Archive for the ‘Washington’ Category

Lolo National Forest

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Have been in Lolo National Forest for most of the past few weeks. Highway 12 goes up to Lolo Pass, where you enter Idaho and the Clearwater National Forest. In Idaho it’s called the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway. This is the route Lewis and Clark, and Indians long before them, used.

Above, two gray jays. The first ones I’ve ever seen. They are very elusive and were in my campsite area only a few minutes.

Highway 12 follows along a number or streams and rivers. I saw lots of  stellar jays while driving, but only a few in my campground.

A kestral in farmland in the town of Lolo.

A blue-grouse (I think) seen along a forest service road.

A red-breasted nuthatch (top) and a red crossbill (lower).

A red squirrel that buries nuts that bears often dig up. It, like many of the birds, is not interested in handouts from humans. They generally run and jump quickly away from you.

There were a huge number of these moths (?) flying around one campground for a few days.

Above, an adult and fledgling yellow-rumped warblers. They were seen near Big Sky in the Gallatin National Forest.

Made one quick trip to Spokane, Washington, to get my trailer serviced. Was surprised to see a pair of marmots in the industrial area.

South-Central Washington

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

Visited the Tri-Cities area of south-central Washington (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco) in order to visit some wildlife refuges in the area. Stayed a few days at an Army Corps of Engineers campground along the Snake River. Part of the McNary Wildlife Refuge is right next to the campground. Saw the Kingfisher above in a marsh area there.

It is the season to start seeing osprey nests.

Below, a coyote in the refuge.

Next drove through Hanford Reach National Monument. The Hanford Site is where Plutonium reactors were built in 1943 to make the atom bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. The reactors are now inactive and being dismantled. The Site is on the Columbia River and a wide area of land around it that served as a security buffer is now the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.

There was a severe wind alert throughout Washington and parts of Oregon and Idaho. I drove on to Toppenish to stay till they passed. The winds really shook my trailer and blew open the heavy cover on the bed of my truck. Luckily, the farmland I was parked next to had a crop growing on it, so I didn’t get a lot of topsoil blown my way.

Above, a California quail at the Toppenish Wildlife Refuge.

Below, northeast Oregon farmland along I-84. It snowed a little past where this picture was taken. Enjoyed the drive along the I-84, with all it’s rest stops.

Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Have been in Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge near Colville, Washington, for the past five days. It is an unusual refuge, in that it allows free camping in some designated campgrounds on the refuge and even allows you to use dead or downed trees for firewood. You can even use a chainsaw! The campgrounds are in a dry forest area where there are a lot of tall, skinny trees. There is a firefighting unit on site that helps thin out the trees at this level, to allow the trees more room to grow.

Enjoyed having a campground pretty much to myself. There is a dirt/gravel road that circles around the refuge and takes you past the campgrounds and the visitor center. A few bicyclists took advantage of this low traffic road. There are some roads off this main route that are pretty rough. Some of the campgrounds allow horses, but owners have to remove all horse manure!

The birds were generally elusive. I was lucky to find a large flock of cedar waxwings flying through the air catching bugs next to a bog. The white bugs bounced up and down over plants that circled the bog and didn’t bother me. The waxwings didn’t seem to mind me either. They were flying all around intent on catching the bugs. Once and a while there would be a shrill whistle and they would all scatter, only to return a few minutes later.

Saw an eagle and an osprey hunting over a pond.

Campsite at the refuge.

Mount St. Helens

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Finally made it to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Mounument. It was just a viewing, I didn’t really explore the area. A lot of the visitor and camping areas were either closed or in the process of closing for the winter. There was a strong, cold and gritty wind blowing at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, while just a few miles down the road it was hot with no wind. Not many people there. Definitely would like to come back again.

View north from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. The land next to the parking lot is recovering, while the next ridge over is still pretty bald after 25 years.

I arrived late Tuesday afternoon and ended up parking for the night in a pull out just outside the blast area. They don’t want dogs in the blast area except in specially marked places. Their scent can scare some animals away.

More from the Skagit area

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Mount Baker from Iverson Spit Preserve.

Common mergansers at Iverson Spit Preserve. Thought they were grebes at first. Very cute with their ducktails. There were some grebes there, but they were to far away to get a good picture.

Drove by where I saw the hawks in Stanwood again. Saw the one above. It hardly noticed me, it was so busy scanning for prey.

Corn field by where I’m staying. It is looking south towards Camano Island and Skagit Bay.

Finally found out what has been growing in the field outside my window: cucumbers! They are harvesting them in the pictures above. The top picture is looking west towards Whidbey Island.

Magnificent man in his flying machine. Don’t know if he was flying for pleasure or to check on farmland. I have seen several small private planes and helicopters fly low over farmland.

I’m getting ready to leave the area next week. Had hoped to stay to see the geese and swans start to arrive, but it’s best if I start south. I would like to revisit some places, like the San Diego Zoo and the sandhill cranes in New Mexico, and also see some new places, maybe Big Bend Park in Texas. I will try to return to this area early in 2009, while the migrating birds are still in the area.

Am I Dreaming

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

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On Wednesday, when I was in Anacortes, I was surprised to see diesel for $3.99. The last time I saw it priced at $3.99 was more than 6 months ago in Junction, Texas. It seemed to hang at $3.99 for the longest time. Passing the $4 mark had the most affect on me. After that, $5 and more didn’t phase me. There is a Shell oil refinery in Anacortes. So, my first thought was is Shell trying to give Anacortes a break? Then, on Friday, I saw diesel for $3.95 in Stanwood, a small town you pass through on the way to Camano Island.

