The view from here

Hello all, as promised here are a few more photos. After finishing my volunteer work this morning, I hiked up a trail that leads to a high point in the middle of the valley. There is a huge rock on the very top that you can climb up on and get an amazing view. This first photo is a view of the valley where the station is located.

Its amazingly quiet at the top of this huge hill, you dont hear many birds or much of anything. Well, except I heard something that touches something rather primitive inside a person, something we often forget that we have when living city life. As I sat perched on the rock, I heard a distinct gutteral but quiet growl, followed by the sound of a large mammal exhaling. Oh lovely, it could have been several things, a mountain lion, a bob cat, or a bear. Sadly, there is no climax to this story, as I did not see what it was. But I promise, next time after the hair on my neck goes back down, I will get a photo.

This is a photo of a neat tree I found after climbing up another ridge. The forests here are filled with dead trees, both standing and fallen. Its strange because things dont seem to rot up here, they only dry out, so there is a lot of old withered and gnarled wood lying in the forests.

And finally, I have to show a photo of my new purchase, a cowboy hat. I actually fit in here when I wear it because normal people wear cowboy hats 'round these parts. Yeehaw to that.