Disappointment

Fog rolling in

A disappointing day on the weather front.  We left Seattle this morning and decided to swing by Mount Rainier on our way to Mount St. Helens.  The clouds did not want us to enjoy ourselves too much today.  As we approached Mt. Rainier via Stevens Canyon Road and Paradise Valley Road all we could see really was heavy fog.  The views would have been stunning had there been clear skies.  We'd been pleased had it been even partly cloudy.  Unfortunately it wasn't ideal weather conditions for photography.  You could certainly tell that if one could see through the fog the views would have been beautiful.  We'll have to make a return trip at some point and hope for clear weather.

Cooper wakes up to noise

Male Sooty Grouse

We were able to see something new because as soon as we entered the 'official' Park Entrance off in the middle of the first pull over was a group...or flock...of grouse.  The male was in full display mode.  He was making vocalizations like crazy which caught Cooper's attention. Now if the Bend's Resident Game Bird Man would confirm our identification of a Sooty Grouse (our 1st choice)...or maybe it's a Dusky Grouse we'd be appreciative of his expertise.

Female Sooty

Mt St Helens

We did have a bit of sunshine as we neared the exit from the Park so we could have one last picnic in the area.  Cooper enjoyed his chip and slice of ham.  On we headed on a forest service road which eventually led us to Mount St. Helens.  Got to say the road was fun to drive...the motorcycles zooming past really seemed to like the rolls and pitches.  The official name for the area is Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument...had always figured it was a National Park.  We really felt the need to go see the volcano for a couple of reasons- the event occurred during our lifetime and on Bill's birthday.

Trees blown down by blast

Spirit Lake- trees 'floating'

It is astonishing the amount of destruction that occurred in the area and is still visible.  Few if any trees have rotted...they are still laying where the blast blew through and flattened them.  Spirit Lake has a massive amount of dead trees at one end...floating? It's hard to tell what the trees are doing.  They could be floating or laying in layers of mud. The area really does have an eerie beauty to it.

Mt St Helens- blown out side

The most disappointing part of our day was the amount of cloud cover on Mt St. Helens.  It was windy, cloudy with a few drops of rain and a COLD 49 degrees.  Weird that Medicine Bow Mountain at 10,000 feet was warmer that the measly 4200 feet overlook on NF-99 (National Forest road 99).  No great view of the blown out side...still it was an amazing site to see.  It seems that we will have another area we'll need to revisit in the future.  Now if only we can get a guarantee of a clear, warm day.


*as always click pictures to enlarge

It's Raining in Seattle...what's new about that?

It's a washout kind of day so nothing was done...except for quite a bit of napping by the fellows.  No one wants to see another picture of that do they?  Our sitter is coming shortly to pick up Cooper for a play date while we're at the rehearsal dinner for Gabe & Leanna.

This could prove interesting for Cooper...he loves his people.  We're not sure how he's going to react to someone he's just met take him away from his people.  Pretty sure his conversation would go a little like this:

Cooper..."Where's dinner?" "Does she know to add something extra?"  "Wait!! Does she know about giving me a snack at 9 PM"

It's all about his stomach and the need for us to feed it.  We're pretty sure it's why he keeps us around.

Golden Eagle

Evacuate!

Since someone failed to post the Golden Eagle shot for our trip out to Rainer yesterday we'll leave you with it and a few other goodies.

I've seen signs for Snow Route, Snow Removal, and Hurricane Evacuation, but never for Volcano Evacuation...may be the best road sign ever!

Flowers- no idea what

More flowers- still no idea

Compare and Contrast

Cooper- no stress, no worries

Window washing

Today was all about the driving in traffic...city versus country.  We evidently are back country drivers.  The traffic in the city started making us twitchy and it didn't take long.  As you can tell Cooper wasn't feeling twitchy at all.  He wasn't feeling much of anything...no stress and no worries.  Another thing that made Cindi twitchy...window washers.  She marveled at how they could work while suspended by rope over the side of a building. 

Space Needle from Kerry Park Overlook

This morning we decided to take the opportunity to drive into the downtown area to scope out the location of this weekend's wedding venues.  While we were waiting on our oldest and his wife to arrive it seemed like a good way to hang out in the city.  Did not count on the craziness of the traffic.  Heading into the downtown area we noticed a few things...people drive really fast,  people are really impatient, and the roads are not marked in a clear, concise manner.  The most important thing we learned is that our GPS is wonderful...got us where we needed to be, eventually.  We started wondering how on earth did people drive about this city before GPS.

Mt Rainier

Gravel road to Mt. Rainier

We met up with the kids for lunch and a little catching up.  Afterwards we headed our separate ways.  They headed down to the ferry for a trip out to Bainbridge Island.  We decided to head out to Mount Rainier rather than go out on the ferry.  Far easier with the dog to head out to the mountains than off on the water.  We drove fairly close to Rainier on a gravel road that wound itself up through areas that had been logged not too long ago.

Playing with water

Along the way we found snow on the side of the road and lots of small waterfalls that the melting had created.  We could not take Cooper on any hikes in the Park...those pesky rules.  We could only play around along the roadway.  It was a good day even though we could not hike any of the marked trails.







When we got back to the city and turned to look behind us we caught sight of Mount Rainier one last time. 

