The Palm Springs of Washignton.

 Long weekend! You know what that means: time for Little Fox to pack his bags and hit the road. This time, the destination was Yakima, Washington.  A place I had heard about but had never properly explored. So, with the roommates in tow (apparently they were coming too), we headed east for a few days of adventure, sunshine, and whatever trouble a curious little fox could find.

First up on my Yakima adventure, I spotted a sign making a rather bold claim: “Best Ice in Town.”

Well, excuse me? That is a serious statement, and naturally, Little Fox needed to know more. Was this really the best ice in Yakima? Or was someone just feeling a little too confident about their frozen water?

After a quick Volksmarch around town to stretch my little fox legs, it was time to get out of Yakima and into the mountains. 

The trees along the trail were tall and majestic, reaching way up into the sky. They sure made this little fox feel small, but in a pretty darn awesome way. 

Finally, we made it to Cramer Lake! After all that hiking, I was pretty happy to see the water—and maybe even happier to take a little break.

The reviews mentioned that a bear had been spotted at the lake about a week earlier. Hmm… could it have been my pal Sandy stopping by? 

Time to head back to town! A local winery in an Art Deco building was having free live music that evening. Well, you know this fox loves two things: a good deal and Art Deco! So naturally, I was ready to check it out.

Except… the roommates “forgot” to bring me along.

Forgot?! Hmph. I’m not saying I’m keeping score, but Little Fox definitely remembers these things.

I mean for goodness sake, check out this lobby?

After the roommates’ classic little blunder of leaving me behind, they decided they better make it up to me. Their solution? Take Little Fox on a quintessential Yakima hike. Well, I suppose that’s one way to get back in my good graces.

The desert calls, and I must go! There’s something about Yakima’s dry, open landscape that makes this little fox feel right at home. In fact, I’m starting to think Yakima earned their nickname as the Palm Springs of Washington. 

 Just with fewer palm trees and a whole lot more sagebrush. Add sunshine, desert-like scenery, mountains, and a laid-back vibe, and I’d say Yakima has definitely earned the nickname.

A trip up north.

 Hiya Gang,

Little Fox here and this week I'm taking my pals Cocoa and Navy Beanie up to a little community on the Puget Sound (Edmonds, WA).  Navy really liked this otter, he seemed like he would fit in w/ us stuffy crew. 

I certainly ordered some nice weather for my friends vacation. 

The Puget Sound is so pretty.  On a clear day you can also see the Olympic Mountains in the background.

A popular transportation mode is the private boat.  Of course, I'm a land loving fox so no private boat for us.

This is the second best option to travel around the sound.  Washington State Ferries.  The ferries take you everywhere around the sound and up into Canada as well. 

Spring flowers are the best. 

Tulips, Cocoa Beanie and flamingos.  How can you go wrong. 

Storm is coming in....time to get back. 

Along the way we came across the old Edmonds High School. The original high school was from 1909, this addition happened as a public works project during the depression.  

Looks a little Art Deco but it's actually Art Moderne.  It's similar to Art Deco but the difference is that Art Moderne accentuates vertical lines, sleek surfaces, and flat roofs.  Art Deco is more horizontal lines and geometric designs. Art Deco has it's roots in France and Art Moderne has it's roots in the United States.

Of course, now I have to find some more Art Moderne buildings. In fact, one of the good examples is in my hometown.  This is the interior staircase of the Canada Dry Bottling Plant in Portland. I have to admit it's a darn cool staircase.

Outside of bottling plant.

Where should I take my visitors next? 

An embearassing late mail call...I mean really late

Hiya Gang,
Baxter here. I hate to say this but I haven't opened any mail since August.  I figured if I told you Little Fox while Cocoa and Navy were present you would not be too mad at me.

Umm Baxter, it's okay.  Your cool, let's get this mail processed though.

 

Navy Beanie here.  I'm displaying a cool Halloween card from Jerry and Ben.  Little Fox is already testing recipes for next years contest.  Maybe a pumpkin ice cream?  Thanks J and B for the starbucks card as well.

Some of the Christmas stuffies were very impressed with Jerry and Ben's trip to Portugal. Lisbon looks pretty darn impressive. 

Speaking of international travel Ajdin and crew took a trip to Roma.  I hope they got lots of pizza, pasta and wine.

