The first week of February brought us some cold temps and snow and lots of Elk sightings.
The photos are mostly done in collage form since I have so many for the month, click on them to see the larger version.
National Cancer Survivors day was also celebrated the first week of February. I'm always thankful that immunotherapy (Keytruda) was a match for my type of Cancer.
February 5th we drove to Anacortes and hiked Little Cranberry lake. We thought we'd driven far enough south to escape some fresh falling snow, but we were surprised by a nice snowfall as we hiked along.
So lovely to watch the large flakes falling over the lake.
We enjoyed watching the Ducks and Swans as they swam near the shore.
Scoutina enjoyed our times in the snow. We got in a nice walk on the interurban trail with her.
We also got to hike in the Northern State recreation area in the snow Feb. 8th
On our way home we saw the Nooksack Elk herd near the highway. The Twin Sisters are visible behind the trees. Sunset was just starting to color them pink.
On the 13th we headed to the Tommy Thompson trail. I got a couple of photos of a Great blue heron that was near the Trestle.
On Feb. 17th we headed south to the Oregon coast for my 71st birthday. We spent time just walking on the beach, walking the downtown strip and scenic drives.
We drove through Cannon beach, Pacific beach, Netarts bay and Cape Lookout before heading back to our base at Seaside. Elk were laying on a yard at the end of the town in Cannon beach.
More Elk spotted as we made our way back to Seaside.
We saw our first spring blooms in Seaside.
On my birthday we drove to the Astoria area. We drove through Fort Stevens and Warrenton. We saw Elk at the fort and in town grazing on peoples lawns and plants.
I took a video of some large Bull Elk at the fort, they were impressive.
After playing tourist we ate my birthday meal at the Rogue restaurant in Astoria.
Free beer on your birthday!
Very loud Sea Lions were along the marina jetty. If you listen to the youtube video you'll hear how loud they were. We watched them from the restaurant window as we ate our lunch.
The next day we packed up and began our way back north. We stopped at the Lewis and Clark national historical park. I really enjoyed it.
We drove the Long Beach peninsula and then I thought since we were on the coast I should have some razor clams for lunch. We found a great spot to order some. They were delicious!
It poured rain all the way home in Washington.
We found spring at home too! Our Crocus are in bloom.
Yesterday we hiked the North Butte loop on Blanchard mountain. We bumped into the Thursday Senior Trailblazers as they were coming back from their Oyster Dome hike. We passed by another smaller hiking group with familiar faces a bit farther up the trail. So fun to see happy people on the trail. It was a nice warm day for our hike. We sat on the rocks at North Butte and soaked up the sun while we had lunch.
Some trail crews had been busy cleaning up fallen trees and creating a new bridge for Lily lake. I hope they build handrails on it, it's a bit narrow.
North Butte view and Lily lake.
Lizard lake and down via the alternate incline trail.
Such a great February.
