Kalaloch

We're on our usual spring road trip. After the painless border crossing on the Coho ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, one of our usual stops is at Kalaloch campground on the west coast of the Olympic peninsula. The campground itself is a fairly standard government campground, but it has a nice beach and a nature trail, and a lodge within walking distance with a nice restaurant overlooking the beach and sunset.

Lily of the Valley was carpeting the forest floor in places.

And the Seaside Pea was a splash of color along the beach.

Unlike the trees reflected in the water.

And the waves stacked up in front of the beach.

In the morning the sun was shining through the fog.

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Silver-spotted Tiger Moth

I found this caterpillar on my doorstep and brought it inside for a photo shoot. I don't think it was impressed by being herded around under a bright light but it didn't last long and I returned it to the outdoors good as new. I don't think I've ever seen an adult moth, but the caterpillars are fairly common. I was careful not to handle it since the hairs can irritate the skin. The hairs serve as a defence mechanism and they also use them to reinforce their cocoons.

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Flowers

If you look closely, you can see some of the Horse Chestnut flowers are yellow, and some are pink/red. Apparently, they start out yellow and turn pink/red after they have been pollinated (or are no longer fertile). This helps the pollinating bees to visit the right flowers.

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