Our latest field trip was sparked by friends Tom and Sharon, who asked us this week whether we had visited Mount Walker yet. They went on to describe the awesome views from this "smaller" mountain, so how could we resist? To see some pictures of our trip, please click on the colored links below or start HERE and scroll through the pictures..

Fog blanketed our area when we woke up on Saturday, but we could see it would be shortlived, so off we went. We drove north to take a ferry from Edmonds to Kingston. Just as we arrived in Edmonds, so did the fog, so the ferry was much behind schedule. The mist was still lingering in places, as we made the crossing. A convention of cormorants greeted us as we docked - they balanced on every available perch...what a sight!

For this trip, we brought the GPS and the laptop. As we headed towards Mount Walker, near the town of Quilcene we passed two lost-looking old ships, adrift in a field. A little farther on was a small sideroad, with a rather nondescript-looking sign and an arrow pointing to Mount Walker lookout - "a chance for a fine view of the eastern Olympics". The view at the first clearing almost took our breath away. A little to the north of this, we could see the skyline of Seattle, and even further north was Mount Baker. A local visitor pointed out many of the landmarks to us, including Bangor Submarine Training Base. Another vantage point offered us up-close views of some of the Olympic mountains. All this beauty notwithstanding, our eyes were drawn again and again to the magnificent Mount Rainier.

After we had finished a picnic lunch at this lovely spot, we headed down the mountain and followed the road southeastward, along the western edge of the Hood Canal. We made some additions to our "Great Names" collection, - Hamma Hamma, Dosewallips and the Duckabush River. One surprising sight was a herd of eleven elk, grazing beside the road. The scenery along this little-travelled route, as always, was beautiful. As well as the mountains, we saw water birds such as herons, cormorants and others we could not identify.

We're always on the lookout for what we call "whimsies". A sign at the side of the road drew our attention, and we stopped to take pictures of the quaint display. We both really liked this figure, and its poster. Our route led to Bremerton, a large Naval headquarters, where we would board the ferry for Seattle.

The ferry ride home was awesome too. It's roughly an hour long, and the route curves around several islands and peninsulas. As we rounded one of these bends, we once again saw Mount Rainier and the skyline of Seattle. Many boats and ships were still out on the water, among them a Coast Guard ship, and we passed a ferry going in the opposite direction. Folks were enjoying a sail in the late afternoon, as well. Approaching the Seattle shore is always interesting - you can see the giant cranes used by the shipping industry, Safeco field, and the new Seattle Seahawks stadium, still under construction. And, of course Mount Rainier!

So ended our day - another wonderful day of exploring our adopted state.