Archive | October 2012

More trip

Oct30

Cori was getting pretty bored with riding and staying in camps where she wasn’t allowed out without a leash. She did get some runs and some tennis ball chasing, but I think she’s happy to be home again.,

If you know what this plant is I hope you will post! I love this giant (at least a yard across these leaves!) and would be willing to try it here, tho it might want a wetter climate that we could offer it. This one was in Tillamook, Oregon in the camp across the street from the Tillamook cheese factory which we visited.

This appears to be the fruit or flowers of the plant.

I think this was taken in Port Angeles, WA. Looking across the bay you can see Canada. Without passports, which we never got around to getting, this is as close was we’re going to get.

The real Pacific Ocean at last! I love those crashing waves! It’s cold and there’s bound to be an undertow

but I can watch and listen for hours!

A gull watching for ‘groceries’ to be washed in. He was running back and forth with the waves, staying just out of the water.

Some pretty flotsum.

Those slug-like shapes on the rocks which were waaay below us, are sea lions, napping on the rocks and occasionally quarreling over the best spots. Just ignore the old flower head in front.

Here are some more lions. They were just ‘going with the flow’ of the tide, laying in a group in the water. I guess if you spend your life in the water this is a comfortable way to take a nap! lol

And the one napping elk we saw. This is the last Wild life photo, too. After this we turned inland and headed home.

 

 

 

North to Washington… and back

Oct30

We’re home again. It was a nice trip tho parts were less enjoyable than others. We spent most of the first day visiting with Les Schwab. In case you aren’t familiar with that gentleman, he sells tires. He sold us 6 that day. Two for the truck which we had planned to buy and 4 for the 5th wheel, which we had planned to put off until winter. They had other plans! lol But we had no tire worries for the rest of the trip, which was good as parts of highway 101 would have been a test of an old tire!

But we got to Monroe and the Fiber Fusion North West  event and tho we enjoyed the company, the sale was pretty much a bust and I doubt we’ll return again. We left there and headed for Seattle where we visited the American Girl Store and REI and both of us spent our allowance! lol

Then we headed west to the Olympic Peninsula, a part of the country we had not visited before. The weather, of course, decided to be wet and rainy but we enjoyed it anyway. We road the ferry, this was a first for me, and saw the rain forest, shipping, viewed Canada across the bay, and finally down into Oregon and the Real Pacific Ocean. I love watching the waves. Once we got into California again the skies cleared up and we got to walk on the beach once before we headed inland and home. Here’s some trip pictures.

Our booth at the fiber fair.

A view of the volcano of Mt. St. Helens in Washington. It blew ion 1988, I think.

Randy standing the the bow of the ferry. Not exactly a classic movie shot but we didn’t sink, either, so that’s okay with me! lol

Here’s the truck and trailer parked on the ferry.

Looking back as we left the ferry. We’re on the islands, now. Next to get off this island was the ‘floating’ bridge.

Most of tie trip was foggy or raining but it was still interesting and Very Green. I did not get a picture of the looong green tunnels between the fir hedges. Thousands of trees of the same size jammed together in large plantations.

The rain forest was even wetter and most of the trees were covered in long grey green or yellow green moss ‘beards’ like these. Too wet for man or animal but there were lost of these, including, they said, a large heard of elk.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition was not thrilled with this camp on the coast of Washington. I think they got there in about the same time of year as we did when they named this spot. lol

Well, it looks like I have jammed things up so will post the rest a bit later. The sun did come out as we got south so they pics will be a bit cheerier!

Rain?

Oct13

Our promised rain… well, they said 60% chance…. turned out to be 40% that it wouldn’t. Not a drop. Very disappointing as we really do need it and our rain is very late this year. This storm all went north of us it looks like, tho we did have our first little fire last evening. I’m going to have to turn the water back in the garden. But it’s been cool enough nights that all but the Kale and the other few cool weather plants have done. I picked the last of things yesterday.  There are still quite a few tomatoes that I’m hoping will at least show a little color before frost so that they can ripen indoors. A late cold spring and a long cool dry fall do not make for good gardening. But here’s yesterdays harvest. The little green melon would have been a cantaloupe but the vine died so it was only starting to show some orange. Bummer. The apples are windfall, those on the tree are better after frost.

We are getting ready to leave for the next show. It’s near Seattle, the Northwest Fiber Fusion, on Oct 20-21, in Winston at the fairground. If you are in the area do come by and see us. And Randy wants to visit Grizzly Tools, which is in the area, so I get to go to the American Girl Doll Store! I’ve never been to one so I am excited. I am going to take Addy and see if they can do something about her hair in the salon, there. Meantime, I made a couple Halloween outfits for them. The knitted Sweater is a pattern from a Ravelry knitter,  Jacqueline Gibb. The woven one is mine, ‘stealing’ her Boo idea, but Kanani doesn’t need a heavy sweater in Hawaii, after all! Hope your autumn is going as it should!