Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Hiking in Paradise – Nisqually Vista and Myrtle Falls
We covered a lot of ground in Paradise last week for the short amount of time we spent at Mt. Rainier; just one night at Paradise Inn gave us access to many wonderful hikes without the crowds.
We managed to take 3 of them – two short ones the first day and a longer one the next (Snow Lake which I’ll save for later.)
First up was Nisqually Vista.
Nisqually Vista
This easy paved trail provides great views of the mountain and meadows filled with wildflowers.
(Pictures in the galleries can be enlarged by clicking on them.)
It also leads to views of Nisqually Glacier.
Mt. Rainier has 26 glaciers, more than any other in the conterminous United States.
Nisqually is the most visited and longest studied glacier on the mountain due to its proximity to Paradise.
I found this simple definition of a glacier on the USGS website –
“Glaciers form where more snow falls than melts over a period of years, compacts into ice, and becomes thick enough to begin to move. A snow patch becomes a glacier when the deepest layers begin to deform due to the weight of the overlying snow and ice.”
Notice how massive the glacier must have been in ages past by the size of the valley surrounding it. The bottom of the glacier is hard to discern (at least to me) due to the extensive debris cover. Still, you can see the snowmelt flowing out of it which is the source of the Nisqually River.
Afterwards, we checked in to Paradise Inn and took our second hike of the day after dinner, just before sunset.
Myrtle Falls
The trail to Myrtle Falls – easily one of the best in the park – starts behind the inn and provides fabulous views of the mountain and meadows, along with a gorgeous waterfall
Staying overnight allowed us to see sunset cast its beautiful glow on the mountain.
“The hills are alive with the sound of music!” I thought.
And not a bad backdrop for a wedding, either.
~ Susanne
Hey there! It’s International Cat Day!
I couldn’t let the day go by without celebrating these two wonderful felines, different as they are!
Tiger the senior, a sweet boy if not a bit clueless.
“Who me, Sue”
“Yes, Tiger, you. But don’t change, I love you just the way you are.”
And Benji the upstart, who always makes me laugh.
“Who me, Sue? Why?”
“Because I never know where I’ll find you. Which makes life interesting!”
“So Happy International Cat Day to you both! Extra treats are coming your way!”
~ Susanne, Tiger and Benji
Summertime in Seattle means the Blue Angels!
You know that summer has arrived in Seattle when you hear the jets overhead!
The real show is at the Hydroplane races today, but we caught the Blue Angels practicing over Lake Washington yesterday at the end of the Cedar River Trail.
Sharing with Sunday Stills.
~ Susanne
Waking up with the Mountain – A Night in Paradise
Location – location – location.
Look closely and you’ll see the Paradise Inn where I spent the night earlier this week.
Yes, I know. I’ve posted about Mt. Rainier again and again; twice in the last month alone! But this is wildflower season and to make sure we’d beat the crowds, I booked a night at the Inn and got to wake up with the mountain.
Now, I’m not normally an early riser but when the light started coming through the window, I jumped at the chance to get the early morning light and was out of bed by 5:30.
(I passed Bob in the lobby – he IS an early riser – and saw the look of shock on his face. ‘Who are you and what have you done with my wife?!’)
I said good morning-goodbye, then hurried outside with my camera.
I was out for an hour or so and had the trails mostly to myself save for a few other photographers. I didn’t venture far from the Inn – I didn’t have to – all this was right behind me.
After taking too many pictures I returned for a latte and drank it outside with this view of the Tatoosh Range.
The Inn is a classic.
Built in 1916 it’s a quaint and rustic place to stay – and the only place to stay other than Longmire. The room was small but comfortable.
The food was another story! We’d hoped to have a nice meal in the dining room. Unfortunately, the boiler went out the night before, so we had our choice of hamburgers or hotdogs from the grill outside. Let me just say, they were adequate, so we didn’t starve. Uh-huh.
I’d do it again just to wake up on the mountain.
I’ll have more stories to tell from our visit including two hikes and more wildflowers. But this will do for now.
~ Susanne
Monday in the Garden with the Cats and the Birds
Heat wave’s over – hooray! I prefer my blue skies with a few clouds.
After the longest string of high temperatures in Seattle history (mid-nineties 6 days in a row) our normal summer weather has returned.
This morning I sat in the backyard with my latte, enjoying a cool breeze as the sun rose above the trees.
I was hoping to see the hummingbirds feed but they’ve been in short supply this summer. Perhaps the intense heat has kept them hidden away during the day, as it has me.
I saw them last night in the trees above when I had the sprinkler going, their silhouettes reminding me of a circus performance.
Afterwards they came down to feed.
This morning I hid in the shed hoping to see them up close but the cats blew my cover.
Those little birds are smart and feed after I’ve turned my back and walked away.
Not that they’re afraid of me exactly. They know where to find me when they need a refill and come and hover to get my attention. (Not when I have my camera in hand, unfortunately.)
The largest bird that visits my garden is actually the most skittish, hiding in the shadows until the coast is clear.
He drops down to wash his food in the birdbath and I clean up after he’s gone. I don’t begrudge him; all birds are welcome in my garden, even the crow.
~ Susanne
Happy Caturday from Benji!
You may have seen this one before but it’s one of my favorites.
Happy Caturday from Benji! 🙂
~ Susanne
The Ultimate Road Trip – Down the Oregon Coast
My dear hubby and traveling companion mentioned recently that he’d like to take a trip down the Oregon Coast.
“It’s been a while,” he said.
I laughed.
Actually, it hasn’t. We went twice last year; and every year before as long as I can remember.
