NAVAJOS IN MONUMENT VALLEY

 July 14, 2013

We have left Monument Valley and we are now in Tucson.  But the last day we were in Monument Valley we took a tour back into areas of the valley we had not seen before.  We had a Navajo guide and we saw arches and rock formations not on the self-guided road access.  We also saw petroglyphs.


The picture on the left is a Navajo woman who was sitting in a tradition hogan demonstrating rug weaving and preparation of the wool into yarn for weaving the highly prized authentic Navajo rugs.  She spoke Navajo and it was translated by our guide.  The wool for the rugs is from the sheep they still raise on their land.

At the visitor's center we enjoyed watching a couple of dancers decked out in colorful ceremonial garb dancing to Navajo music.

The dancer's costumes had little metal pieces sewn into them and when they danced they create a jangle matching the beat of the music.  The beautiful background of monument valley, the dancers and traditional Navajo music, all helped create a very special sunset.


This last picture is taken at a placed called John Ford Point.  He was the director of the famous John Wayne westerns filmed in Monument Valley.  They say he would go out to the point every morning to sit and overlook the valley and think about the day ahead and how he would shoot the scenes for the movie that day.  Today there is almost always a Navajo man on a horse who goes out and sits on the point for photographs - $2.00 to take his picture.

We will be in Tucson for a week or so to visit with Scott and have some fine tuning done to our motor home.  It's a little warm here, but I like Tucson.  We're going to check out a photographic museum on the campus of U of A tomorrow.

MONUMENT VALLEY

July 7, 2013

We left Moab, Utah this morning and drove about 175 miles south to Monument Valley.  We're staying at the campground at Goulding in Monument Valley.  Goulding was established in the early 1920's as a trading post by Harry and Leone Goulding who conducted business with the local Navajo people.  The Gouldings were responsible for bringing "Hollywood" to Monument Valley when they convinced John Ford to use the beautiful setting for his film, Stagecoach, starring John Wayne.  Monument Valley has become an iconic setting for many other westerns since.  Even the current movie, "The Lone Ranger" was filmed in the area.  

We went to a popular overlook to take pictures of the sunset tonight.   The wind picked up suddenly and clouds blew in.  We could see rain sweeping across parts of the valley.  We didn't get rained on, but the wind blew in some great clouds for a nice sunset photograph.   

Sunset at Monument Valley

We're staying in this area for four days.

ARCHES AND CANYONS

July 5-6, 2013

July 5:  This is a picture of Landscape Arch in Arches National Park.  It may be hard to tell from the photograph, but the arch spans about 290 feet from end to end and is thought to be the longest rock arch in the world.  It was a nice hike up to the arch.  At one time the trail led right up under the arch.   But in 1991, some hikers were sitting close by when they heard a cracking and then what sounded like a thunder clap.  They were hearing the sound of a huge section of the arch breaking away (on the right side where it looks the thinnest).  The trail under the arch has been closed since then.  A photographer actually caught a photo the event and it is on display along the trail to the arch.

Landscape Arch, Arches National Park

July 6:  Today we drove into Canyonlands National Park.  This is a view down into an area of the canyons where you can drive down into it.  Notice the car driving on the dirt road in the photograph.  It is over 1600 feet down a sheer cliff if you don't pay attention and drive off the road.  (Not a good time to be text messaging.)  You can see the road at the bottom of the canyon as well.  We didn't take this road because our little car doesn't have four wheel drive or a very high clearance.

Scenic drive, Canyonlands National Park

This is a picture from a point where you can see the Green River that helped carve out this area of the park.  The Green River meets up with the Colorado River within the park and is a popular place for whitewater rating because at the confluence the rivers create a lot of turbulence.  You can see a dirt road along the white rim of the canyon.  The road stretches 100 miles along the rim and takes about 2-3 days to traverse.    The area is really awe inspiring because it is just so vast and extreme.

Green River Overlook,  Canyonlands National Park

Tomorrow we will leave the Moab area and travel south to Monument Valley.

4TH OF JULY

Parade participant

July 4, 2013



Yesterday was the 4th of July.  We're in the small town of Moab, Utah.  So we decided to take in the small town atmosphere and go to the local parade.  The parade circled around the little city park just off the main street.  It was a slice of Americana.  After the parade, there was a band playing patriotic marches in the gazebo while children played in the grass or ate snow cones and cotton candy.   There was a watermelon seed spitting contest, a dunk tank and pony rides.  

