September/October, 2021
We friends (and Finn the dog, who is a friend too) headed out for one last walk on our last afternoon here. Tomorrow morning we will hitch up our trailers and head home. We were so relaxed and happy with the trip. Both rigs would be heading south down the east side of the Cascade Mountains and NOT down the busy Interstate 5 corridor on the west side of the mountain range. It might take a bit longer on the route we chose, but it would be relaxing and so much more beautiful than driving through downtown Seattle, yikes!
But, back to this last afternoon and our walk out into the country around the campground. Did we find bear scat on this walk? Read on … 🙂 Enlarge the photos if you can, this country is beautiful.
We walked to that great old shed again, and the tree with the yellow truck under it. That tree is in the center of the photo below.
And then we walked past the bear scat on the path (now several days old) and up onto the hilltop where I stopped to take the photo below. Those two old remnants of buildings intrigued us so we walked back down the hill to check them out.
The inside of this one (below) was perfectly dry, the metal roof looked secure. You might not want to live here, but I’d bet maybe some animals use it for shelter in the winter.
And then we headed back down towards the lake and back towards the campground.
Not very often, but every once in a while Finn would stop and look back along the path behind us. He surely must know that mammals are here, mammals other than humans.
When Finn stopped in the photo above, it drew my attention to the plant/shrub/tree behind him. Apples!! I thought about picking some but even that short little incline down from the path was steep and covered in debris. Best keep my bones out of danger.
And then we passed another chokecherry tree.
Hey bear, hi bear, ho bear, yum!
And then we ambled on back down the road to the lake and to our campsites. What a great trip this was! We’ll be back to Winthrop and to Lake Pearrygin State Park for sure.
Did we see bear scat today? Nope, no fresh bear scat today. Frankly, I was disappointed. How goofy is that! 🙂
Sigh, heading home in the morning, a long drive, but a happy one.
Your pictures remind me yet again what a magnificent and beautiful
state we live!
From where you are in Winthrop on the eastern slopes of the Cascade mountains you can drive west for a couple of hours , past one of the snowiest places on Earth world, Mt Baker, and drop down to the San Juan archipelago (blog July 2020) where the weather is so mild that some years there is no snow at all. Then catch a ferry to the Olympic Peninsula and take a walk in the rain forest.(Oct 2020) Drive down along the ocean beaches to the mouth of the mighty Columbia River. (Sept 2020)
Or you could head east to the rugged, dry land around Grand Coulee Dam, and then head southeast into the golden wheatfields in the center of the state and head home through the vineyards and orchards around Yakima (May 2019) , then up over the soaring mountains again to your door.
All of thsee wonderful and diverse places just a few hours drive from home. And you’ve been to so many of them and yet have so many places yet to visit.
Like I said before “What a way to live!”
I have to agree with others here, you should write a book! Or maybe the two of us should together. 🙂
And yet even more importantly, your descriptions of travels and destinations show what amazing adventures and sights there are to be found in the State of Washington. So, where else should I go? What other places should I go camping?
That was a great blog comment!
Nice camping trip. Nice last day’s walk. Glad you did NOT find any more bear scat!! And I think Fritzi should start her own blog, or a book, or get paid by the State of Washington to write a travel brochure/website/etc, what a great travel itinerary.
Great idea Bill about Fritzi creating a travel blog/brochure/book for the State of Washington. I’ve been a boater in Puget Sound for almost 30 years, but I just started camping here six years ago. Fritzi and her family are way ahead of me. Nope, no more bear scat and that was truly just fine with me
I thought that too, Bill. Fritzi needs to write a book! But I also love Ann’s blog and her travels, and that she did not find any fresh bear scat today because I want her to live a long time and publish lots more of these blogs. Here’s to Finn keeping all of them safe.
Me too, Ruth. 🙂 I want to live a long time, and have my dog friend Finn keep all of us safe.
Great camping trip! My favorite part was the “hey bear hi bear ho bear” comments. I can just picture you (or me) walking along out there and being a bit nervous and saying that or singing that out loud, very loud! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this.
In fact, even at home now, I still find myself singing “ho bear, whoa bear, hi bear, whoop!” Even in my living room at home! Goofy stuff. 🙂
What a wonderful trip. I hope I get out there some day.
You should come. If you ever do, let me know and I’ll help with the trip.
The chokecherries LOOKED delicious. Are they edible for humans?
They do look scrumptious don’t they? I believe they are edible by humans, but I’d bet others here know more than I do. I was so tempted to eat one, or two, or three. 🙂
What a great trip. Thanks for taking us along. It was thrilling enough to see bear scat, without having any bear confrontations! Ha! Glad it went well. 🙂
Oh, yes, me too, Nevada! 🙂
Yes indeed, humans eat chokecherries! But pick them when they are perfectly ripe or just a little past ripe, or they can be bitter. We use them in jams and sauces and pies. They are delicious. They are the state fruit of North Dakota.
Oh, don’t eat the pit, it’s toxic! I don’t know how a bear’s metabolism handles that chokecherry pit, but indeed it does. Those light colored solid things in bear scat this time of year are the pits which have gone right through their intestinal tract evidently without hurting the bear. The pits have cyanide in them.
Thank you for both of your comments here, Sesapa. Pies and jams and sauces, but mostly only when the chokecherries are VERY fully ripe. I lived, as a child, for one year in Fargo, North Dakota, but I surely had no idea that chokecherries were the state fruit of North Dakota. I like that.
Whoa, cyanide in the pits … ok, everyone, watch out for those pits, unless you are a bear. 🙂
The countryside is very beautiful, with hills and mountains in the distance, and fresh apples growing right beside the walk. Delightful.
I thought so too, Henry. What a beautiful walk here.