We went for a drive yesterday, since we've all been cooped up since Thursday. We couldn't go where a bunch of people might be in close proximity, since Chloe is still contagious. We decided we could avoid people by going to the great outdoors while avoiding the heat here in the valley. We settled on going for a drive to start with. We wanted to stop and see snow, but the weather had settled on Chinook Pass and it was colder than we were prepared for. So we drove past that and stopped in Mt. Rainier National Park, at the Ohanapecosh Campground. It is surely one of the prettier campgrounds, the deep turquoise color of the water gained from the run-off of the glaciers of Mt. Rainier.
We finally found some parking and went for a walk along the trail. That's when we found this fellow. A rubber boa. You can see why he's called that. The neat thing is he was as docile as could be. He was a little cool, but after holding him for a few minutes he livened up. These guys don't get much bigger than 30 inches and they eat small rodents. They are likely to be found in cooler climates. I want one! Alas, Cora would not let me keep him. :(
Chloe had napped in the car and she is not the most happy camper after she awakes...it took awhile to warm her up to hiking in the mountains.
There were some interesting flowers out.
Chloe finally began to get into the swing of things when she was allowed to throw rocks into the stream.
To say we had fun is an understatement!
Here she has come up against a big, hungry, bear! She deciced to show us how a bear roars...
She also got a kick out of the poorly stuffed animals...one suspects they have been there for awhile!
If I remember right, this tree has been calculated to have sprouted about 1260. It was cut down in...the 1980s? Anyway, it was cool to see Chloe next to it.
It was not until the drive back, after stopping in a rather rude cafe for dinner, that I begin to feel feverish. Given that Chloe began to get sick with a fever, it stood to reason that I had just come down with what she had. We switched drivers and I made it home uncomfortable in my own skin.
She is still contagious so she cannot go to day care, and I am now sick...so we are both staying home today.
A mouth full of berries.
I tried to make sure I had an appropriate wine on hand. Turns out I did well! It's a wine from vineyards out toward Mattawa, Washington. We also had what is becoming an Independence Day tradition: Artichokes. And some pork ribs and corn. Needless to say, we left the table full. Soon we're going to have to start cooking three artichokes, since Chloe loves them...I think it's the butter she loves. 
And some of the fireworks we had going off in our yard and the sky around us!
I wanted to be in a shot, so I set it to bulb and jumped in. I stood really still for about 45 seconds as the fireworks exploded around us.
We had a great Fourth of July!
