I really enjoy the wildlife up here in the Pacific Northwest. I think I've learned more about the different types of plants and animals here than any other place I've lived.

We drove down to Puyallup Washington, which is about an two hours south of Seattle. We stopped in at the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and Refuge.

What I really enjoy about this park is that it isn't a zoo, per se. It's a natural habitat where they take injured or orphaned animals and care for them.

The neatest thing about the park, other than being able to roam right up to the animals is the fact that they are all indigenous and can be found in the wild here - except for the bison and the buffalo (no, they aren't the same thing, as I learned from Christina today).

They also have a mock-up of a research cabin, and it has a "blind" in it where you can crawl in and be right next to the wolves!

Christina plans to come back soon and volunteer here.

This week we got three days of very unseasonable weather - we called it our "three days of spring". It's been bright and hot - really hot - and that's coming from a Florida Boy!  I've ridden the motorcycle to work, played some golf, and today we got up early, leashed the dog and headed out for a hike up Rattlesnake Mountain.

The mountains near our home are are in sort of a rough rectangle just to our north. On the left are Cougar and Squak, and on the right are Snoqualmie and Si. There are more north and south of us as well. Rattlesnake Mountain is smaller and a few miles south of Si. There's a decent-sized lake at the bottom, and then a gorgeous trail headed up the mountain. We started the hike to to the main ridge on the right-hand side of the mountain.

Casey got to go on this trip again, and she was VERY happy about that. It was fairly busy on the trail today, but she largely behaved - mostly.

The trail is beautiful - and the view at the top was unbelievable. Although the trail was steep, that old adage about "the trail is tough but the view is worth it" is so true. I am so glad we finished the trail and looked out to Mount Si and the valley of North Bend. I'm nervous about heights, but I persevered and got an amazing reward for it.