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Back to the Mountains

July 14, 2013 – 9:35 pm
Posted in hike
Tagged dogs, hike, Pacific Crest Trail, photography, wildflowers
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Life has kept me busy here at home with lots of work in June followed by visitors for ten days. While I am grateful for lots of work and happy to have our visitors from far away, I missed getting out in the mountains in the early summer when the snow first began to retreat leaving wildflowers in its wake. Yesterday I got up to Harts Pass and hiked on part of the Pacific Crest Trail and enjoyed vast views and flowers and a few remaining snow patches. Luna and I were joined by her pal Wyatt Ann, my friend Lindsey and her three dogs – Moose, Mavi and Little Bear. We were a pack. The weather was perfect – not too hot and we had a lovely day in the mountains again.

Fabulous rocks with wonderful lichen patterns

Slate Peak lookout in the distance

Buttercups

I think this is a Veronica or Speedwell

A succulent sedum

Polemonium sp?

Such a beautiful shade of blue

One of the many penstemons

Lewisia Columbiana

Great patches of the Lewisia

Contrasted with burned trees on the far hillside

Castilleja or paintbrush

The creeks in this valley are already drying up.

Little Bear is both playful and independent

Wyatt Ann is a deep thinker

Cairns don’t always point out the way

Mavi is happy for the snow to cool his belly

Wyatt Ann is wondering where do we go next?

Phlox

Dead trees tell stories

Rocks are maps

What stories do you see?

Anemone

A waterleaf

Crossing the big talus slope where the pikas and hoary marmots live. Little Bear is leading the way. Behind Lindsey are Mavi, Luna, Moose and Wyatt Ann who has come back to check on me. Normally Moose and I lagged far behind.

An old log with character

Back in the Boat Again

April 30, 2013 – 7:26 pm
Posted in kayak
Tagged kayak, Osprey, Patterson Lake, Pearrygin Lake, photography, Red-necked Grebe, Winthrop, Wood Ducks, yellow-rumped warbler
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Last week there were several good weather days and twice I managed to get my kayak in the water. Last year I hardly used it due to persistent lower back pain from gardening. I am trying to really take care of my back this year with more yoga and being very aware of how I move when I am carrying heavy stuff and trying to get help when I can. So far, so good for the most part. Of course with kayaking there is the business of getting the boat on and off the car to take it to the lakes. That worried me. I was able to do it and paddle two days in a row and I am happy to report that I didn’t have any pain! What a relief. Here’s hoping it stays that way all summer. Here are some highlights from two lakes near Winthrop.

Patterson Lake is my favorite

Interesting rock formations

Non-native trees line one end next to hay fields

Last year’s cottonwood leaf

Folks keep adding to this lakeside sculpture

You can tell from the line on the rocks that the lake is not yet full

These trees died after the lake level was raised some years ago. Now the snags are good habitat for nesting swallows and other birds.

Red-necked Grebe

Pair of Wood Ducks

Patterson Mountain reflected in Patterson Lake

More reflections near the boat launch

At Pearrygin Lake State Park, it’s still cold for swimming

A pair of Mallards

The hen decided to go her own way

The drake had to fly to catch up with her

4 Bufflehead ducks

They didn’t like me or the motorboat approaching from the other side

Pearrygin is a pretty warm lake with different vegetation types.

The reeds make nice reflections

This float had broken away from its moorings

In addition to motorboats, I saw this stand up paddler and a rowing scull

Killdeer on a mud flat

The mouth of Pearrygin Creek. This creek ‘blew out’ two years ago, resulting in flooding in the state park and the loss of this boat launch. They say that the state will replace it.

There are LOTS of Yellow-rumped Warblers out and about these days.

And Osprey are commonly seen above any water that might have fish in it. There were lots of newly-planted trout for the next day’s fishing season opener.

Last Vacation Day

April 10, 2013 – 4:56 pm
Posted in road trip
Tagged cherry blossoms, Ocean Shores, Olympia, photography, Snowy Owls
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What is that saying – all good things must come to an end? Well, our vacation had to end too. If you’ve been following these posts then you can probably tell that it was a memorable one for us. On the last day we walked on the beach one last time and then checked out of the Sandpiper and headed back to civilization. But not before walking on another beach! We went to the south end of Ocean Shores – to a long spit that extends southward into Grays Harbor. It was an unseasonably warm day for the end of March. Snowy Owls spend the winter on this beach and last year reports indicated that they stayed til nearly mid-April so I thought we might have a chance to see them. I was not SO optimistic that I carried my big camera and long lens though. That was a good indicator that we would see something interesting. And indeed we did – three Snowy Owls and a Short-eared Owl! What fun.

