On The Wild Side

The folks visited Northwest Trek Wildlife Park on Sunday.  They passed by it on their way to Mt. Rainier the weekend before and Mama was surprised when Dad said he wanted to go.  She did some research and found that the park received excellent reviews.

The park only has animals that are native to this area.  Some of the animals are in enclosures such as the bear, cats and birds that have been injured and cannot fly. The bison, elk, moose, caribou are allowed to roam freely.  There is a tram that takes visitors through the area that the animals roam.  The tram ride is included in the admission price and it can be taken as many times as you like for no additional charge.  The tram ride takes about an hour and Mama said it was really nice.  She said some of the animals were close enough to touch.

Baby Caribou aka Reindeer

Daddy Caribou

Bison that did not want to get out of the way of the tram.

Elk

Goat

Mama and Baby Bison

Ram

Someone lost this.  The park leaves these for the animals to consume.

The animals have a lot of area to roam.

Bent tree due to heavy snow according to guide.

Baby elk

More caribou

Black bear - the enclosure is so much nicer than in a zoo.

Grizzly bear

Lots of tall trees.

Wolf

Snowy owl

Bald eagles

There were other animals that Mama could not get decent pictures of such a moose, raccoons, coyotes, etc. The folks really enjoyed visiting this park.  It is very clean and well kept.  Mama said if she lived here, she would probably visit a few times a year.

The park has a zip line, but the folks didn't do that.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves Being A Gypsy

Goodguys Are Fun!

The Goodguys were in town last week. They own classic and hot rod cars.  They had a big show here.  We were told by one person that they get really wild and drunk.  That was not the case.  The host usually spaces everyone so that we have a lot of room, but we were warned that we would be packed in our sites and we were.  We even had to pay more to stay here during the event, but we were fine with that.

These were delivered last week.

I guess they expected people here without indoor plumbing.

I really enjoyed going out at night because people lined up on the sidewalk to watch the cars go by.  They squeaked a toy horn to try and get the cars to honk at us and if they did, everyone hooted and howled.  It was fun!  I even thought about howling, but I didn't.  I love being in crowds like that.  We met some kids while we were watching the cars and they petted us.  We were very popular. We talked to people from Canada, California and Oregon.   Last night, I couldn't wait to go out and join the crowd, but they had all gone home.  I was really sad.

We took a few pictures of the cars, but we didn't get too many.

The action is over there. That is where I should be.

But Mom, I want to go over there.

Scout enjoyed being out in the crowds too.

There is a surf board on the roof.

This one has a Teddy Bear hanging out.

As you may remember, we are staying at the fairgrounds.  There are fields around us that are used for parking during the fair.  In the fields, there are fruit trees and berries.  We think that there used to be houses there and that is why there are fruit trees.  We have apples, pears, cherries and also blackberries.  The blackberry bushes are huge. They are taller than some of the trees.

Blackberries

We don't know what this is.  Anyone know?

We were told we could help ourselves to the fruit.  Today, we went blackberry picking with Mama.  BOL!

We then made a cobbler.

The camp host gave us blackberry scones the other day.  She said they are very popular at the fair.  Mama had never had a scone.  She liked it.  A co-worker of Dad's asked if we would be here for the fair and he said no.  She said "Oh, darn, you won't get to try the scones."  He told her that he has already had some.  I guess it pays to be friends with the host here.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Likes Living At The Fairgrounds

Mount Rainier National Park

The folks drove to Mount Rainer on Sunday.  Did you know that Mount Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world?  That's right!  We learned that almost immediately here.  There are test sirens that go off on the first Monday of the month.  You see, if the volcano erupts, we are in the path of a massive lahar.  Lahar is basically mudflow and other debris that will come down the mountain when it erupts.  Our neighbors told us there would be a tsunami due to all the snow melting off the mountain, but the folks learned it is actually lahar that we have to be concerned about.  Don't worry, all we have to do is climb this big hill that is near us and we will be safe.  The hill is so big that Mama is scared to take Buddy up it.  She is more scared of riding him down it because it is an 11% grade.  The neighbors told us we could get up it faster by walking than by trying to drive since everyone will be going up the hill.  Supposedly, we will have warning before it erupts.  We hope to be gone before that happens.  BOL!

We just need to follow the signs.

The admission charge to get into Mt. Rainer is $15 a car or $5 a person if you walk in.  Mama said it should be $5 a person up to $15 in a car.  It took the folks about two hours to get there due to driving in the mountains.

The folks immediately headed to a section of the park called Paradise because they wanted to eat lunch at the lodge.  They ate lunch in Paradise.  BOL!

Paradise Inn

The arrived in time for Sunday brunch.  Mama was shocked at the price.  It was $25.50 a person.  YIKES!  Dad said they were there, so they were going to eat.

Mama said the food was good.  She really liked the cheesecake for dessert. There were several to choose from.

This is the mail box at the lodge.

People lounging in the lodge.

After they had brunch, they drove through just a tiny portion of the park.  They saw several waterfalls.  Mt. Rainier was fogged in, so they did not get any photos of him.  We have seen him from afar though.

Snow in the waterfall.

The trees are bent due to the amount of snow they hold up each year. They have an average of 26-30 feet of snow each year.

Mama said they were on the lookout for animals, but only saw two chipmunks. One chipmunk ran out into the road and was killed by the car in front of them. :-(  Mama was hoping to see other wildlife.  She prefers to see wildlife that is alive.  BOL!

They didn't walk on any trails due to not having much time. Basically, it was a 5 hour round trip.  They may go back before we leave here and explore other parts of the park.

 Dogs are allowed in parking lots and in the campground, but not on trails due to the wildlife.  I doubt we will get to go.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Thinks He Could Climb Mt. Rainier If Mama Wasn't Holding His Leash