Oregon

Oregon is a great state! I went to the beach, to the city, and climbed a big mountain here.


In the city I went to a very special garden. It was a Japanese garden which is different than any garden I've seen in the United States. It seemed so perfect. It made me feel very calm when I walked through it. I even met a new friend at the garden. She was from Japan.


I climbed to the top of the third highest mountain in Oregon. It's called South Sister and is 10,365 feet tall--that's almost 2 miles higher than the ocean! It was a long, difficult climb, but I did it. It was very windy and cold at the top of the mountain. Did I mention that the mountain is a volcano? Don't worry, it hasn't erupted for thousands and thousands of years.


I think Oregon might be my favorite state yet!

Olympic National Park

I'm exploring another National Park. This one is called Olympic National Park. It is in the northern corner of Washington State. We took another ferry to get here from Victoria. Olympic National Park has rain forests, dry areas, high mountains, glaciers, shorelines and more. I have a lot to explore here!

Our first stop was Hurricane Hill. We had to drive to the top of a mountain to get there. I'm not sure why they call it a hill--it's definitely a big mountain!


We had lunch in a meadow on top of the mountain. I met a deer. She was very shy, but friendly. I also met a few birds. One bird thought my eye was a piece of candy. What is with these birds trying to eat me?



We camped high in the mountains. It started to snow in the middle of the night, so we had to drive down the mountain in the dark and sleep in the car. We didn't want to get stuck in the snow.


After exploring the mountains, we went to the beach. The beach had a lot of logs on it, called driftwood. The wood washes on to the beach and dries out in the sun. It was really fun to climb on.



At the beach we also found tide pools. Tide pools are small pools of water that stay behind on rocks when the tide goes out. All kinds of animals like to live in the pools, especially sea stars. I thought they were neat. They were purple and orange and we found so many of them just waiting for the tide to come back in.


We camped near the beach in a campground full of big trees. I had fun pretending I lived under their big roots. I played so much that I was really hungry for breakfast in the morning.


The last area we explored in Olympic National Park was the Hoh Rain Forest. Did you know there is a rain forest in Washington State? Rain forests don't have to be warm, they just have to get a lot of rain. The Hoh rain forest gets enough rain each year to cover over your house! It didn't rain a drop when we were there though.


We hiked through the forest and I got to see more really big trees. One tree had been decorated by natural things hikers left behind. Good thing I wasn't left behind!


The best creature I met in the rain forest was a banana slug. It was big and yellow and had brown spots like an old banana. It made me hungry.


On the way out of the forest, I ran into a few teddy bears having a picnic. I chatted with them for a while and told them about my adventures. They wanted to come along with me to see some sights, but I told them the car was too full. They were awfully nice.

Victoria

I rode on another big ferry to a place called Victoria. Victoria is in British Columbia, Canada. I have never been to Canada before. It's pretty here, but kind of rainy. Victoria is the capital of the province of British Columbia. Provinces are like states. The city has big fancy government buildings.

This area used to be home to many Native American people. Some still live here, but not as many as before. They made totem poles, which are tall carvings of animals and people stacked one on top of another. I got to see a bunch of totem poles around the town. I saw more at the Museum of British Columbia. If I could make a totem pole, I would carve all the animals I have seen on this trip!


After the museum, Emily and Gideon went shopping for a bit. They got a big ice cream sundae and fancy chocolates at an old fashion store called Roger's. I couldn't have any chocolate or ice cream because it's not good for dogs.

Ocean Adventure

I've come a long way since Glacier National Park. We drove through the Cascade Mountains in Washington State and made our way to the sea. We drove right on to a big boat called a ferry. It took us to an island called San Juan Island. It was raining when we got to the island, so we stayed at a hostel, which is kind of like a hotel. It was called "The Wayfarer's Rest". It had chickens in the backyard. One bit me. I didn't stick around after that.


We went on a kayak trip in the sea. We were looking for Orcas, or Killer Whales. They live in this area of Washington. They are very special mammals and everyone is crazy about them around here. We didn't see any Orcas, but we did see seals, sea stars and all kinds of birds. Kayaking was fun, even though I got really wet. Next time, I would like to have a waterproof clothes like Emily and Gideon!

Glacier National Park

My latest adventures have been in Glacier National Park. What a park! The mountains are so tall and the lakes are so blue. Glacier National Park was carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. Some of the glaciers are still here but most of them have melted away. Did you know that melting glaciers make really pretty blue lakes?


We went on two hikes to two different lakes. I met a mountain goat on the way to Hidden Lake. He was very friendly.


Gideon taught me how to fly fish at Hidden Lake, but neither one of us caught anything. I think it was because the water was so clear the fish knew what we were up to.


We also hiked to Grinnell Lake where I watched a waterfall in the distance. All of the water was runoff from Grinnell glacier, up on the side of the mountain.


We didn't see any bears on our hikes. I think it was because Emily was making so much noise on the trail yelling, "Hey Bear!" every other minute. I guess it's good to let Grizzly bears know you are coming. You don't want a surprised Grizzly on your hands--at least, I don't!

Yellowstone National Park

I went to Yellowstone National Park. It’s the very first National Park in the United States. I can understand why it’s a special place. It’s right on top of a volcano, so the heat from below boils the water underground and sends it blowing up through the earth. Have you ever heard of Old Faithful? It’s a geyser. I saw it erupt. It spewed water over 125 feet into the air. I even got a little wet, but the water wasn’t hot by the time it sprayed me.


I saw lots of other strange sights. Did you know there is a place in Yellowstone named after me? It’d called Biscuit Basin. It has all kinds of geysers, boiling ponds, and hot mud pits. It’s kind of a strange place, but I like that it has the same name as me. Here's a picture of me at one of the hot springs at Biscuit Basin.


I saw lots of animals in Yellowstone, like bison, elk, and coyote. They were all pretty big animals, so I just stayed really quiet in the car and watched from a distance.




We went on a hike to see a special waterfall in a place called the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was a long hike, and we had to walk carefully along cliffs on the rim of the canyon. I really like to hike. There’s always something new to see.

Grand Teton National Park

It’s been a few days since I last wrote. We’ve been out in the wilderness, and I’ve been on the lookout for wild animals.

We went to Grand Teton National Park. This park had really huge mountains. They were jagged and some even had snow on them. It was really cold in Grand Teton!

Guess what I saw... a MOOSE! It was a male moose, which is called a bull. It had pretty big antlers. Did you know antlers are made of bone and the moose grows and sheds a new set every year?


I also went on a hike with Emily and Gideon. We got a little lost, but I wasn’t scared. I knew we’d find our way home, and we did before it got dark.