THE LAST NIGHT AT CLALLAM BAY

As I sit in the still of the night listening to the ocean waves gently washing up onto the beach my thoughts are of the last two weeks here at this beautiful place. There is serenity to be founds upon this shore and in a way I feel a sadness about leaving. This morning we said our goodbyes to our new found friends. They had to leave today. Here they are left to right: Al, Jan Burley, and Ray Burley.

Jan had told us about a beach just down the road that had large starfish. Phil and I decided to check it out. We found some nice treasures. Phil found a ten legged red sunburst starfish. He was in the process of returning a crab to the water when the starfish caught his eye as it rolled with the surf. He waded into the water and after several grabs he caught it. It is a large one and a collectors dream...

As we were heading back up to where the truck was parked we saw three bald eagles. One flew off over the beach while two landed in a tree not far from the truck. So I got a couple of nice shots of them...



 In a few hours we will be on highway 101 headed for the Oregon coast and I wonder what we will find along the way. Whatever happens we will be dancing with the angels.... KEEP ON DANCING!



OH MY, WHERE DID TIME GO?

I just realized that I have lost track of time. Here it is Tuesday and I have been so wrapped up that I have not even thought about the blog. Tomorrow is our last day here at Clallam Bay, Washington. We have been blessed with some wonderful neighbors, Jan and Ray Burley. They are locals as they live in Salkum, not far down the highway. Jan reminds me alot of my sister Shirley and Ray reminds me of my cousin Benny Joe. It was an instant like and they proved to be fantasic neighbors.  I will miss them. Ray went out fishing and showed us some of his day's catch. He caught a King Salmon that would not fit into the cooler... I think it was 18 pounds...

They shared some salmon and whitefish with us. Jan taught me how to cook it the way she does and it was great! Thanks, Jan.

We took a trip around the peninsula on the Highway 101 Loop. It was an all day trip of around 35o miles. Coming around the Pacific Ocean side we went through three rainforests. It was a bit of a shock to see so much of the land had been clearcut. They have replanted in most areas but the growth of large trees take years. In one section just coming out of a rainforest Phil had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting a young wolf pup that ran across the road in front of the truck. It didn't look old enough to be weaned so somewhere close there had to be little mates and/or mama. What a privilage to get to see him so close up. Naturally, it happened so fast that I never had a chance to get a photo of him. The fog hung around the coastal areas all day but I did manage to get a few good photos. Here is one of the pacific coastline...

We stopped at the Timber Museum in Forks so that I could get a photo or two...

The log hut...

But in all our driving around the loop I really think that we are staying at the best spot. We have the beach directly in front of us. From the kitchen window I get to watch the activities that take place there. I love watching the children with the treasures that they find. Even Phil has been beachcombing for treasures also. Here he is with the first starfish he found...

I think my greatest find was the leopard seal warming it's self on a rock...

Tomorrow is going to be a work day, packing up and getting things ready for the ride down the road to the next place somewhere in Oregon. We are going to the Portland area but haven't made up our minds as to the exact location. Our two week stay here has been wonderful. Listening to the waves crash against the shore has been soothing to the soul. But I am ready to see what is at our next stop. America has so much beauty everywhere you look. The towns are unique and the people we have met have been great. Life is good when you spend it dancing with the angels... Those you can see and those that you can not... does not matter... Just Keep On Dancing....

THE VIEW OUT THE KITCHEN WINDOW

I love this life and my kitchen window. It is my window to the world being that I am staying inside and cleaning. Still doing the washing but the carpets have been shampooed and the girls have been bathed. I decided to give the whole house and everything in it a good going over after my mouse experience.

From my kitchen window I watch the cruise ships coming in and going out.  Their lights at night are something to see.  Then there are the cargo ships and barges that travel the strait. I watch fishing boats of all shapes and sizes. Along comes an occasional white sail of a sailboat. The children running on the beach hunting for treasures being followed by the adults at the water's edge. I watch the fog roll in and listen to the sounds of the fog horns. I can also see the Lighthouse lights shining over the point beyond this little harbor town.

As I was preparing my lunch today and finishing up washing the breakfast dishes I glanced out the window to see a young immature bald eagle swoop down on a flock of seagulls that were sitting on the beach. I watched as the gulls took flight and he turned to come back through the center of them. Then I grabbed my camera and took off outside.

What I think happened is that the young eagle in his inexperience lost his hold on the gull  he caught causing it to fall back into the water. I was in time to see the eagle circle and come back for another swoop on the gull. This first photo shows what I am seeing from the patio...

