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Rockport State Park, Washington

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Highway 20 that goes west to Anacortes and Whidbey Island, is called the North Cascades Scenic Byway as it heads east. Several times now I’ve driven 40-50 miles on it to the small towns of Concrete and Rockport. The area is known for having a lot of eagles in the winter along the Skagit River. They say they have the largest population of eagles in the contiguous United States. I recall Oregon makes the same claim. Suffice to say both states have a lots of eagles.

The pictures above are from Rockport State Park. It contains an old growth forest, with some trees that are 400-600 years old. It was converted from a camping park to a day use only park last year because of instability of some of the trees. They have a picnic area and some nice trails. There is a beautiful county park just a few miles from it, Howard Miller Steelhead Park, that is right along the Skagit River. It is mainly a reservation park, but does have a few first come first come first served sites. When I drove through it during the week, there were lots of empty sites. Rasar State Park is also not far away and has reservation camping.

I debated staying in this area to better explore it. There is the Mt. Baker area and the Cascades, and also a 20 mile bike path from Sedro-Woolley to Concrete. However, I’m so happy in Skagit Flats, I’m going to continue to stay there.

Looking north across the Skagit River near Rockport.

Posted in Concrete, Rockport, Skagit County, State | No Comments »

Ebey’s Landing, Whidbey Island

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve is a unique reserve created in the 70′s to protect the rural landscape of this area in the middle of Whidbey Island. Most of the land is privately owned, but the government purchased the development rights from the owners. This is to keep the landscape very much like it was in the 1800′s. Approval is needed for any new construction. You just have to look to Oak Harbor, the next significant town north of the reserve, to see what Ebey’s Landing could have become without the reserve.

This area of Whidbey Island seems to be the most tourist friendly. There is a a driving and bicycling tour route that takes you through the reserve area. There is not a dedicated bike path, but there is not a lot of traffic, so it is pretty safe to ride on the roads.

The second picture above is Ebey’s Landing, where settler’s came ashore and first settled.

The top photo is of a 3.5 mile trail that goes up from Ebey’s Landing to a bluff above Perego’s Lake, then down to the beach and back to the starting point. I had to lean to the right, the trail is so narrow and the bluff so steep.

A northern harrier seen from the trail.

View across the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards the Port Townsend area. The mountains always have a blue haze in this area of Washington.

The farmland directly inland from Ebey’s Landing. There has never been trees in this prairie area, so no trees needed to be cleared to farm.

There are three campgrounds in the reserve. Fort Ebey was built in World War II as a coastal defense fort. It has a reservation campground. Fort Casey was built at the turn of the century to guard Puget Sound. It is next to the Keystone ferry landing for the ferry coming from Port Townsend. It is a first come, first served campground (yea!). Rhododendron County Park Campground is a small, no hookup campground under a grove of tall trees.

The Ebey family donated land on the bluff for a cemetary. Both early settlers and recent residents are buried there. The grave site with the heron caught my attention.

Of course, Deception Pass is the main draw on Whidbey Island. It is so crowded now, I’m going to visit it in the fall.

Posted in Deception Pass, Ebey's Landing, Northern harrier, Whidbey Island | No Comments »

Padilla Bay National Reserve

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Padilla Bay is a “Nationa Estuarine Research Reserve” run jointly by Washington State and NOAA. There is an interpretive center for both public education and for research and monitoring. Bay View State Park is located a short distance from the interpretive center.

When the tide goes out in the bay, so does most of the water, leaving miles and miles of intertidal mudflats. The top picture was taken at high tide, on a sunny day, along a 2.2 mile bike path along the bay. The bottom picture was taken on a cloudy day, during low tide. There are usually herons in the area and heron rookeries are nearby. A heronry cam is online from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saw another cedar waxwing along the bike path.

Lots of thistle around.

A year ago, $4.42 for diesel would have been outrageous. Now it is such a relief to have it below $5.00. It was $5.50 when I was in California. Know the price will just get low enough to get people driving more, then it will shoot up again, probably past $5.50.