In the evening we went back to Arches National Park to hike up to a view point and see the show piece of the park, Delicate Arch.  It was 100 degrees during the day and it was still pretty warm for the hike up.  It was only a mile and a half, but it was a climb.  We made it there for sunset along with lots of other folks.  A photograph doesn't really do the scene justice because it's hard to get a perspective of how large the arch is or how precipitous its perch is on the edge of a sandstone cliff.  

In this picture I used a wide-angle lens so you can see the people around the arch and get an idea of how large the arch is.  One day, this arch will fall as wind and rain continue to erode the sandstone.  There are many other arches in the park in various stages of development and deterioration.

Tomorrow evening we'll go back to Arches and explore the "Devil's Garden" area of the park.

SUNRISE AND SUNSET ON THE ROCKS

July 3, 2013

We have now moved from the cool, green mountains and valleys of Teton National Park, to the high desert of south eastern Utah.  We're staying in Moab, Utah for 5 nights.  Moab is situated on the Colorado River.  The area around Moab is popular with off-roaders, mountain bikers and river rafters. Arches National Park and Canyon Lands National Park are within a few miles.  The massive red sandstone rock formations are dramatic here.  There are many natural stone arches, tall rock fins and monoliths carved by the winds, water erosion and time.   It's beautiful to go out at sunrise and sunset to see the play of light and shadows against the rocks and open desert.  

Sunrise at Arches National Park

Canyon Lands National Park is known as "Utah's Grand Canyon."  This picture was taken at a famous location known as Dead Horse Point.  Legend has it that cowboys back in the 1800's used the point to catch wild horses.  With sheer cliffs on all sides and an access on 30 yards wide, it was a perfect place to herd wild horses.  The drop from the top of the cliff where we were standing, to the bottom is 2,000 feet.  At the bottom you can see the Colorado River as it turns the bend.  It was a beautiful place to watch the sunset last night.

Sunset at Dead Horse Point, Canyon Lands National Park

CREATURES BIG AND SMALL

June 29-30, 2013

Yesterday we went to the Menor's Ferry area of Teton National Park.  The settlement was built by one man in 1894 for the purpose of establishing a ferry to allow people traveling west to cross the Snake River.  The original cabin he built along with a general store he added later are still standing.   We were there early and since there were no other visitors when we got there, we spent quite a while just talking with the docent guide.  Turns out he spends the winters in Yuma and the summers in Teton.   

After visiting there, we took another drive along the northern loop within the park.  As you can see from the pictures, spring brought an abundance of babies to the wildlife living there.  In addition to seeing lots of baby buffalo, we were lucky to catch a glimpse of a mother moose and her baby in the shade by the river.  

Mom and baby bison

Mom and baby moose

There are lots of buffalo in Teton and they go wherever they want.  But there were areas where there were fences and we were wondering how they were able to get around the fences and cross the roads as we had seen them do.  Well, we figured it out when we saw several of them just jumping over the fences.  They don't seem all that nimble until you see them do something like this.  We also saw one running full speed across a field one day toward the road.  We were wondering if he was going to run straight across the road.  There were cars coming and it looked like it would be hit.  But he actually was charging at a couple of women who were walking into the field to take pictures of the baby buffalo.    The women started running and then he stopped.  But he got within 15 feet or so of them.  So, it may look like these big guys can't move, but they can move fast when given a reason.  I took my pictures from a distance with a zoom lens.

Don't fence me in

Today is Sunday, June 30th.  We left Teton this morning to head south.  We just pulled into our campground in Heber, Utah.  This area is famous for fly fishing in the summer and snow skiing in the winter.  Not sure what we'll do here.  We will be here for two nights and then head to Moab, Utah.

SUNRISE IN THE TETONS

June 28, 2013

We started the day off with a beautiful sunrise at a very scenic point on the Snake River.  There was mist rising up from the river and the sound of birds chirping made for an almost ethereal feeling as we watched the sun come up over the majestic Grand Tetons.  

