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We're just back from a few days in the Olympic National Park. The Hoh Rain Forest was as delightful as I'd expected, though different in detail—brighter and drier, and with a lot more maple mixed in among the firs, and we saw few birds. Also, it's surprisingly tiring to take two and a half hours to slowly walk about a mile, most of it with little change in elevation but almost none of the path actually flat.
The tide pools were more delightful than I'd expected: I'd seen sea anemones in an aquarium, but that didn't prepare me for seeing them on rocks in actual tide pools, a few here and some more there and dozens more right here, many tucked in, others with tentacles waving, and some with tentacles waving on one side. Some of the anemones had covered themselves with a layer of mud, or mud-and-gravel, or even mud and bits of crab shell: a tide pool that looked at first like it was full of mud was actually full of anemones. The anemones were different shades of green, some pink, and some pink-and-green. There were also some fine seastars, oranges and purples. (And lots of barnacles, and some chitons, but I got very focused on the anemones.)
We didn't see a lot of birds on this trip, except for the swallows where we were staying (Kalaloch Lodge, right at the Pacific Ocean coast), but I did get a good long look at a bald eagle, from the beach where we had been exploring the tide pools. (I had added bald eagle to my life list on the strength of seeing recently-fledged birds flying free in Inwood Hill Park, but that was part of an attempt to reintroduce them to the area; this bird was entirely wild.)
Unfortunately, the things I forgot to pack included the elastics I use for my PT exercises; I did the exercises this evening, but I was supposed to do them Saturday and then yesterday. I did quite a bit of walking, including a good deal up and down hills (and stairs), but while that's generally good exercise it won't help my shoulder.
The tide pools were more delightful than I'd expected: I'd seen sea anemones in an aquarium, but that didn't prepare me for seeing them on rocks in actual tide pools, a few here and some more there and dozens more right here, many tucked in, others with tentacles waving, and some with tentacles waving on one side. Some of the anemones had covered themselves with a layer of mud, or mud-and-gravel, or even mud and bits of crab shell: a tide pool that looked at first like it was full of mud was actually full of anemones. The anemones were different shades of green, some pink, and some pink-and-green. There were also some fine seastars, oranges and purples. (And lots of barnacles, and some chitons, but I got very focused on the anemones.)
We didn't see a lot of birds on this trip, except for the swallows where we were staying (Kalaloch Lodge, right at the Pacific Ocean coast), but I did get a good long look at a bald eagle, from the beach where we had been exploring the tide pools. (I had added bald eagle to my life list on the strength of seeing recently-fledged birds flying free in Inwood Hill Park, but that was part of an attempt to reintroduce them to the area; this bird was entirely wild.)
Unfortunately, the things I forgot to pack included the elastics I use for my PT exercises; I did the exercises this evening, but I was supposed to do them Saturday and then yesterday. I did quite a bit of walking, including a good deal up and down hills (and stairs), but while that's generally good exercise it won't help my shoulder.
