Hello, Seattle! Here we come, Cascades!

We spent a couple of recent weekends with Brendan and Billi visiting Seattle (Pike Place Market) and hiking/camping in the Cascade Mountains. Our main objective in the Cascades was to find a Rubber Boa, but we were unable to find one. We did, however, find long-toed salamanders, which was also a treat, and we did some great hiking in the beautiful Central Washington country-side.


Us on the ferry with Seattle still far in the distance.


Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum)

On another trip to Olympia, we went to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, where we saw our first Barn Owl, among other things, including:


An American Bittern hiding in the reeds.


A Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacris regilla).


A beautiful Northwestern Garder Snake (Thamnophis ordinoides).


We got to see this playful river otter just long enough to snap a shot!