Posted in cedar waxwing, heron, Skagit County, State | No Comments »

Skagit County, Washington

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

I am in Skagit County, Washington, an incredible place. It is around 40 miles from Port Townsend, but of course I took the long way around on the #101 and the #5, to avoid paying a large ferry fee. After driving through overcast Seattle and then coming to the beautiful, sunny farmland in Skagit County, I knew this was someplace I would like to stay for a while. The rv park I’m at is on Fir Island, with the Skagit river on one side and farmland on the other. There are places all around to explore. Whidbey Island is just to the east, with Deception Pass State Park. There is also a naval air station there and their jets fly right over where I’m staying. It’s like a free air show. I have to jump up and look every time a jet goes by. It is probably a reflex from my childhood.

The city of Anacortes, on Fidalgo Island, is 11 miles away. They have a beautiful park, Washington Park, that has a scenic loop road you can drive, but be forewarned, don’t drive anything longer than 20 feet. I drove my truck and had to back up and maneuver to get around sharp curves.

The two pictures above were taken at Washington Park. It is the first picture I’ve gotten of a Cedar Waxwing. It was eating berries, as I guess they are prone to do. The deer below it was eating the same berries.

Black Oystercatchers.

Anacortes is a tourist town and seems to want to develop every square inch of their land. There is a subdivision next to Washington Park and another subdivision is in the process of being built next to it. (OK, step off the soapbox).

Also at Washington Park, a wooden ship with the ferry to the San Juan Island in the background.

Barn swallows enjoying the sun at my rv park. Skagit Flats, the area I’m in, was named a birding hotspot a few years ago, but fall and winter are the prime times for birding.

View from a hang gliding spot above Skagit Flats. Guess the goal is to get past the trees and land in farm land.

Posted in Airstream, Anacortes, cedar waxwing, deer, Oystercatcher, Skagit County, swallow | 2 Comments »

Nisqually Wildlife Refuge

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

Back with herons again. These were seen at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in Olympia, Washington. Herons are not rare, but they are very photogenic. The refuge has a riparian woodlands section, where there are a lot of songbirds, but it is hard to see the songbirds amongst the tall trees, much less get photos of them. So, herons it is. There was a large group of them at the refuge.

There is a one-mile trail on wood decking through the riparian woodland section. Wouldn’t you know, I visited this area the day it was sunny. Even used my air conditioner in my rv for the first time in July. The following day I took the 5.5 mile trail that goes by the ocean area and it rained on and off.

They do not allow jogging, bicycles, or dogs in the refuge, which I can understand. Would have been nice to be able to ride my bike along the 5.5 mile trail though.

Posted in heron, Olympia, wildlife refuge | Comments Off

Cape Flattery and Clallam Bay

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

I’m currently staying in Clallam Bay, Washington, not far from Cape Flattery, the most northwest point in the contiguous United States. When driving along twisting, uneven highway 112 on the way to Cape Flattery, I happened to see a whale spouting and diving in the Strait of Juan De Fuca next to the highway. When I found out there was a Passport America rv park in Clallam Bay, decided to stay in the area to try and see more whales. As of yet, have not seen any, but will continue to look.

Cape Flattery is pictured above. It was cold and wet when I was there, even though it was sunny in Neah Bay not far away. Seems to always have clouds over it. Want to go back at least once before I leave the area.

While searching the web for info about Cape Flattery, found these pictures of some people kayaking there.

More eagles! These were seen along Shipwreck Point on highway 112. They like to hunt along the beach at low tide. In the last picture, I was slowly making my way through tide pools and mushy sand, trying to get closer to the eagle and, just when I was getting close enough, it flew off!

I need a bumper sticker that says “I brake for eagles!”. Every time I see one fly overhead while I’m driving, I want to stop and pull over, but it’s not always possible.

Herons like to hunt at low tide as well.

A crab coming out from under a rock.

Fireweed

View looking across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island, Canada.

Posted in Cape Flattery, Clallam Bay, eagle, heron, whale | Comments Off

More Northeast Olympic Peninsula

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Scenes from the Olympic Discovery Trail. That is the Dungeness River by the Dungeness River Audubon Center. The last picture shows the Johnson Creek Trestle near Sequim Bay State Park. The trail cuts through the center of the park.