Sunrise at Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton National Park

After the sunrise we took a short drive through the meadow just past the point in the bend of the river in the scene above.  We saw another photographer pulled off on the side of the road and that always means there's something special to see.  We weren't disappointed when we saw two bears just a few yards from the road.  One bear ambled off into the brush, but this one was concentrating on digging something out of the ground.  He looked up casually to see we were there, but didn't seem concerned until several other cars stopped to take a look.  He then scrambled off to the woods.  I don't know what kind of bear this was - but it wasn't a grizzly, although there are in the park.

Bear encounter

In the afternoon we took a drive into Jackson Hole to check out the old town square.  It reminds me a lot of the square in Sante Fe.  We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the square.  The town is a bit crowded and touristy, but I guess this is the height of the tourist season.

Tomorrow we're going to check out an historic area where settlers established a ferry to cross the river. There are historic buildings there and the guides dress in period costumes.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

June 27, 2013

Today we took a drive from Teton National Park up to Yellowstone National Park for the day.  I know you can't do Yellowstone National Park justice in just one day, but we also didn't want to get so close and not go there at all.  So we decided we'd just see what we could in the day we had.  We went first to the Old Faithful Geyser.  There were so many people there, we decided not to wait around there for the Geyser to go off, but to just move on to another area.  We've both seen the geyser go off several times before.  The crowds in Yellowstone were pretty intense in every view point and area we stopped.   This picture was taken at my favorite spot in Yellowstone, Artist's Point which overlooks the upper falls in Yellowstone canyon.  

Artist Point in Yellowstone Canyon

On our drive through Yellowstone, we encountered a HUGE bison taking his time crossing the road.  I think this was the biggest bison we've seen so far.   The picture was taken through my windshield, so it's a little fuzzy.

Bison crossing the road

 We also spotted this elk casually dining along the side of the road.  We pulled over to take a picture (along with lots of other people).   We never did see any bears.  I can remember coming here when I was a kid and we saw several bears.  I did read that they have tried to remove the bears to areas within the park that are less populated with tourists.

We may go into Jackson tomorrow to check out the town square.

CREATURES BIG AND SMALL

June 26, 2013

A couple of Bison

Home on the range where the deer and the buffalo roam...  We did see lots of bison today and actually we did see lots of prong horn deer, but we weren't able to get close enough to the deer to get good pictures.  We're still looking for moose.  Haven't seen any yet, but everyone says they are around.   We went to one overlook where there were signs not to hike the trail because of recent bear activity.  There are black bears and grizzly bears in the park.

This is a picture of a bird I saw flying into the hay loft of one of the old barns in the area.  These birds are very common in this area, but I don't know what they're called.   I also saw several blue birds, but they're very hard to photograph.  They just don't sit still long enough.

SQUIRRELS!!     

The ground squirrels are everywhere.  They're kind of fun to watch.  They make sounds like birds to warn  the others when people are getting too close.   Hillary goes kind of crazy when she sees these guys running around.

In the evening we took a drive over to Signal Mountain and had dinner at a place overlooking Jackson Lake.  It's a beautiful place with the lake in the foreground with the mountains as a backdrop.


Tomorrow we're going to Yellowstone National Park.

A PLACE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

June 25, 2013

Today was our first full day in Teton Park.  We had a nice drive around the inner loop of the park.  We stopped to take pictures of this famous old barn.  It is the most photographed barn in the U.S.  The barn is part of an old community built in the early 1900's.  The area is known as Mormon Row.  It was once a thriving Mormon community of 33 farms, a church and a school.  There are still many old cabins and houses in this area, but most are not occupied.  There is one though that is a cute bed and breakfast.  Bison wander freely in the area.  

Moulton Barn

As you can see from the photo, Hillary is enjoying the scenery as well.

The wind and rain kicked up in the late afternoon and completely obscured the mountains.  But in less than an hour everything had blown through and it was a nice sunset.  Tomorrow we're planning a hike. (Dogs aren't allowed on the trail though, so Hillary will have to stay behind.)

SPECTACULAR GRAND TETONS

June 24, 2013

The Majestic Tetons

Today we made the drive from Pocatello, Idaho to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.  It's hard to describe just how beautiful this place is, and pictures don't do it justice.  We will be here for a week and since Yellowstone National Park is just a short drive from here, we'll probably do a day trip there as well.  We've already seen several eagle's nests with eagles in them and a herd of at least 100 buffalo in the park.  Eagles' nests are so easy to spot because they like to build them up high on telephone poles or on top of bare trees along a lake or river.  Tomorrow we're going to do the inner loop drive in Teton and hopefully see more wildlife and birds.  I bought a new set of binoculars to help.  We'll see Jenny Lake tomorrow and I have vivid memories of swimming in the ice cold lake as a kid.  Hopefully there will be some nice pictures to post tomorrow.