The next photo is a close up of the eagle. Same photo, I just enlarged one section of it. When you look closely you can see the attack on the gull.The gull has it's wings up in the air...

The gull is flaying it's wings and the eagle's inexperience causes him to miss. He flies back up into the air, circles and returns for another try.

After three tries to recapture his lunch he gives up. Here he is sitting on the beach watching his lunch swim off...

Then from over the tree tops comes it's sibling to try it's luck at snatching the gull from the waves...

After three tries the sibling also gives up and lands beside the first young eagle. Both young eagles stand and watch the gull escaping...

The gull is injured and can not fly but there is nothing wrong with it's feet and it is making good time heading towards the rock jetty. I wonder if the poor gull is doomed to a life of flightless hardtimes or a slow death when I see the adult bald eagle fly down and circle back toward the gull.

As she lines up for the kill I realize that it is for the best. The poor seagull will not suffer a slow death and will have the chance to be reborn to once again soar the skies in freedom. Who knows maybe next time it will be the eagle.  

May The Angels Surround You  With Love, Joy, and Peace.

May You Always Dance With The Angels...

SALISH SEA

Nestled on the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Salish Sea lies a sleepy little fishing village call "Clallam Bay Sekiu". It is on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula in the north west coast of Washington state.  My first view of this little bay nearly took my breath away...

We are here during their off season so there is room in the RV Campgrounds. We found a campground overlooking the beach which is across the road. The above picture is the same beach. Here is a view in the other direction...

The dark blue strip in the clouds is actual Vancouver Island, Canada. Which is seventeen miles away. They are hidden by a fog bank today. But I do not want to forget the things I saw getting to this beautiful beach. The Northern Cascade Park was an magnificent place with it's old growth forest. We decided if we return there we would never call ahead because the section they reserve is a bit too primative and you have a good chance of being put into a site with an old table covered in moss and hard to walk in because of rock or roots. But as for picture taking their beauty stood out. Sort of reminds be of a table that you would find Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws sharing, don't you think...or maybe, a hobbit and his friends...

We enjoyed our stay there but in the end I was glad to be on the road to finding a Walmart to purchase Dcon. We found we had mice in the house. I don't do mice! I'm still looking for an electronic mouse repeller but in the meantime Dcon will take care of the problem. I've cleaned the cabinets and washed everything and tomorrow I shampoo carpet and mop the floors. I am not sure where we picked up the mice so I cannot say it was here. It is just one of those things that any camper can find if they do not put out the decon, rodent repeller, and seal the holes. Rodents are known to get into mansions too, lol.

But back to the trip. We enjoy all but the traffic in the Seattle area...

I did manage to get a photo of the Space Needle and the harbor...

But the most awesome thing I saw was when we topped the crest of a hill and there in all it's glory stood Mount Rainier. I am sorry to say that the picture is a bit blurry because of having to point and shoot in a hurry without being able to chose my shot nor steady the camera. But with  the photo does show the mountain that I saw before me. That is not a cloud in the center.. it is a snow topped mountain. The tallest in the state of  Washington.

Today Phil is going to take me on a sight seeing tour up the coast to the end of coastal road. It is as far northwest as one can get in Washington. We were told of a naval base, puffins, and a Native America Reservation at the far point. So, I will close and get the camera for tomorrows Blog. See you then.... But meanwhile.... KEEP ON DANCING WITH THE ANGELS!

SUNDAY AT THE CAMPSITE

The sun is hanging low as it peeks through the forest casting light upon the shadows. It has been a peaceful day. Almost makes me want to curl up with a good book. The park has emptied of the weekend campers.
Yesterday, we needed to purchase gas for the generator and a few food supplies. So we drove up Highway 20 until we found a large food market. Most small towns have small grocery stores but the prices are high as well the price of gasoline. It was a nice drive with lots of beautiful sights along the way. There was one waterfall that was high up on the snow topped mountain that was georgeous. I took two photos of it. In the close up of it you can see the beauty but not the height, nor the river below the mountain. Still this photo is the best for sharing...

We passed a herd of elk and Phil stopped in the wildlife viewing area so that I could get a picture of them. They were quiet a distance away and I couldn't get the zoom any closer without bluring the image. After I took the photo they spooked and took off for the woods...

Just down the road aways there is a ranch that raises buffalo. They were resting and grazing. Phil dropped me off, went down the road and turned around to pick me back up. I got several nice photos of them. But I think the one I like best is the mama with twins. In the next photo you can see it was a fairly large herd. I didn't get them all in one photo as they were scattered out...