My reply: “How about this fall?”
Why not, it’s a classic!
Just cross the bridge from Washington over the Columbia River and you’re in Astoria, ready to take the scenic route on 101 for the next 364 miles!
The hard part will be deciding where to stop and for how long. You’ll be tempted by every beach and small town you see and there’s an endless supply of both.
Click on pictures in the galleries to enlarge
Don’t forget the lighthouses, unique and beautiful. You have 11 to choose from – here’s a few.
And what’s a trip to the coast without stopping at the Oregon Dunes, “one of the largest expanses of temperate coastal sand dunes in the world,” according to the U.S. Forest Service website. Enjoy the views from the overlooks, take a hike or two, or if you prefer, rent a dune buggy!
And while you’re making your way through paradise don’t forget to enjoy the sunsets over the Pacific.
I can hardly wait.
Sharing with Sunday Stills.
~ Susanne
Busy Bees and Elusive Butterflies
We finally got the heat wave the rest of the country has been experiencing. Yesterday it was a blazing hot 97 degrees and we’re still expecting temperatures in the mid-nineties the rest of the week. It’s been too hot in my office to blog.
But today I was up early with the windows open and cool air coming in so I thought I’d bring you some pictures while I can.
It may be too hot for me, but the bees seem to be thriving.
And I’ve been tracking the elusive butterfly for several weeks now.
I’ve seen one or more swallowtails fluttering around in the garden high among the trees, teasing me it seems. I have lots of pictures like this. 😉
Still, I’ve been persistent and finally saw one land and stay still long enough for me to get some pictures.
When it did, I noticed its tail seemed a bit ragged.
Do these beautiful creatures fight? Did a bird take a bite?
Apparently, it’s not uncommon for them to have some damage on their wings and continue to fly and function.
Hopefully I’ll get more photos of them whole, but this will do for now.
~ Susanne
Outside at Last – A Reminiscence from Tiger
A true cat tale from the Tiger archives.
* * * *
This was some years ago when I”d been rescued from the cat jail and was settling into my new home.
I was relaxing on Sue’s desk when I felt a strange tingling on my neck and knew I was being watched.
I turned around and saw black eyes peering at me through the window.
I was not afraid, no not I, but Sue came unglued and started yelling, “Bob! There’s a raccoon on our roof!”
The next thing you know Bob’s pumping up the BB gun, running outside to scare off the old bandit. It took me a while to settle down after all the commotion but settle down I did and pondered – there really are raccoons!
What else was out there? Up till then I’d been an “indoor cat” – I even hate the name, no offense to the rest of the kingdom. In my previous lives, I wasn’t allowed to go outside – not even a short walk in a fenced yard. Never got to hunt in the wild like my ancestors did or jump in the air to grab a flying creature. Instead, I had to content myself with a stray spider in the house, a slow-moving housefly or worse yet, chittering at crows and squirrels through the window.
Well, I thought, this raccoon may set back any efforts to go outside. Still, I vowed to continue working on it so day by day, I stood by the sliding glass door, crying pitifully, with sad eyes. I promised I would stay inside the fence and always come in at night when called. (Uh-huh.) And as the days grew longer and the sun grew brighter and the squirrels began running frantically to and fro, begging me to come out and play, Bob and Sue FINALLY opened the door!
And for that I will always be grateful.
~ Tiger
Scenes from Hood Canal – Dosewallips, Bald Eagles, and Camp Parsons
Hood Canal is one of my favorite places in Washington, wild and beautiful and chocked full of memories. But Hood Canal is not a canal at all but a fjord, a long and narrow inlet of Puget Sound. Originally called Hood’s Channel by Royal Navy Capt. George Vancouver in 1792, it ended up on his charts as Hood’s Canal, and finally became Hood Canal in 1932.
I spent many summers at my grandparents’ place on Hood Canal at Pleasant Harbor, in Brinnon,
and later at my mom’s after she moved there too. I also spent a few days every summer at Camp Parsons not as a camper but as a counselor for summer camp.
Despite my familiarity with the area there’s always something new to discover as we found out on our recent trip to Port Angeles, when we took the scenic route home around the canal. Ha! It’s all scenic!
We found a new hike at Dosewallips State Park and what a hike it was! Over the river and through the woods! Well, over a creek, and through the woods, with the river in the distance.
“Dosewallips State Park is a 1,064-acre, year-round camping park with 5 miles of shoreline on Hood Canal and the Dosewallips River.
“The park’s moss-carpeted forest and glacial river slope down to a shell-strewn delta on Hood Canal, a delight for clam-diggers, anglers, boaters, birders and beach explorers.
Guests may share space with the local elk herds that wander through camp. (Stay back 100 feet, and never offer food.) Bald eagles have been seen on the beach and great blue herons flock to the river.”
Washington State Parks website
We didn’t see elk this time but we’ve seen them before. Or should I say, they saw us?
We did see bald eagles and great blue herons as we continued on around the canal.
By then we were past Camp Parsons but I have pictures to show you of that beautiful place from an earlier trip.
One of the oldest Boy Scout camps in America, Camp Parsons has been in operation since 1919. For many years our church rented it for a few days every summer for Bible Camp and Bob and I went to serve as counselors.
Back in the last century we had boundless stores of energy. We rose up early, hiked all over the grounds from cabins to dining hall to craft lodge to campfire and back to cabins again for (hopefully) a good night’s sleep, surrounded by happy kids.
We slept in rustic open air cabins, fished off the dock, sang around the campfire, listened to the Word and made many lasting friendships.
It was wonderful; I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
And that’s enough for Hood Canal.
Till next time.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 