MOUNT ST. HELENS TO POCATELLO

June 20-23, 2013

Driving along the Columbia River Gorge

 I wasn't able to post to my little travel blog the last couple of days.  I didn't have internet available.  We didn't really do too much sight-seeing, because we've been sticking to the interstate to get to our next big destination of Grand Teton National Park.  But we did pass through another very scenic area that we really should have planned to stay in for a few days; the Columbia River Gorge.  After driving through Portland, we got on Interstate 84 to head east.  We drove right along the river for over 150 miles.  There are several waterfalls on one side of the road and the river is on the other side with lots of shipping traffic, lochs and dams.  Lots to see.  We traveled a total of 275 miles from Silver Lake, Washington to La Grande, Oregon.  We spent two nights in La Grande.  We had some housekeeping things to do, so we didn't do a lot of sight-seeing, but we did hear there was a cute little town down the road called Union, so we took a drive one morning to see it.

Old Rexall Drug Store in Union, Oregon

We were pleased to see that this small town still had a small independent drug store right on main street.  Because Steve and I have fond memories of the Rexall store on main street in Belton, we decided to go in and check this one out.   It was cool to see that they had a working soda fountain with all the old fittings.  We enjoyed having an ice cream cone and talking to the lady that works there about how the man that owns the store is a pharmacist and how he's determined to keep this little store open as it has been for years.  Not an easy thing to do when he competes with the big chains 25 miles down the road.

Steve enjoying an ice cream cone from the soda fountain in Rexall

This is a picture of one of the old homes in Union, Oregon.  Such a cute place.  

Today (June 23), we drove 423 miles from La Grande, Oregon to Pocatello, Idaho.  It was all interstate.  Lots of open, flat land with dry looking vegetation in eastern Oregon.  Lots of agriculture along the interstate in Idaho (more wheat than potatoes).  So many bugs on the windshield, Steve had to get the ladder out at the rest stop to clean it and then clean it again when we got to the RV park.

We will just stay in Pocatello one night and then drive on up to Grand Teton.  We will stay there for a week.   Hope the weather stays nice.  I think Teton is one of the most beautiful places in the U.S.

ANOTHER RAINY DAY

June 20, 2013

Sasquatch (aka: Big Foot)

Today we were hoping the weather would clear and we could see Mount St. Helens crater.  However, it was even cloudier and rainier than it was yesterday.  So we went to the Forest Learning Center instead.  It was definitely worth visiting.  There were lots of displays and videos about the volcano, the biology in the area and the dramatic changes that have taken place since the eruption in 1980.  Because there was such devastation after the eruption, even scientists felt it would take decades to even begin to see the return of plants and wildlife.  But even they have been amazed at how fast vegetation has returned.



On our way back, we spotted Big Foot and he was kind enough to pose for this picture.

Peggy's Place for lunch

We stopped at this cute little place for lunch.  It sits along the Toutle River.  This cute little place was outside of the blast zone of the volcano.

Hillary lounging around

Hillary's always happy when we get back from our sight seeing.  Sometimes she goes with us if we're going to do a hike or be outside.  But today she had to stay behind.

Tomorrow we leave here and plan to be in La Grande, Oregon tomorrow night.  The drive should be nice because I-84 goes along the scenic Columbia River and Gorge.

