National Park

Birdwoman Falls was one of the most beautiful falls I have seen.

The hanging valley left from a smaller glacier is the source of the beginning of a magnificent spill-take a look

Birdwoman Falls

Wow we sure don't have any pine trees like this in Indiana!

Young bucks looking for some tender new spring greens -

their new horns were covered in velvet and they appeared to be yearlings or younger.

Young Buck, Olympic

This mother with fawns was cautious but grazing in the meadow above Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, there were so many deer in the area! We saw another fawn with all the spots further down the mountain! So pretty and graceful- these are blacktail deer.

Deer and Fawns, Olympic

-Terri

Olympic National Park Day Two

Who can believe that a rainforest,

glacier coated peaks and seastacks at the Pacific are all part of one amazing park! Olympic has been one fully packed adventure, with wonderful surprises at all the turns. We walked through a mossy covered rainforest today, marveling at the height of the trees (some over 200′) and brooks running crystal clear-absolutely gorgeous! It was like a fairyland.

- Terri

Jack and Rich in the rainforestCrystal clear as you can see

Drive-bys continue

At 50 mph

We are often pressed for time,

(who isn’t?) and resort to taking a shot in passing while on the drive from one point to another. The result are the so called “drive by shootings………sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. This one is interesting, results are often deleted but I liked this one. We were on our way to the Hoh Rainforest, part of the Olympic National Park system.