It is a new year, so time to do new things! My out of town guest and I went to the Olympic Peninsula yesterday - a first time trip for both of us. It is a really fun and beautiful drive, and not just because it includes a ferry ride. I have been viewing the Olympics from my apartment for months now and it was very exciting to get much closer to them.

But not too close. The weather in these parts, during the winter, i'm finding out, tends to be quite severe ... and often. Our destination was "Hurricane Ridge" in Olympic National Park, and yesterday we found out how it got its name. The wind was so bad on the Ridge, no cars were being permitted for fear of them being blown off, i guess. A bit of a disappointment, considering the 3 hour drive we took to get so close, but undeterred, we headed to the lowlands for some PNW style rainforest.

I hadn't seen one of these really ever either, so it was quite a treat. Thank goodness for tripods. Here are some of the winners from yesterday's trek. The one of Mt. Rainier is from the Bainbridge ferry in the morning. Happy New Year everybody!