Summer Photos: Western Washington

We have a few photos from our recent summer in the Northwest. It was a whirlwind few weeks full of house projects, connecting with family and friends, and time spent outdoors. Along those lines, Cata teamed up with Uncle Ben to for her first backpacking trip to Second Beach on the Northern Washington Coast. It's about a 1.5 mile hike each way, and while there was a fair amount of complaining, Cata had a great time.

Beach Photos:

We also got the opportunity to do some car camping, which started with a sail boat trip to Blake Island with some of our friends (above) and continued with a trip around the Olympic Peninsula. Starting with the beach near Ocean Shores, we made a counter-clockwise loop around the Olympic  Peninsula and saw some places we had not been in many years.

Afternoon at the Bogachiel

One perk of being home for the summer is enjoying some local seafood. Some Hood Canal beach shellfish (left) and in the pan (below), as well as some trout from a local lake that were invited home for dinner (further below). 

A few other photos from a couple weeks in Union

MacGillivray's Warbler

American Kestrel

The start of the Bear Gulch fire was visible from the timberland near our house (Above). This fire burned for nearly 4 months before it was contained. Left is the Skokomish River from the High Steel Bridge. The bridge is the tallest railroad bridge in the US, built in 1929 and converted for car use in 1950. 

Cute Spring Mallard Family

The Douglas Squirrels around our house are also quite cute (also hell on our birdfeeders)

Spotted Towhee

We decided to check out Fjordin Crossin in Hoodsport. In Norway, there is a tradition of sending a barrel of Aquavit (a caraway or dill flavored liquor) in a ship to cross the equator and then returning it to Norway. The Hardware Distillery in Hoodsport organizes an event where people turn up with their watercraft (some dressed like Vikings!) to accompany a barrel across the Hood Canal and back. It's a quirky, fun local event celebrating local business and Washington's Scandinavian culture.