Day 35: Busy with work and fun...

(Sorry, but the pictures loaded in reverse of tonight's narrative, so just follow them from the bottom up.)

We broke away from work this weekend, and had a weekend of fun.

We went to the Lavender Festival, which draws people from not only different states but different countries as well. Let's just say, it makes for some interesting "people watching."

This morning I received a call from a co-worker telling me there was a herd of elk in town! So, Star, Alex, and me got into the truck and drove across town. There was a herd of at least 25 in one of the City's well fields. We were within about 100 yards of them, when some of them starting standing at alert. When the male started eyeing us, that was as close as we ventured. Well, except for Alex. As he started heading towards them and away from the vehicle, I reminded him how quickly one of them could run his little rear end down. He heeded my advice :-)

Later in the day, we took Alex up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park and went on a hike to Hurricane Hill. This time we remembered the camera. We had just finished our hike in the picture with Star and Alex. The mountain we climbed is in the background behind them. If you look closely in the other picture, you can see a piece of the trail. Alex was able to play in some snow up top, and we saw bunches of wildlife today. The close up picture is of Mount Olympus in the distance. I had the zoom at about 8X for that shot.

We just wrapped up our weekend roasting some oysters on the grill a friend dropped by for us.

I'm quickly getting spoiled by the weather around here. Another weekend in the mid to upper 70s with lows at night in the upper 50s. We have had 3 rains since arriving, and all of them were just drizzles. Sorry, but I'm not missing the heat and humidity at all.

Take care,

Ben and Star

Day 20: Happy 4th!

Yesterday, we took a trip over to a wonderful little city next door to us. Port Townsend is an eclectic place with a really laid back atmosphere. There are plenty of shops, restuarants, and bars along the waterfront with little outdoor eating areas everywhere. We didn't know it before hand, but it was also the filming location for the 1981 movie, "An Officer and A Gentlemen". We were able to get a couple of decent pics of Fort Worden, where most of the movie was filmed. The old Fort is now a vacation destination, and an area where artists live and work. I thought the concert area was really cool. It's an old hangar converted into a stage.

Today, we have been mostly hanging out close to home. Later, we are headed to Port Angeles to listen to some music and watch the fireworks.

Hope everybody has a great 4th!!!...Ben

Me, too. Ya'll enjoy those fireworks! Star

Day 19: Miscellaneous...

TOP: On the ferry, headed to Victoria BOTTOM: Star enjoying the roses that grow like weeds in Victoria.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Alex next Wednesday night at the Seattle "TAC"

Airport. Suddenly, the Rankin's are covering the globe. Hopefully, Adrienne has reached her destination at Oxford. If you are reading this, Star and I are thinking and talking about the two of you almost constantly.

On a side note, I found the Sequim Crime Report listed in the newspaper this past week to be highly amusing...

Loaned car to person who will not return it

Requested call regarding speeding vehicle

Flashing bright lights in alley behind Prairie St.

Horse accident, DNR Road

Deat cat in front of home

Dog pacing, laying in roadway, Towne Road

No voice, just loud humming on phone (???)

Cars parked in road near beach

As you can tell, it's extremely dangerous to be on the streets of Sequim. Dead cats, dogs pacing, and cars parked in the road ;-)

So, I've only been at work 7 days and already get to enjoy a holiday...nice. It couldn't come at a better time. Yesterday afternoon (Thursday), Star and I decided to go explore a new area after work. We drove to the Hurricane Ridge area of Olympic National Park, which is about 33 miles or so from our house. The road steadily climbs upward the entire way from the park entrance to 5,250 above sea level. Along the way, there are incredible views looking back down on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Vancouver Island, and Mount Baker. As you go deeper into the park, however, you are suddenly looking face to face on the big snow capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains. We both decided quickly that Hurricane Ridge rivals anything Star and I have seen in our journeys, including the Teton Mountains last summer. None of the peaks are over 8,000 ft., but the elevation gain is as drastic as any mountain range in the lower 48. For example, the Tetons are as high as 14,000 ft, but they start rising from Jenny Lake at around 6,700 ft. Here on the Peninsula, the mountains start just above sea level and rise to almost 8,000 ft.

At the Hurricane Ridge parking lot and observation point, we saw glaciers in the distance, deer wandering the ridge, an incredible display of wildflowers, deer, and SNOW. Yes, there was snow piled up in one shady corner of the parking lot. Considering it was about 8:00pm, the 59 degree temperature on the ridge wasn't too bad either.

Sorry, we forgot the camera, so there are no pics. Honestly, I don't see how a camera could possibly catch it all anyway.

It has really warmed up this week. The thermometer topped out at over 80 degrees for the past two days, and today is shaping up to be even warmer. For the first day since our arrival, I walked outside into a warm early morning sun. Every morning prior, it has been somewhere in the 50's.

Yesterday, we had an on-site meeting for an upcoming project to replace a small bridge along Sequim Bay. As I stood there looking around, I kept thinking to myself, "I can't believe I'm working in such a beautiful setting." You could see the boats out in the bay, and the squawking of two hawks flying overhead. Sometimes, all of this beauty makes it tough to focus on the task at hand...Ben

Luckily, Ben's meeting was not at 8:30, since I got up to answer the phone about that time and ripped open my leg. Fortunately, he was calling and, when I said I needed stitches, was home quickly. They put in 14. (Kudos for the Urgent Care here--they took me right in, perhaps because I was bleeding all over the waiting room.) I still can't look at it, but it doesn't hurt. It just keeps us from hiking this weekend. I guess we'll have to take the top down and go for a drive. You can go in almost any direction and play tourist, so I'm good with that...Star