Ping pong and Elk
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Canoes
We’ve been playing ping pong. Jim is noticeably better than I am. So I’ve decided that when my points total 21 I win. We’ve played 8 or so games and I have 17 points. At one point I resorted to using my feminine wiles. When Jim protested I told him, “Hey, if you’re going to use your hand-eye coordination then I’m going to use what I’ve got”
Went on the loop drive around the lake while it was raining. Stopped at a beautiful waterfall that we are going back to tomorrow with a camera. Hopefully I’ll be able to capture something of the beauty. Great drive through the rain forest and along the Quinalt River. After crossing the river for the return along the north shore we came across a herd of elk. They were feeding along in the forest within a hundred yards or so of the forest. A guess only, but we think it was a large 12 point buck with a dozen or so mules. Elk are very large even in the distance. Every now and again one would stop and stare at us but otherwise they didn’t care.
Down the road a bit was a sign, “Watch for trucks.” Just past the sign was a bulldozer blocking the road. A nice NPS employee came up to tell us about the blockage. “You win” Jim told him. He chuckled and said at least the colors matched. Jim asked him about the “carpet” they were burying. Turns out they put a thick fabric, similar to landscape fabric, down under the road to slow down the mud and plant growth. It seemed to work better than the asphalt sections of the road, which seemed rougher than the gravel
Back at the lodge, we played another couple of hands of cribbage and read a bit. When the bar opened, Jim walked up and ordered two martinis. The women behind said, “Nice. Civilization is wonderful.” Nothing like going on a hike in the rain and coming back to nice hot shower and a good Martini.
Northwestern cribbage tourney stands at Jim 6 Nadya 5
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Lake Quinalt
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Nadya, Travel, VictoriaRelated posts:
September 13, 2004 Comments Off
More beer!
September 13, 2004 Comments Off
Walking in the rain
We slept a straight 12 hours, got up and headed out for a walk. Since I’d only had half a cup of coffee and no breakfast I wasn’t sure how far I wanted to go. So we settled on a 1 mile walk to a half mile nature loop. It had lightly rained off and on and I was nicely warmed up so we decided to take a longer loop back. We hadn’t gone 12 yards when it started to really rain. We tried waiting it out under a spruce but the rain settled in. Since Jim had discovered in England that his coat isn’t really waterproof we set out at a brisk pace. Even at that blinding speed I managed to take in some of the amazing lushness and variety of the rain forest. By the time the trail turned into wooden walk over the cedar bog the rain had turned to sprinkles and we could stop to admire the mushrooms. Oh and I Saw a 3 inch brown frog who hopped across the trail. Jim pointed out how happy that frog looked far away from any actual distinct body of water.
Through the cedar bog and I pondered how hard it would be to build a trail and not have things grow from it. Trees grew from trees and ferns grew from rotting stumps. The ground is so soggy in the bog the trail is a timber path about two feet above the forest floor.
When we passed the last information sign, about a half mile before the end of the trail, Nadya called dibs on the shower. Jim called dibs on the first irish coffee. Guess who won?
Things to get/do
* new jacket for Jim
* water proof spray the camera bag
* tiny umbrella back in bag
* small towel for, bag
* small tripod?
* always bring Irish whiskey
* get the remote release
* stiff brush
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Coffee, England, Nadya, Travel, VictoriaRelated posts:
September 13, 2004 Comments Off
Lake Quinalt Lodge
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Bunnies
Lake Quinault Lodge
On the lawn behind and all around the lodge are rabbits. We asked about them and were told someone left a few domesticated rabbits a couple of years ago. Now there where about 25 feral rabbits on the grounds. Seems it is true about rabbits. Over heard on the deck was the tale of a mother cougar that brought her kits to the back lawn to learn how to hunt rabbits. The guests in the dinning room were aghast, so the story goes.
Cribbage tournament stands at Jim 4, Nadya 3
ping pong tournament, Nadya 8 points
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September 13, 2004 Comments Off
