I've had this Wordpress site online for over a year that is just a dummy page, i bought a couple of how-to books and figured i'd do it on my own but i got frustrated with it all and kind of forgot about it, problem is i am paying for domain name and web-hosting but have nothing to show for it online.
That's the reason i stopped updating my blog page, because i wanted a site kinda like my flickr page with galleries and a picture wall of recent shots and bio info and contact junk but with a blog incorporated into it and maybe a section where people can purchase stock photos and download.
I'm willing to pay some $$ to the person who decides to take it on because i'm too lazy (that and also busy with the day job and a self-confessed caveman).
OK, just a thought, mull it over.
A few weeks ago i was checking out the Fraser Valley Birding forum (like i do every now and then) and came across a brief report about a trip down to southern Washington state to twitch a rather charming and handsome bird called the Hermit Warbler.
It was a success for them and while the bird hadn't been on my current bird radar it piqued my curiosity.
what's another Saturday morning of driving?
We had done Lac Le Juene (an over-nighter) recently as well as day trips to both Princeton and Merritt the past two weekends, i knew i had it in me for another drive and the scenery (roads) would be different so yeh, why not?
Api was game, and when i told Guru Mel (it makes sense when you read the FVB post) about our plans she graciously provided detailed information although in the end it was as easy as punching Rainbow Falls State Park into my vehicle's GPS and following it's instructions.
We left at 3am, i figured i should arrive at 7am, get the bird (hopefully) and then make a break back north and try my hardest be back in time for the Whitecaps game on TV at 4pm.
It was an ambitious plan but i made it work, driving in the early morning is pretty awesome, no traffic at border and we were soon on the I5, our destination around 35 miles north of Portland, pretty far south.
On the way there, just before Seattle, a young lady with a phone glued to her ear almost veered into the side of my vehicle selfishly, just before that Api had commented "why is that car driving funny?".
Plenty of traffic cops in Washington, i think we counted 6 with cars stopped and 'licence and registration please' on the way down, that's good, there were a lot of stupid drivers on the road that day, more on that later.
We arrived in Chehalis and it was foggy, i was a little concerned about that but it was still early and when we arrived at the park it was fine, no fog, light was a little dark in the trees at first but everything was getting sunnier by the moment so now all i had to do was find the birds and it would all be worth it.
Api decided to have a little nap in the car while i went out solo, she didn't even mind when i came back later and said i got some shots! She never did see them in "real life".
Anyways, within minutes of getting out of the car at the picnic area and parking lot i had heard their call, later i realized there were two Hermit warblers flying around chasing each other as well as a Black-throated Gray warbler in the same trees.
I was pleased to get the Black-throated as i was missing it from my yearly round up of local warblers.
So yeh, it was a success
The drive back up turned into a bit of a nightmare, in fact, the I5 was completely closed off at Mount Vernon due to a serious accident, this all resulted in a huge traffic jam and a crazy detour, eventually we were back on our way only to be stopped yet again near Bellingham where a horrific accident blocked us on our side of the highway and then soon after that saw another accident on the other side of the highway, a vehicle on it's roof in the middle of the road, yikes.
Thankfully, when we arrived at the border we didn't have to wait at all, we told the border guard our birding tale and when she handed back our passports asked "and did you get your bird?" i answered with a smile that i did indeed.
PS, we arrived back in North Vancouver at 2pm (yes, i'm a driving stud), 9 hours of driving is not too bad when you get the bird.
And i had plenty of time to catch the Whitecaps game and to top it all off - and unlike last weekend (when i rushed home from Merritt for a game), the team won!!!
bless their hearts, it was a nice way to top off a good Saturday.
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