December 2021January 2022 February 2022

01/17 - Dungeness Dike With High Water

Now that the snow has melted, the Dungeness River is running high. We took a walk on the Dungeness Dike and got a good look at the river.

Winter river

A side channel

That's our metric tree, usually a foot or more above the waterline, but now surrounded by water.

Fields

Fields and the dike

Unexpected in winter - a wooly bear caterpillar

One of the hawks

A high water island

That tree with the water rushing around its base is usually along the river's bank.

Another hawk

The dike trail

Keywords: dungeness


01/11 - Dungeness Spit Near High Tide

We usually avoid Dungeness Spit at high tide, but, in January, just about every low tide suitable for hiking is at night. This will be the situation until February. We recently took advantage of a falling tide during the day and walked down to the spit. The tide was high, and the beach was full of driftwood. There were large logs which can be dangerous, but they were all securely anchored on land. With the tide going out, they were unlikely to cause problems.

The going was rough. We didn't have to clamber over any logs. Usually, we could time the waves breaking on the rough winter sand and scoot around them. As we neared the stake at the one half mile mark, there was less driftwood but the beach was rough and rocky. It was beautiful with the wild gray skies and the breakers crashing into the spit. There were few birds on the water.

We didn't get all that far, maybe a mile out all told, but what we saw was wonderful. On the way back, there were the mountain views. We still prefer hiking the spit at low tide, but it's nice to know it is passable even in less than perfect conditions.


The spit

The view from the ground, rather daunting

Driftwood and salt water

Some more driftwood blocking our path

A chunk of a big log

Some artistic driftwood

Our hiking trail, not as bad as it looks

The half mile stake in the distance, to the left of the spit

Another view of the spit

The view back

Another view out

Strait meets sand

Another look back

Just a bit past the half mile stake

Another mountain view taken while balancing on a driftwood log

Keywords: birds, dungeness spit, tides, winter


01/09 - Marine Drive - Eagles and Swans

We took a walk along Marine Drive in Sequim. The air was clear. We could see Mount Baker, a giant meringue, in the distance, and people were out in kayaks in the waters below the bluffs. There were two eagles in what we call the "eagle tree", an adult and a juvenile. There were also swans in a field of East Anderson Road. They come every winter, and the field was full of them.

A juvenile bald eagle

An adult

Mount Baker

Kayakers near Dungeness Spit

The swans

A swan closeup

Another closeup

Keywords: birds, eagle, mount baker, sequim, winter, marine drive


December 2021January 2022 February 2022