NE Washington at my Dad's April 20-22

Last weekend I took Friday and Monday off, and Dave and I went to visit my family at my Dad’s. He lives in a fairly remote area of NE Washington, and it is thick with wildlife.  And with my family there, it was also thick with food and laughter.  : )  He lives at the edge of a slough, so not only does he get all the regular wildlife, but all the water birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians as well.  The only thing I haven’t seen there yet is a bear or a moose. 

My Sis, Rose- My Bro-In-Law, Chris- My Dad, My Bro, Jim- My Mom- Dave- Me- Odin & Cedar

Here is Dad and Dave looking out over the water.  One of my Dad’s only rules is to leave your worries at the gate.  We did, and decided it was a most excellent rule.

Various shots of family, Cedar, and Cedar’s cousin Odin.

Mom and Dad at the campfire.

My bro, Jim, with one of his rare-but-nice smiles.

Me and Cedar- you can barely see him over the grass.

There is a bird feeder at the patio and we all enjoyed watching and photographing the various birds- chickadees, finches, sparrows, downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, and even a couple bright yellow male goldfinches made an appearance.  The squirrel came around now and then to clean up the seeds that got tossed to the ground. 

Other birds we saw- although this is not even close to all of them- were blue heron, mallards, Canada geese, mergansers, wild turkeys, eagles, and osprey.  One osprey came right in front of us, dove to the slough, and came up with a fish in his talons!  It was beautiful, and I wish I had been able to get a video or picture.

I was a bit surprised to see that the turtles were already awake and enjoying the spring sunshine.

Here is one of the many deer that wander through Dad’s yard.  They counted 10 at one time, while we were off on a side trip.

My sister and her husband took us sightseeing in the area (and to get more ice cream).  We drove out through the countryside and to Sullivan Lake.  It was super warm on the beach and we all skipped rocks and lazed about for awhile.  After that we went to the old Mill Pond spillway.  It was really cool and there was a short walk to some old cabins and the remnants of the old log flume.

Chris and Rose getting different views.

Me at Sullivan Lake

The canoe is always fun at Dad’s. Dave and I decided to take it through this culvert.  : )

It was an excellent visit that went far too fast.  We spent a day coming back home on Hwy 2 instead of taking the freeway.  Dave was able to visit an old friend he hadn’t seen in years, and we also took a side trip to the Grand Coulee Dam and Dry Falls.

Just West of Leavenworth there was a cool spillway that was just frothing with water.  The rivers are all really full with snow melt-off. 

And to wrap our trip up, we spotted a bear up on the hillside.  Awesome! 

4th of July Weekend - Hwy 20 to Northeastern Washington

For the 4^th of July weekend, Justus, Adventure Dog and I headed to NE Washington to visit my Dad, brother, sister and her husband.  The weather was terrific and we took Hwy 20 which is a pretty drive from start to finish.  Much more beautiful than I-90 in most places.  We stopped to camp at Lone Fir campground Friday night and enjoyed the sound of a nearby creek for a lullaby.  I got to try out my new tent too!

The next morning we hiked to Cedar Falls, which had a trailhead not far down the highway from there.  It was a pleasant 3.5 mi round trip hike.  Not much elevation gain, and it was warm even in the morning, as the sun not only hit the trail, but reflected back off the hillside. 

We hiked up the trail, hearing Cedar Creek far below and birdsong and enjoyed many wildflowers all the way- lupine, Columbia lily, Indian paintbrush and penstemon among others.

Cedar Falls itself was beautiful as well, and we were glad we had done this nice leg-stretcher before continuing on.

Once at my Dad’s we spent several relaxing days fishing, eating, panning for gold, canoeing and just sitting around chatting and relaxing.  It was a rejuvenating weekend.  We saw deer, turkeys, osprey, eagle, beaver, muskrat and turtles.  The water level was really high, which made things a little different.  The pontoon raft below is captained by my brother, Jim, and in the canoe it’s Me, Justus and Cedar.  Poor Cedar got a fish hook in his chest over the weekend.  It didn’t seem to hurt him to pull it out and it healed nicely.  Luckily it was a new hook with no rust. 

The last night we were there we all went up and enjoyed spending a couple hours freezing and being eaten by mosquitos while watching fireworks.  Happy 4^th of July everyone!