Stayed at Sequim Bay State Park a few days. It’s a nice park, but for some reason it is not always full, like nearby Fort Flagler and Fort Worden State Parks. Top picture is Sequim Bay at low tide and the lower picture is a trail leading down to it through tall trees and ferns.

Dark eyed junco. It has a worm in the lower picture.

Have not seen a lot of birds here. Mid-summer is not the best time of year for bird watching. There are lots of robins, swallows, and goldfinches. Have seen a couple of eagles, but they have been high up on tall trees where it was hard to get a good picture. Saw a few blue herons, but restrained myself from taking a picture.

Anderson Lake State Park, a day use park, was just a mile or so from where I stayed in Chimacum. It was closed to boating, fishing and any physical contact with the water because of a toxic blue-green algae bloom. There were no birds on the lake or any signs of fish. Several dogs died from drinking the water.

Posted in Chimacum, eagle, goldfinch, heron, junco, robin, Sequim, swallow | Comments Off

Northeast Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

I have been in Chimacum, Washington for the past week, at an Escapee park. Chimacum is just a little south of Port Townsend. When I drove around the Olympic Peninsula on highway 101 last year, I noticed all the purple bell like flowers (top picture) growing wild along the road (foxglove?). That is about all I noticed, as the traffic on the 101 keeps you moving pretty fast. It has been nice seeing more of this part of Washington. The flowers alone are incredible. The nearby town of Sequim is one of the top growers of lavender in the country and holds a lavendar festival every year.

This area is in a “rain shadow” from the Olympic mountains. It just gets around 17 inches of rain a year, while 35 miles away the rainforest gets more than 200 inches! This amazed me. It certainly makes the area interesting as some place to live full-time.

Last year, when I was coming from northern Washington, I looked into taking the ferry to Port Townsend (above picture). When I found out it would cost around $160 though, I decided to take the long way around. Being hard to get to has benefited the area. Enough traffic gets here via the 101.

The Olympic Discovery Trail is a dedicated trail for non-motorized travel. When it is done, it will go more than 100 miles from Port Townsend to the Pacific Ocean. The segment from Sequim to Port Angeles is done. I road my new bike part of the way today. It is an easy ride, there was a large group of young kids who road to Port Angeles and back to Sequim. There are picnic tables along the way and you can take a bus if you tire out. There is no way kids could ride bikes on the 101.

Getting here: After leaving Eugene, I drove the Nestucca River National Back Country Byway. It is a county road that follows along the Nestucca River to the coast and highway 101. The BLM no hookup campground I stayed at (above picture) was nice, but my 27 foot rv was a little too big.

After getting to the coast, things went downhill. I know better than to travel on a holiday, but here I was on the Oregon coast on the 4th of July weekend! I stayed one night at a state park, then ended up driving straight through to Chimacum, because every park was either full or charging a fortune.

I had initially planned to go through central and eastern Oregon, then along the Columbia River on the Washington side. However, the weather was forecast to be in the 90′s and 100′s, so at the last minute I changed course for the cooler coast. This is why I don’t want to reserve a campsite, like many of the Oregon and Washington state parks seem to want you to do. I’m finding many state parks full, with people reserving sites up to a year in advance.

Posted in Bureau of Land Management, Chimacum, Escapee, Port Townsend, Sequim | Comments Off

More in Rockport, Texas Area

Monday, January 14th, 2008

Juvenile ibis (left) and roseate spoonbill (right).

Tricolored heron, with its very long neck.

Tricolored (left) with a little blue heron (right).

Stopped at a picnic area at Aransas NWR and saw this javalena looking for food. In the picture above, it is reacting to Jake barking at it (from the truck). It just lasted a few seconds and then it went back to foraging.

Posted in heron, Ibis, Rockport, roseate spoonbill, State, wildlife refuge | Comments Off

The Big Tree

Friday, January 4th, 2008

The area around Goose Island State Park in Texas is primarily known for two things: the largest winter population of endangered whooping cranes and The Big Tree. This is a coastal live oak that is more than 1,000 years old. There are beautiful groves of oaks all over this area. Homes and roads are often built with a view towards saving all the oak trees they can.