Day 34

We decided to try to get to sleep early in case there was an overnight storm that was planning on keeping us up. It rained much of the night but the biggest part of the storm was over shortly after we got in our sleeping bags. Ryan did jump over to me during one really close thunder clap that woke us all up but that was the last of it.

As we were packing up in the morning we saw the sun start to peek through all the clouds so we sped up just a little bit. I really wanted to try to see the mountain and this morning would give us the best opportunity if the sun was going to stay out.

I knew there were at least a few viewpoints that might work on the way up so we headed that way. By the time we got only about 2 miles into the drive I knew it wasn't going to happen though. The sun was gone and the clouds were very low. I did take the opportunity to stop and appreciate Christine Falls for a minute since we'd only driven by the night before. Even the river we'd spotted the night before snaking down the mountain was covered until it was right under us.



We passed Grammie coming up on our way down so we pulled off at our campground to wait for her. Today was a stop especially for Brayden. He's loved wolves for years so we made reservations to tour Wolf Haven near Olympia to be able to see and learn more about wolves. After picking up our tickets we walked around to the different displays about the preserve and talked with a volunteer about some cool facts about wolves and wolf-dogs.

On the reservation confirmation in capital letters it stated there was a POSSIBILITY of seeing UP TO 10 wolves on the tour. I was hopeful we would at least get to see 1 or 2 but we ended up seeing 8 wolves and 2 coyotes! The wolves they have on display have all been around humans if not owned and relinquished by them. There are also about 50 more wolves that live secluded from the tour but just as well cared for further into the preserve.

We learned all too often people obtain wolf pups and are unable to provide the care they need by the time they are only 3. Lucky for the wolves there is a place like this that can take care of them for the rest of their lives.

As soon as we walked in the first two wolves were curiously pointing their noses in the air to smell all of us. They walked around to survey the crowd, smell and nuzzle each other, then laid back down under a tree. Most of the wolves in this sanctuary are paired and live together. These two wolves had a rough life before making it to the preserve so they became fast mates.

We learned about the near extinction of wolves once they were deemed a threat to humans and livestock by pioneers and settlers. The Northern Gray Wolves we were seeing were only found in Canada until just a few decades ago. This disappearance of course threw off the balance in the food chain and caused an explosion of coyote all across the country. According to our guide there are coyote currently living in every county in every state in the lower 48 states.



We also learned about the Red Wolf native to the areas around North Carolina. This type of wolf was deemed so close to extinction the federal government took over and began a monitored breeding program to bring them back. Several families from this sanctuary are now living in the wild thanks to this program.

The last wolf we were able to see was my favorite of the day, the Mexican Gray Wolf. This guy is only 3 years old and will hopefully be paired with a mate and released back into the wild in Mexico. The sanctuary has already released a 3-generation family and without in training and being fed by the caregivers their whole live, they made their first kill within 10 days of being released!

We really noticed the difference in the size of the wolves and coyotes once we reached our last stop at the resident coyotes. They were more along the lines of the size of the red wolves and seemed to move in the same way. The one we watched was fascinated by the ravens hanging out near his pen. Apparently the sanctuary had never had ravens until they decided to home the two coyotes!

After we purchase a few things in the gift shop we arrived at our last stop in Washington State. I had service at this spot so I was able to check the weather after we set up and saw a giant storm was heading our way. We grabbed the dvd player, dinner fixings, and my computer and hopped into the RV. These are days we are especially thankful to have Grammie along with us!

While we heard raindrops starting on the roof we ate a delicious dinner, played Ryan's new card game, and made plans for the next day. The kids watched a few episodes of Teen Titans and I was able to update the blog with a few days of posts. When the rain stopped it was dark and bedtime so we popped into the tent and went to sleep. There was more rain to come but it was only supposed to be light for a few hours.