MOUNT ST. HELENS

June 19, 2013

Sunset at Mt. St. Helens RV park

Today we traveled from Sequim, Washington to the Mt. St. Helens area.    We retraced our route on Highway 101 along the Hood River Canal.   It's a pretty drive.  We met up with I-5 south to get to the north side of Mt. St. Helen's.  We set up the RV and then headed out for a drive up the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway to Johnston's Ridge Observatory which is situated on the side of Mount. St. Helens where the lateral explosion from the eruption in 1980 occurred.   On a clear day you can see the volcano's crater and the lava dome that is rebuilding within it.  However, today was not a clear day up on the mountain and we were only able to see the lower part of the blast area.  We're hoping it will clear up tomorrow and we will go back.  Johnston's Ridge is named after the ham radio operator who volunteered to stay up on Mt. St. Helen's and report what was happening prior to the eruption.  No one really expected the lateral explosion that took out the entire side of the mountain.  Johnston died in the seconds after the blast, but not before radioing "Vancouver, Vancouver.  This is it!"   Scientists knew the eruption was imminent, but they had expected an upward explosion and possible landslides.  They didn't know there was so much pressure building within that when the landslide started, it released enough mass that the pressure inside would create an explosion from the side.   It's hard to even imagine the energy it took to literally move half of a mountain.  But that's what happened when the volcano erupted.   Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to get pictures if the clouds clear.  The blast zone is really sort of hard to describe.  Fifty-seven people died when the eruption occurred. Overlooking the valley and the portion of Mount St. Helens that is visible below the clouds, what happened over 30 years ago here is still clearly evident in the geography.

The picture above is taken from our RV park.  It was a pretty sunset and since I didn't get any pictures of Mount St. Helens, I thought I'd share this one.

A FAMILY VISIT

June 18, 2013

Today Steve and I took our car onto a ferry to cross the straight of Juan de Fuca (Puget Sound) to Whidbey Island. The ferry ride takes about 30 minutes.   It was a beautiful day, the water calm and the ferry so big, you could barely feel we were on the water.   These ferries are so large, they can transport up to 50 cars.  On our way back on the ferry, there were two semi trucks and 20 cars.  

When we got to Whidbey Island we landed at Coupeville and from there it was about a 15 mile drive to Oak Harbor where my aunt Marie and my cousin Penny live.    We visited for awhile at Marie's cute little cottage and then met Penny at a restaurant for lunch.  It was so much fun seeing them.  Marie is always a lot of fun to talk with.  She has such a spark for life.  

Steve and I with my aunt Marie 

I mentioned on my blog yesterday that we had visited a local lavender farm, but I didn't post a picture.  This is what one of the fields looks like.  They grow different varieties and they bloom a different times.  So there's always something to harvest.  They make lotion, sachets, creams, soap, oil and lots of other things from the lavender.

Lavender field

We could easily spend another week or two in this area.  There is so much more to see.  We didn't get a chance to go to the San Juan Islands, Victoria or Seattle.  We'll have to come back again next year and see all the things we missed this time.  Tomorrow we leave this area and will drive about 175 miles south to Mt. St. Helens.

WHALE WATCHING IN PUGET SOUND

June 17, 2013

Today was special.  We took a small whale watching boat from Port Townsend into Puget Sound.  We spent about an hour at full throttle heading west from the port to meet up with a pod of whales reported to be entering the sound just west of Vancouver Island.  We met up with not one, but two pods of Orca whales.  These whales are also known as killer whales.  However, this particular species of orcas are fish eaters and thrive on the salmon that swim along the shores of the San Juan Islands.  This picture was taken facing north and the lighthouse and land you see in the background is Canadian.  

Orcas in Puget Sound

The pods of whales we saw are "community" whales.  That is, they are whales that stay in this area.  There are actually three separate pods in this area with 90 whales total.   These whale pods are matrilineal.   We also saw sea lions and a bald eagle on one of the sand bars on our way back into port.

Orca Pod

Steve on whale watching boat

Tomorrow we're taking our car on a ferry over to Whidbey Island.  That will be a new experience.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

June 16, 2013  

Washington wildflowers

       
 We didn't get back until late last night, so I didn't get a chance to post.  Today was another busy day of exploring this diverse and interesting area.  I love all the beautiful wildflowers growing along the side of the road here.  There are fields covered with white daisies and poppies.  And there are lots of flowers  and blooming shrubs that I don't know the names of.     

* * * * * * * * * *

In the morning we went to the local farmer's market.  There were lots of local artisans and crafts people there.  This lady was spinning wool.  She makes hats and headbands from the fur of dogs and if you gather the wool from your own dog, she'll spin it and make a hat for you from it.  Interesting....        After the craft fair we went to visit one of the local lavender farms.  There are many of them in the area.  The plants thrive in the very moderate climate here.   There are acres of beautiful shrub like plants with a very pleasing scent.  We are just a few weeks early for their full bloom of purple.  We left there and went to check out a popular area for bird enthusiasts along the Dungeness River.  There's an old train tressel bridge there and they've turned miles of old train tracks into paved bike paths.  We saw lots of birds, bikers and a couple of beagles.                                                      

Sequim Sunday market

In the evening we went south a bit to a town called Port Townsend.  It's an old port city and they have maintained their main street in all its Victorian splendor.  Nearly every building on main street was still in pristine condition with plaques dating them around the 1880's and placing the main street on the National Register of Historic places.  It was very impressive.  This town is an active fishing port and also has the ferry that goes to Seattle and Whidbey Island across Puget Sound.  