It is so unusual to see prices go down. Once prices go up, they tend to keep going up. I am crossing my fingers that this pricing is present elsewhere in the west, especially in California, where it is traditionally the highest.

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There are a lot of madrone trees in this area. They have reddish bark that peels away to green. It is a tree mainly seen in the west.

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The roadside berry stands may have closed for the season, but there are still wild berries all over the place. At Iverson Spit Preserve on Camano Island, they are almost consuming the trail. From the scat seen along the trail, a lot of animals are enjoying them.

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Heron in a cabbage gone-to-seed field above; below, a heron in some driftwood at Iverson Spit Preserve.

Saw a group of three hawks hunting in farm fields in Stanwood. Almost ran over one as it swooped down to get its’ prey in a corn field.

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Sauk Mountain Road Vista

Sunday, September 14th, 2008

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Sauk Mountain Road is a dirt/gravel road that goes through and above Rockport State Park to a peak on Sauk Mountain. It was quite a thrill ride driving the steep, pothole riddled, one-lane road through the beautiful forest. The top picture is facing west, through the blue haze, towards Mount Vernon and Burlington and the islands and ocean beyond. The lower picture is facing east where the Skagit River comes from the Cascades. There is an old hang gliding platform facing this direction.

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The trail you can take to the peak through alpine like meadows and wildflowers.

This is the area where the 14-year-old boy killed a hiker while bear hunting in August.

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Bowman Bay and Rosario Beach

Friday, September 12th, 2008

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Bowman Bay and Rosario Beach are part of Deception Pass State Park on the northwest side of the bridge, on Fidalgo Island rather than Whidbey Island. Think the  above two ducks are mallards. One seems to have a green coat growing in on its’ head. They used their bills to get under the pebbles to get to a food source.

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There is a university marine lab next to Rosario Beach. A teacher from there said the above ducks are “scooters”. That would make them white-winged scooters.

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Bowman Bay is shown above. Rosario Beach is just around the bend in the top picture. The bay seems to be a good place to launch a kayak. There is a professional kayak tour service on site.

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The farm land outside my window was watered all of one day. There was standing water a lot of places. The farmer knows what he is doing. It has been clear and in the 70′s during the day, but cool at night. There is a light frost on the ground in the morning.

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Change of Season

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

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This baby swallow did not know enough to be afraid of me. I have become a fan of swallows since being here. They have to rank with hummingbirds at being fast and adept in the air. They can transfer food from one to another in mid-flight. At dusk here, they start weaving in and out catching insects in the air.

The last week or so has seen cooling temperatures, probably down 10 degrees from most of August. With the cooling, the swallows have become much less visible. They are gone from the telephone wires and sunning themselves on the sides of the buildings.

A couple of clear, cold nights caused the farmers to put large water jets in place in case it got close to freezing. Luckily, the cloud cover returned last night and the temperatures were warmer.

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Another sign of the change in season, it’s hunting season. The Skagit Gun Club either owns or rents a number of farming lots within a mile of where I’m at. I heard the first shots yesterday. A man got in a ATV with a gun and not much later I heard the shots.  Luckily, most ducks I’ve seen in this area take off when they see people. Also, the Department of Fish and Game are nearby and can keep an eye on hunters to insure they are following the rules.

Just recently, a 14-year-old boy in Concrete, Washington shot and killed a woman hiker while out hunting for bear with his 17-year-old brother. He had taken a class on hunting with a gun (when he was 9-years-old) and thus it was legal for him to hunt without adult supervision. His trial is just starting.

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A heron by a farming channel. The heron’s here are just like the ducks in flying off when they see people. Pretty sure it is illegal to hunt herons though.

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There are wild blackberries all over this area. Also have noticed the above red “pod”. Not sure what it is.

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Fir Island, Skagit County

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

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The crop outside my window has really grown in the last month. It has flowers like a zucchini plant, but the plants are so close together, it must be some other type of squash. Boxes of bees have been set out in the field to help pollinate the plants. I have never seen the field being watered. The intermittent drizzle and the more significant rain we got this past week seems to have provided all the water needed.

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This is the barn seen in the distance in the top picture. Old barns like these are all over Washington. It would make a good photographic project to photograph all the barns you come across. Some are almost totally collapsed, but still being used.

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The farm I am next to is the last one on the block, so to say. Beyond it is marsh land next to Skagit Bay. Across the bay is Whidbey Island and the Naval Air Station. (Still enjoy seeing the jets fly overhead.)

There are two small islands near the shoreline that I just found out you can walk out to when the tide is low. I’ve added this to my to do list.

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Corn field to the east of me. Won’t be long before it is ready to harvest.

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Above: Mount Vernon, Washington looking west towards Anacortes. You may be able to see the Skagit River winding through town. Fir Island is considered part of Mount Vernon, albeit in the boondocks.

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This house is along the main road to Fir Island. The DirectTV dish caught my attention. Most of the old homes in the area look so great I wondered if there was an ordinance that you had to paint your house every year. The above house is really an anomaly.

What you can’t see above, there is a tidy yellow house right behind this old one. Really!