We just returned from 10 days of camping, hiking and kayaking in beautiful Glacier and Waterton National Parks. Our last trip there was a ‘resource mission’ terribly short and left us longing to return someday to spend some quality time. We finally got it!
Glacier is one of those “BIG PARKS” with towering mountains, amazing vistas, beautiful waterfalls and mega fauna. Moose, grizzly, big horn sheep, mountain goats, black bear, elk, deer, wolves, red fox, beavers and many more can be seen in both parks. We scoped out a weather window and it worked. Clear warm days with nice evenings, few people and no mesquites…well maybe one or two. By next week these parks will be packed with visitors as the season has arrived. And a short season it is. First snowfall can be expected by the end of September or earlier. Even the lodges close the end of September, not to open again until mid-May or June (weather permitting).
We hiked many miles and saw many beautiful sights. Here’s some photos from the trip.
Posted 1 month ago at 9:55 am. Add a comment
Spring is in full bloom here in the Pacific Northwest. The warm days are a mix of sunshine and occasional rain showers. Rain droplets still clung to the flowers this morning after last nights shower and I couldn’t resist taking these photos.
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago at 3:42 pm. Add a comment
While eating breakfast this morning, looking out onto the meadow and watching birds and squirrels on the feeder, I noticed that suddenly everyone left. The feeder was empty of wildlife, a sure sign a hawk or other large bird was nearby. Sure enough, I looked up into the bigleaf maple and there it was, a Barred Owl. I think it’s the same one I saw a few months in the same place. I casually finished my breakfast pretty sure it would fly away at any moment, but it didn’t. Okay, so I grabbed my camera and took several shots from inside the window which were blurry. No good. I knew if I wanted a decent photo I’d have to take the chance that it wouldn’t fly when I went outside. No problem, to my surprise he didn’t seem to care. I took a few shots from a ‘safe distance’ then thought ‘what the heck, let’s try to get closer.’ Stepping down from the porch onto the grass under the tree I quickly took a few more shots. Then I realized it really didn’t care, and obviously felt safe at that height. Heck, it was probably laughing knowing full well I couldn’t scale the tree. It was a little foggy and pretty dark but a few of the photos turned out. The owl stayed in the tree until the sun came out when it probably flew to the darker forest surrounding our meadow. What a nice way to start the day!
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago at 4:55 pm. Add a comment
Our quest to find a little Scamp trailer took us to Tampa Bay this week and we weren’t disappointed. The trailer is just what we’re looking for and the owners, Cher and Frank, are delightful people. Knowing we had just a few hours to spend in the area that day they suggested a few places we might like to see including an opportunity to see manatees.
In Apollo Beach, the Big Bend Power Plant discharges 78 degree water attracting manatees when the bay temperatures drop below 68 degrees. The plant has built an environmental education building and observation platform from which to view these gentle giants. It was an amazing sight to see over a hundred manatees together in one place, I could have stayed for hours just watching them. Swimming among them were stingrays and spinner sharks energetically jumping out of the water. For more info on the center visit their website at www.tampaelectric.com/manatee/
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago at 2:04 pm. Add a comment
Snow Geese – Sacramento Wildlife Refuge
This is a repost of our trip to Southern California to visit family and friends over the holidays. I guess the previous post has been forever lost in cyberspace, or accidentally deleted? I admit it could be ‘operator error.’
We’d planned on at least three weeks for the road trip and our timing was perfect. The weather was ideal both in San Diego and Anza Borrego. Even our quick stop at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge was warm and sunny.
Once in San Diego we took several side trips to Anza Borrego State Park for a little camping and hiking, our way to relax and rejuvenate from the fast pace of the city. Anza Borrego is California’s largest state park encompassing more than 600,000 acres and home to 50 or more species of flora and fauna including the parks namesake the Bighorn Sheep (Borrego is Spanish for sheep).
Balboa Park at Dusk
Photos taken at Anza Borrego State Park
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago at 7:09 pm. Add a comment
Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead is a celebration observed by numerous cultures where they remember, pray for and celebrate the lives of friends and family who have passed over. Today Larry and I went to Seattle Center to participate in this yearly event, we had a great time! From the minute we walked through the door we felt part of this festive event. The ambiance was one of folklore, love and much laughter. Many of the traditional dances, pastries, painted sugar skulls, face painting and even the art of making marigolds (the flower used in remembrance) engulfed the building. Here are just a few photos from this amazing day.
Posted 9 months ago at 2:44 am. Add a comment