Port Townsend Victorian building

Port Townsend lighthouse

Today we drove back to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.  We were 

there the other day, but it was cloudy then.  Since it was clearer today, we decided 

to go back and see if the views were different.  We were able to see a much

more expansive view of the entire mountain range today.  We saw several

deer along the drive up.  

This is a picture of the lighthouse at Port Townsend.  The lighthouse in the picture was built in 1913.  It sits out on a lower point than most.  After we took pictures, we sat and watched several big cruise ships pass by, as well as some huge trans-ocean commercial ships.  The ships enter Puget Sound and sail down to Seattle.

Hurricane Ridge

After the drive up the mountain, we decided to go check out a tide pool area.  This picture was taken at Tongue Point just west of Port Angeles.  Once again, it was a beautiful place to spend some time.  Steve went down and explored the tide pools while Hillary and I sat on a bluff and just enjoyed the scenery.  

Tongue Point - Port Angeles, Washington

Tomorrow we are scheduled to go on a whale watching trip.  We're hoping to spot some Orca (killer whales) out in the Puget Sound.

BEAUTIFUL WASHINGTON

June 14, 2013

Today we drove about 90 miles to another section of the Olympic National Park.  We also drove to the coastline.  We went to a beautiful beach in La Push, Washington.  The beaches here are isolated and look as they would have to the explorers who first saw them hundreds of years ago.  At this beach, we were just a few miles from the farthest northwest point in the contiguous U.S.  There are no hotels, restaurants, beach houses or anything man-made for miles and miles along this part of the coast and most of it is only accessible by hiking in.   This point is one of the few that is accessible by car.   

Beach at La Push, Washington

The picture below was taken in the Hoh rain forest in Olympic National Park.  It's located on the western slopes of the Olympic mountains.  There are spruce trees in the rain forest that are some of the largest in the world measuring over 270 feet tall.   Parts of the western slopes of the Olympic mountain range get annual rain fall that is measured in feet instead of inches - up to 12 feet in some areas.  Yet where we're staying gets less than 12 inches of rain a year because it is in the "rain shadow" of the mountains.  The town we're staying in is on Puget Sound and averages 300 days of sunshine a year.  It is apparently a popular retirement community.  

Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park

One of the towns we drove through on our way to the coast was made famous in the Twilight book series.  Of course, we had to stop so I could have my picture taken next to the city's welcome sign.  We also stopped at the Chamber of Commerce where they are very proud to point out all of the locations in town that are referenced in the book or were scenes utilized in making the movies of the book.  The town of Forks' economy is based almost exclusively on logging and Twilight tourism.

Forks, Washington (Location of Twilight book series)

Tomorrow we are going to check out the town of Port Townsend.

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK

June 13, 2013

Today we began exploring Olympic National Park.  It will take a couple of days to see even a small portion of the park.  Olympic National Park spans an area that includes the isolated glacier covered Olympic Mountains, coastal beaches and a rain forest with over 12 FEET of rain a year.   Lakes, rivers, waterfalls, wildlife, old growth forests, alpine meadows, glaciers, rugged peaks, coastal rock formations, tide pools and hiking trails are just some of the highlights of Olympic National Park.  Roosevelt declared 648,000 acres of the Olympic Peninsula a national park in 1938.  Today we explored just a very small segment of the park.  

Madison Fall, Olympic National Park

We drove up a beautiful 17 mile windy road to an area called Hurricane Ridge for an expansive (but somewhat cloudy) view of the snow capped mountains of the Olympic mountain range.  While we were enjoying the view of the mountains, these black-tailed deer were grazing in the open meadow and were completely unconcerned with our presence there.  It was a cool 40 degrees.  In the afternoon the clouds cleared and we have a great view of the mountains out of the front windshield of our motorhome in the RV park we're staying in.  Tomorrow we're driving to the west side of the mountains to the Hoh Rain forest.

Olympic National Park wildlife