Can you see the Snowy Owl flying through the beach pines?

There are two owls in this image – the close one on the right and another on the far left that shows as a white spot

Our state capitol surrounded by cherry blossoms

And magnolias

Close-up of the cherry blossoms

It’s time to go now dear

Razor Clams

April 9, 2013 – 7:27 am
Posted in Razor clams
Tagged beach, photography, razor clams, Washington coast
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A lucky thing happened last month. There was a razor clam season during our vacation! Razor clams on the Washington Coast are carefully managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. If you want to know how they manage the seasons – read this. As far as I know razor clams are limited to the Pacific Northwest up through Alaska. They are considered a delicacy – a delicious clam for frying, baking at high heat and chowder. Unlike a traditional clam, they are rectangular – long and kind of flat looking. They are also strong diggers so when you are digging for razor clams you are also chasing them as they dig down into the watery sand. It’s quite fun! The seasons are limited to the lowest tides of the month and often times those tides are at night. The only other time we got to dig for them was in December a few years ago, after dark and the temperature hovered near freezing. It was quite the adventure but we were able to get our limits (fifteen per person per day) and our taste for them was whetted.

Razor clam digging seems to be tradition passed down from generation to generation. We noted many families with grandparents, parents and kids all digging and having fun. Dogs too!

The view from our room as the dig got started before the tide was all the way out

Heading to their spot on the beach

It can be a dirty job and proper clothing is important. Some people like this fellow, use shovels.

Even with hundreds of people on the beach, it doesn’t seem crowded and there were lots of clams for everyone

Dogs like it

This dog looks like he wants to help

This young man was clamming for the first time

He was happy to show me his biggest clam

Some people work alone

A couple of clam guns. To use this device, you look for a clam show – a small dimple in the wet sand – and then carefully angling towards the ocean you center the cylinder around the ‘show’ and then push it into the sand. There is a tiny hole that you cover with your finger as you pull the gun, now loaded with wet heavy sand, out and with any luck, the clam will be in that sand. Or not. You may have to repeat. Or you may have to reach down in the hole and grab the clam as it tries to dig away from you.

Classic digging style

The tide will come in and all traces of the digging will disappear.

They are using the team approach

This dog was wet and dirty

Family fun

Another group heads out

Now that we have our limit, what do we do?

Cleaning clams is the hard part

The clam and fish cleaning shack

Road Trip

April 4, 2013 – 2:55 pm
Posted in road trip
Tagged beach, Crescent Lake, Elwha Dam, Marymere Falls, photography, Port Angeles, shells, sunset, surf perch, Washington coast, wildflowers
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Ken and I enjoy road trips. We tend to travel with lots of stuff and this trip we took the truck so we could get all that stuff packed. What kind of stuff? Photo gear. Fishing gear. Clamming gear. Birding gear. Guitar. Books. Various clothes for various activities in a variety of weather conditions. Food – lots of food along with beer and wine. It was a good tour of a big part of the state starting here in the Methow where winter was loosening its grip, across the Cascades where 40″ of snow had fallen in the previous week, to the urban world north of Seattle where we were surprised to see new snow on the ground, and then across Puget Sound where it was sunny and dare I say it, warm. We reached Port Angeles that first night.

Sunset from our hotel in Port Angeles

From PA we drove up the Elwha River to the overlook of one of the now-removed Elwha Dams.

This sign graphic shows how it looked before, during and after the dam removal. Salmon have already returned to this river above the former dam site.

Part of Lake Crescent is in the Olympic National Park. It is cold and deep.

Old Storm King Ranger Station at Lake Crescent

Marymere Falls – a short popular hike from Lake Crescent

We saw these pretty blossoms in several places. I think they are a berry – maybe salmonberry?

The Dickey River – slow moving and flat and more reminiscent of Florida than Washington

We saw a river otter

This algae covered shoe had mussels growing inside of it. I wonder how long it was in the water and where it came from. Japan? It was on Rialto Beach.