happyIt really was nice - a little cabin just outside Cougar, WA with amenities like electric heat, a hot tub and a kitchenette. We have decided to embrace our inner cushy campers - Chris brought her espresso maker, so I never did break out my travel press pot after all.
One afternoon we went hiking up by the Ape Cave. No, sadly, there is not a colony of primates - the cave was first explored and mapped by members of a group called the St. Helens Apes. Being somewhat claustrophobic, I didn't go down into the cave itself; instead two of us explored some of the surface trails while the other three went below. I was happily following a trail marked with blue diamonds - really well marked, it was a refreshing change - but apparently these were markings for the Pacific Crest trail rather than the local trail we thought we were on. We saw a woodpecker and heard a number of other birds, but that was it for wildlife - not too surprising in January, I suppose.
It's a different group in a lot of ways from the folks I usually hang out with (lumped collectively if not entirely accurately into the category of ex-patriot Bellinghampsters), which is cool. I like being multifaceted and having lots of different groups of friends.