We spotted a little realestate store that was very dressed out with an eagle mural on one side and a driftwood fence on the other. Here is the mural...

The fence looked like someone had drug it up from the river and then carved faces and animals out of it. Guess we know what they do in the long winters up here lol. But seriously, the carvings show talent and are great...

The store also had carved logs out front of it. But I think the best wood carving other then the faces on the driftwood fence has to be the wooden indian in the next town. It stood out front of another realtor's log cabin office...

Earlier in the day Phil took me to see the historic cave that is inside the park area. It was used many years ago by the Native Americans of this area. This photo of it doesn't do it justice as you cannot see the size nor depth...

Here is Phil being the tourist guide lol...

It seems that all of the weeds here have beautiful blooms. I have no idea what the names of them are but here is on example...

While we were shopping Phil caught a fresh salmon right out of the supermarket. He grilled it on an outside fire today and we feasted like royalty. The salmon was acompanied with baked potatoes and salad. That was the first time I had tried salmon that had not been frozen. I am hooked lol.

Well, once again it is that time so I will say.... May Angels Wrap Their Wings Around You and May You Dance Through Life...

Keep On Dancing!

NORTHERN CASCADES

Leaving the Hungry Horse Montana area was hard as we didn't want to leave such a beautiful area. We drove a few miles down the road when we saw a "wreck" sign placed at a curve. We watched a wrecker pulling a car onto it's wheels. A man was doing about thirty miles an hour around a sharp curve and hit loose gravel causing the car to skid off the road onto it's top. He wasn't injured but his car will need some body work. We had well laid out plans about where we wanted to arrive at. But getting there is half the fun. I have discovered that I am going to have to start taking notes during the journey. So much happens that I tend to lose the time, places and area in which to place the photos and events.
I do remember Libby, Montana, aka "The City of Eagles"...

Amazing little town with eagles on ever major corner, on signs, on roof tops, and on murals. The one above is on the main street into the business section of town. It reminds me of a gateway. Looks to be wooden but it really is metal that has been painted. Also there are murals everywhere you look, such as this one below...

 But not all murals were eagles as there where elk, mule deer, mountain goats, and bear. As this photo shows...

When we arrived at Farragut Park in Idaho we were not impressed because it was totally geared for the tourist. Even to the point of having a big amusement park just a mile away. It reminded us of Yellowstone and Disney World combined so we drove on down the road. We found a park that was too expensive for what it offered but it did fine for getting a night's rest and moving on down the road the next morning. As we were setting up the camp we looked up to see two young mule deer with their antlers still in velvet. I managed to get a few photos before a crowd of people caused them to leave...

We saw miles and miles of wheat farms. There were also miles of lava rocks scattered throughout them.

Then we went through the Colville Indian Reservation. We were amazed at how friendly the Native Americans were. We have been through other Native American Reservations but didn't find them all that friendly. Here they were the ones that started the conversations and were very enjoyable. At a gas station a guy asked if we were going through the town of Keller. He informed us that it had been declared a disaster area because of a storm the night before. Seems that had we not stopped at the campground when we did then we would have been very close to the area that the storm hit. The photo below was taken at Omak, Washington. It is  a metal works representing Chief Joseph.    

And then we start the climb up into the Cascade Mountains of Northern Washington.  The views are spectacular. Phil decided to pull over to let the traffic pass and take the dogs out...

Phil is alot braver than I am. He went down into the draw to see if he could get a picture of the stream that we were hearing. What he found was a sheer dropoff before he could get to that stream so he came back up without the picture...

After that it was fasten seat belts, lock doors and enjoy the roller coaster ride. I had to replace my camera batteries from taking so many pictures of snowy mountains, lakes, and snow in the forest and near the roads...

The mountain with the snow on top is the area we are headed. Below are a few photos I took on the drive getting there.

And the photo below is the sign for the park campgrounds that we are staying in. We are on what is called the Cascade Loop Scenic Highway. It was constructed in 1979 and until then there were no road in the Northern Cascade Mountains.

We are just a few feet above the creek that runs through the valley. Our campsite is really beautiful and peaceful. But the tent campsites  just below us post bear warnings. One was seen last night at the ranger's station just short distance down the road. There are bear signs all around the area. Phil showed me what to look for like the fresh tearing up of rotten logs as they are looking for grubs.

I will leave you with this wish.... That Angel Wings Surround You and Lift You Up When The Going Gets Tough....Just Keep On Dancing!