Ajdin just doesn't stop traveling, he also made it to Hawaii.  Volcanoes National Park is up there on this foxes list. I also need to hire Ajdin's travel agent.

Big Bear, Drunk Fox and Baxter wanted to get in on the action.  Sandy and Crew sent some cards.  A couple of cool cards.  Some written at home, some at a starbucks and some with very clear hints for this fox to take amtrak to Vancouver BC (great idea, too bad the humans aren't good at taking hints).....don't get this fox started....

My buddy Drunk Fox volunteered to hold up Sandy's Halloween card and I took the smaller card from the Canadian Rockies.  As you might recall Sandy took the train to Jasper and brought the mice back home.  They promptly got on Canadian Goose Airways to travel with me back home.

A lot of mail to process for sure, however it's certainly appreciated (THanks blog pals). 

Let's Go!

 Hello Blog World.
Little Fox here.  Enjoying a nice chef's salad before my upcoming plane trip.  It's always good to be a healthy eater (yes, I know bacon is on the salad.....but one has to have a few vices).

The roommates were kind enough to share some of their chips.  The flavor of these chips is Voodoo Fire.  Yummy. 

Now that dinner has been consumed....time to wait. 

There is a tradition out of my home airport to take a picture of your feet against the iconic 80s carpet. 

This USA Today article sums it up nicely. 

Waiting....still waiting.  I wonder if they let foxes have priority boarding status on Alaska Air?

Introducing Cholla....the Australian Woodrat.....not the Cactus

 Hello Blog World. It's me, Little Fox at the Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree.  It's sunrise and the cacti are amazing.

I was wandring around the park and noticed there were lots of Desert Woodrats at the park. 

Woodrats here?  Perhaps.

Probably some here at Keys mine.

Lot's of old mines and homesteads in the park.  Homesteading in the Mojave has got to be hard. 
Probably a few Desert Woodrats here in another deserted homestead.

Sigh, no pictures of any Desert Woodrats but they were around.  I did meet an Australian Woodrat who  likes the desert but was looking for a new climate.  A little milder.  Perhaps an area with 4 mild seasons.

It didn't take me long to convince her to move to my place.  I got her booked on the same flight as me. 

Blog world, let me introduce Cholla the Australian Woodrat.  She goes by Cholla for short.  Being good global citizens we are maintaining our 6 feet social distancing.  

I didn't have many seeds or nuts for Cholla to snack on but I did have some bread with seeds on it that she seems to like.

It's time to head back home.  Garden needs work, Sequoia needs attention and this fox needs to hike. 

Sandy waits at the airport.

Sandy and LF here.  It's time for Sandy to start heading back home.
I'm at the airport waiting for my flight.

Ah, here it is.  Canadian Goose Airlines flight number 820.  

CGA flight 820 is the midwest route.  Where am I going to next? 

I'm back.

Little Fox here and I am back home.  Drunk Fox did a great job but t's good to be back blogging.  

Some of you might remember that I left in July to find myself and on my soul searching journey I took some different modes of transportation than I am used to. 

I started with a plane ride in a propeller plane down to California.

Whose flying? 

Then I headed up to Washington State to travel by ferry. 

When you travel by ferry you often wait.

And Wait. 

After taking the ferry and eating a modest meal on the boat my money ran out.  Before I got off the ferry I talked to a deckhand to see if I could earn some extra money.  He said that if I unloaded the cars I could earn enough for bus fare to downtown Seattle.

"Hey pal, can I earn a few bucks?"

Turns out I am pretty efficient at unloading cars from a ferry.  Just proves my point, when you put a stuffy in charge you get stuff done. 

Now with some money back in my pocket I decided I need to take the bus to downtown Seattle.  At the docks I met a nefarious person and he said that he could book me on a freighter to Portland. 

I have a feeling I might be working on this boat.

The freighter I took was pretty good to me.  They dropped me off in Astoria, Oregon with a sack lunch, some money in my wallet and a voucher for a free piece of pie at the local restaurant.

There goes my boat.  Oh, off to the left if the restaurant with the free pie. 

Still not home yet. As luck would have it I found a small boat that could take me to Portland.  Now, in the boat business nothing happens for free so  I spoke to the captain and explained at how good of a supervisor I was and I was hired on the spot.  Now all I need to do is wait till we depart.