Happily, the Cracker Barrel CEO has not messed up our favorite eatery in Stanley, Idaho.  And, the pancakes are a far sight better too.

The Sawtooth Mountains were just starting to emerge from the clouds and fog as the storm front left the area a few hours before we did.  We missed a nice day in the Sawtooths as we made our way to Yakima, WA.

The Pronghorn Antelope bedded down in the photo above aren't particularly noticeable.  This is a better look at them at home on the range.  They are usually very skittish.  Getting a decent shot before they take off is not easy.   Yes, they took off after this shot.

Our planned activities at Mount Rainier National Park were a complete bust because we didn't have a timed entry reservation for the area we wanted to bird in.  And, there were absolutely no parking spaces at the Visitor Center.  And, many of the pullouts were closed because of the roadwork being done throughout the park.  Thoughts of hitting the park on our way back to Boise have been dashed because the roads in the eastern half of the park are closing in September for road destruction.

I have always said, why would anyone want to pay $2.88 per gallon of gas in the Carolinas when they can pay $4.59 or more in Washington?  We haven't seen these numbers since we were in California.  Oregon's prices are equally as bad.  $4.99 for regular unleaded is the highest price we have seen so far.  Anyone seeing a 'cause and effect' trend here?

The bird species count is at 67 for the trip with 7 new for 2025.  All seven are lifers for me.  Photos have been hard to come by because of the long distances the seabirds are from shore and because of the perpetually gloomy, cloud cover and rain sprinkles that effectively turn everything into dull gray-tones.

We did manage to stumble upon about 1,200 Marbled Godwits roosting at the Tokeland, WA marina.  And, yes, there is a cannabis dispensary in Tokeland.  It seems to be the only place that has been built there since the 1980's.

The Common Murre is one the seven new lifers observed on the trip.  This shot is from over 100 yards away.

The other six lifers include Glaucous-winged Gull, Black Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Bar-tailed Godwit, White-winged Scoter, and Red-throated Loon. 

We're hoping for better looks at some of these birds over the next couple of days as we work the Oregon coast between Astoria and Newport.

After glowing reviews from the eye doctor and the dentist, we headed for Idaho and a swing around the Pacific Northwest.  As luck would have it, we picked up species #505 for the year when we walked out of the dentist's office and by chance, looked up and saw a pair of Mississippi Kites circling overhead.  

I have wanted to get to Stanley, Idaho for many years.  Unfortunately, the Sawtooth Mountains have been shrouded in clouds, fog and rain since we arrived yesterday.  So, we ventured south to the Craters of the Moon National Preserve where the weather was more pleasant today.  

The Craters of the Moon Preserve sits in a volcanic rift valley that last saw a major eruption about 2,500 years ago.  Sage brush, small shrubs and trees are finally starting to dot the cinder cones and lava flows that dominate the landscape.  The gnarled tree in this photo somehow managed a foothold in the lava about 1,500 years ago.  It died in 1961.

In addition to spotting pronghorn antelope, we found a pair of mooses in a small lake near the craters.  This is by no means our best look at a moose.  But, they are still fun to observe even when they are about 150 yards away.

Birding thus far has not been good because of the weather.  We have logged 35 species with none being new for 2025.  Otherwise, Stanley has been great and we'll be back at some point to do the hiking we were unable to enjoy this time around.

July has become August and we remain in limbo over Crystal's appendix situation.  So, we have been busy with Henry and OG during this oppressively hot time of the year in the Keys.

The AC went out on our Honda Civic so we made the 3 hour drive to the nearest Honda dealer in Florida City to get it fixed.  Apparently, the only service that can be done in the Keys on a Honda is an oil change and tire rotation.  Making the drive in 90 degree heat with no AC was tolerable only in that we did it across the Florida Keys.

OG has been working on his fishing technique this summer...

... while Henry has made the most of his opportunity to learn some baking skills.

His eating skills are, well, um, also progressing nicely, I suppose.

Meanwhile, the 2025 bird count inched up from 500 to 503 in July.  We're waiting to see how the appendix saga impacts our late August trip to North Carolina and Idaho.  The birding effort for the year is largely over although I'll be making another run to Arizona with my brother in December.  It's good that we got the goal of 500 out of the way early.

The lull in Key West has also given me the opportunity to re-focus on another hobby - family history.  I hope to understand some day how our royal European ancestors became poor American dirt farmers.

This image shows one of my great-grandfathers (standing) and a great-great-grandfather (seated) with family about 1890 in West Virginia.  One of my great aunts was once asked why this great-great-grandfather would leave a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to carve out a new farm on a mountainside in remote West Virginia.  Her response was, "I think the sheriff had something to do with that."  Which might start to answer my question about how we transitioned from royalty to farmers.