Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
The Tour de Dung (as in “Dungeness”) bicycle races were held in Sequim yesterday. The course is just short of 12 miles on a beautiful route described as “safe, dry, fast, and flat.” I enjoyed taking a front row seat.
The weather was good — that is, no rain or wind.
Races will be held again next Saturday. Locals, watch out for the racers. They are proceeded and followed by cars with signs and flashing lights.
A rainbow off the Dungeness Bluffs as a squall heads for land. And all I had was my point-and-shoot to record it.
Every now and then I crave a good, char-broiled hamburger. I haven’t scoured Sequim for the perfect burger, but have been happy with the ones I’ve found at Stymie’s, the bar and grill at the Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course. I tried something new yesterday: this one came topped with blue cheese. And instead of the standard virtuous salad I opted for the sweet potato fries. I left happy.
Here’s the front of the building. The golf course is beyond the back and Stymie’s, at the back, looks onto the course. To the right is one of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s many totem poles. I posted other photos of this spot here, earlier this month.
People are allowed to burn wood debris during certain periods of the year. It’s interesting to see how the smoke from burning illustrates air inversion layers in which a layer of warm air (an inversion layer) lies over a layer of cool air.
This photo is part of the Weekly Top Shot hosted by Madge at The View from Right Here. To see other Top Shot photos, click below:
Early morning view from the trail in Dungeness Recreation Area.
This photo is included in the Weekly Top Shot meme posted by Madge at The View From Right Here. To see other posts, click below.
I’ve seen more eagles in flight lately. One morning last week we saw five near the Dungeness bluffs and I saw another later in the day. This is an immature I saw near the Olympic Game Park near a group of trees that locals know are a good site for eagle watching. Each year an immature eagle slowly becomes more recognizable as it changes from an overall brown to the distinctive dark brown with white head and tail. This one is probably about three to four years old. The darker eye stripe is a third year trait, but the white head and tail and darker underparts may move it toward four.
I was interested to read that Ben Franklin, a respected naturalist, argued against naming the bald eagle as the U.S. national bird. He considered its scavenging of carrion and stealing fish from smaller ospreys “dishonorable.” An adult eagle will eat a lot of spawned-out salmon (carrion) but can also catch its own live prey.
Here is the last of my photos taken in the snow last Thursday. There is a small meadow that normally opens out into a nice view in the Dungeness Recreation Area. After the snows the trees and shrubbery took the starring role in the scene that awaited at the top of the trail.