City view of Mt Rainier

Butterfly and flowers

Mount Rainier

Dry road to Seattle

We left Boise this morning and headed towards Seattle to attend the wedding of Gabe and Leanna.  Our plan was to drive straight to Seattle by way of Interstate Highway, without our usual side trips...of course it didn't happen.  We left the Interstate in Yakima, WA and headed towards the Cascades and Mount Rainier.  We really could not pass up a scenic highway or byway especially when it's 'on the way'.  The weather seemed to be good and we hoped that the sun was shining on the volcano.

Traffic delay- behind

Traffic delay

As we got on Rt 12 it was pointed out to the driver that there was a highway sign alerting us to the possibility to of traffic delays..."possible 45 minute delays."  Not fun...the driver stated 'they're lying' and off we went looking for a spot to have lunch.

Lunch by the river

After lunch by the river we continued on up the mountain taking in the huge pines, the river and wondering about the lack of traffic delay.  Again it was mentioned that they lied about the delays.  As we got to the top of the next ridge...stopped traffic.  People were out of their cars taking pictures and walking dogs.  It was then mentioned 'maybe they weren't lying'.  It appeared that the delay was due to blasting and cleaning the rock debris off the roadway. 

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier

Right around the curve from the blast site we had our first view of Mount Rainier...sun shining and bright blue skies against the bright white snow.  Stunning view that we had to ourselves for a few minutes before traffic descended on the overlook.   We stopped at a few overlooks on our way to Seattle, but the sun was shinning on the snow too brightly to photo well.  It really didn't matter it was still a beautiful sight.

Glacier on Mt. Rainier

Tomorrow we're going to wander around the city of Seattle a bit...that'll be different. 

More Sawtooth

Sawtooth Range

Back to the Sawtooth Mountains today for another reconnaissance mission.  We decided to head out to Sun Valley, Idaho...of course we took yet another Scenic Byway called Ponderosa Pine.  Interestingly this road out of Boise had a few spots along the way that had pull offs for skiing.  Not sure how crazy you would need to be, but if you got a ski/ride permit  you could take off through the trees and head downhill.  Pretty sure you'd need a second car for the return back up or be much younger than ourselves to climb back up that mountain.

At one stop we noticed this really tall 'stick' and a small sign attached at the top.  If they actually get 12 feet of snow all we could think was WOW!  The area must get quite a bit since right next to it are signs for road closure and avalanche warnings.

As we entered Ketchum and Sun Valley two thirds of the group was sound asleep...thankfully the female in the group was awake and driving.  She reports that the slopes at Sun Valley look interesting...the crowds not so much.  Not much else to report other than to wonder how crazy it must be in winter.  Since she was driving and the photographer was napping just use your imagination and picture a mountain with ski runs all over it...can you see it?

Tiny Chippy

Pronhorn

On our way back to Boise we found a herd of pronghorn grazing in a field.   A fair number of young were running around.  We always enjoy watching the pronghorn...so unique to the West. We also had a picnic with the cutest and tiniest chipmunk we've ever seen...they are not afraid of cars or much else it appears.

Boise Couthouse

Tonight we decided to wander to downtown Boise to see if we could find a nice place to eat outside...97 degrees with 9% humidity!  We found a interesting Italian place with outdoor seating.  We asked if the dog could join us outside, all was good...our server even bought out a dog bowl of water.  The owner even came by to chat for a bit about the Boise area and our dog...Cooper has another fan.

Tomorrow we head to Seattle...thinking that we'll take the interstate the whole way, but you just never know what we'll actually do.

Cooper's new friend

More Cranes

*as always click picture to enlarge

Finally Have My Eagle

Elk on the run...young ones too

Tonight we find ourselves in Boise, ID...home of the magical blue field.  We followed another Scenic Byway along the Salmon River through the Sawtooth Mountains.  The weather today has been less than stellar...cloudy with periods of rain and thunder.  We did manage a short hike out to a herd of elk that we saw from the highway outside of Stanley, ID.  They didn't take too kindly to being interrupted by Cooper and us...took off for the woods when the wind shifted towards them.  Cooper enjoyed his free time looking for ground varmints.  He poked his nose in more holes and came up empty...again.

The Great Hunter

Male Bald Eagle

Other than the elk we finally were able to sit and watch a couple of Bald Eagles along the Salmon River.  It appeared to be a male and one juvenile eagle sitting a few branches down in a large Cottonwood.  We kept looking for the female and after a bit we noticed the mate up on a nearby hill top.  Before we left there was another mature eagle flying through the air...it didn't stick around once the pair made their presence known.  So excited to see that many eagles in the same space...finally.

Juvenile...may be female

Female on top of hillside

Intruder Bald Eagle

In one of the open meadows outside Stanley we also spotted a small flock of Sandhill Cranes.  No young that you could see in the tall grasses though.  The last time we managed to find cranes they were so far away we couldn't get a decent shot.  Today they were a bit closer to us walking along in single file.

Single file...Sandhill Cranes

So excited...not

Tomorrow it's back to the Sawtooth...let's hope the weather improves so we can hike a bit before heading to Seattle.  Not sure Cooper can take all of this excitement.




*as always click the pictures to enlarge