Spent a few days out near Fredericksburg, Texas in the Hill Country. Hiked to the top of Enchanted Rock. The roads around there are more fun to drive on than those down here along the coast.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1650667079.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1650667079.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1650667079.JPG

I thought it said Tallywacker Marine. 😂

Edit: tallywacker is a southern term for your bojo.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1650679291.jpg

A decent-sized patch of solar panels.
If they spaced them out a few yards and grew "shade" or "semi-sun" crops in between, they could lower watering costs and create dual-use of the land.
Even support the local wildlife eating the insects who are eating the plants.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1650737003.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1650737209.jpg


A good example of intelligent dual-usage in a pure urban setting
(i.e. returning to your nice cool car, after hours of shopping, and not having to worry about unintentionally baked potatoes):

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/us/solar-power-on-big-box-store-rooftops-climate/index.html
At the IKEA store in Baltimore, installing solar panels on the roof and over the store's parking lot cut the amount of energy it needed to purchase by 84%, slashing its costs by 57% from September to December of 2020, according to the company. (The panels also provide some beneficial shade to keep customers' cars cool on hot, sunny days.)

Those buildings are a lot bigger than the picture indicates.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1650737031.jpg

Springtime get away to the Washington coast, we get teaser emails from Kalaloch Lodge for 20% off.
That will do!

Decided 3 nights would be good and booked it a couple months back- we do seem to have amazing luck with great weather windows on our adventures, this was no exception.
It's a 6 hour endeavor including the 1/2 hour ferry boat ride from Coupville to Port Townsend out on the Peninsula.

Saw a few more "new to us" beaches North of the main coastal beach access highway 101 provides by driving back inland to Forks and back out to the coast at La Push.
For some odd reason we had never seen the beaches out there... so we wandered them all and it was amazing!!
Low tides were also in our favor opening up miles of beautiful sand instead of the rocky driftwood strewn beach at high tides that are very difficult to traverse...
Over 20 miles on foot in two days, I slept great after all that fresh air, sunshine and exercise.

The new one's for us were Rialto, First, Second and Third beaches- can't for the life of me understand why they ran out of names for beaches, no doubt the natives had names for them.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

Anybody missing a Buda?
I know where it is!
About a mile north of parking on Rialo Beach... ya gotta watch for it, all I saw from the beach was a shiny head
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344038.jpg

Glad our forefathers had the wisdom to create the Olympic Nation park area, the beaches are unspoiled and bit tough to access in places... I'm good with that!

It's been around a while-

Wiki write up:

President Theodore Roosevelt originally designated the park as Mount Olympus National Monument on March 2, 1909.
The monument was re-designated a national park by Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 29, 1938.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

At 6' 4" I was dwarfed many many times by the size of trees washed up, I'd bet it was even more surreal a couple hundred years ago when it was only old growth driftwood
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651344401.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651346424.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651346495.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651346613.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651346336.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651346669.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651349251.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651349251.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651349251.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651349251.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651349251.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651349251.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651349251.jpg

Got boarded yesterday about 20 miles out in the ocean. First time. Very nice DNR guys!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651350478.jpg

^^^ Do they wear armor and a PFD?

Way back when, we wore both when doing boardings.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651426763.jpg

Ah. Morrow Rock. Lovely place.

Isn't Jim Rockford's trailer parked off to the right?

Did he write you? Sorry if being too nosey....no obligation to reply......

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651429679.jpg

Nope. Real nice guy. Wanted to see the boat’s papers and wrote down the coordinates from the GPS. He asked if we caught anything (which at that point we hadn’t) but didn’t ask for fishing licenses or to look in live wells. I think those guys can size up the situation pretty quickly. He said they’re out there just trying to do their job.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651520291.jpg

I had to look it up:

https://jimsuva.typepad.com/blog/2011/12/jim-rockfords-trailer-by-jim-suva-the-trailer-used-as-jim-rockfords-mobile-home-is-a-1959-nashua-house-trailer-the.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651523085.jpg

Fantastic! Last traffic stop I had was the same except he did take my DL and run it just to make sure no issues, which there weren't. This was about a year ago. Since I've grown older I don't hardly ever have any interaction with the revenuers unless it's friendly.

This morning next door to a property I was working at.......

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651524407.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651524407.JPG

The ducks are late this year to this nesting box that I provide. There is usually a hatching in early May but these eggs won't be ready till early June. They usually lay about a dozen before the pair start taking turns sitting on them.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651538115.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651538115.JPG

Wow - those are some big ducks...very healthy! What kind are they, Jolly?

Much respect to you for providing the nesting box for them. I also enjoyed your pic and comments on the Hognose Snake in the "snake thread". I've always liked that species, too!

Here's a pic of my Dioon spinulosum with a new flush of leaves......

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1651539663.JPG