At the end of February we finally made it to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, outside of Olympia, Washington. This amazing sanctuary has been on our to-go list for a long time, encouraged by the photos and descriptions on our online friend Bonnie Rae’s blog, and it did not disappoint. It wasn’t exactly a “winter warmth” getaway from a weather standpoint, leaving Portland in the snow, arriving at the Visitor Center the next morning with the temperature inching into the 30s, keeping our balance on the crust of ice on the trail and boardwalk. But there was a different warmth in spending long slow hours exploring a beautiful place, encountering creatures we’d never seen, and getting to know new friends. Thanks for hosting us, Gretchen Staebler!
More about this trip on Nancy’s blog.
(Click on an image to visit the full gallery.)
Discoveries 
Thank you, Alan. I so enjoyed meeting you and I look forward to another walk soon. Spring at the refuge is a little bit of magic, coyotes and minks and owls, oh my!
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I’m looking forward to exploring all the seasons there! What a beautiful place. See you soon!
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WOW! Is that third picture a bald eagle? Great photos and what an adventure!
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Yup. We saw 5 or 6 of them on the trip, and each was a thrill. Spoiler alert: next post will have another one we watched successfully snag some lunch.
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