WASHINGTON'S OLYMPIC PENINSULA
August 4 to August 12, 2010
Led by Mark Garland (former Olympic National Park Naturalist) and Don Freiday
Photo courtesy Mark S. Garland
GENERAL INFORMATION
The recent airings of Ken Burns’ documentary on the National Parks has sparked interest in these great American natural treasures. Washington’s Olympic National Park is often described as one of our country’s most diverse, wild, and beautiful parks. Yet it’s not one of the best known nor most-visited of our parks. This tour offers an in-depth visit to Olympic National Park and surrounding natural areas in western Washington state.
Olympic National Park is a naturalist’s paradise. The million-acre park includes over 50 miles of wild Pacific Ocean coast, home to nesting puffins, murres, Peregrine Falcons, and a vibrant marine community. Inland lie some of the continent’s most spectacular forests; extensive old-growth groves of temperate rain forest. Here Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, and western red cedar trees over 200 feet tall and more than 20 feet in circumference are the norm. Tiny orchids bloom beneath these great trees, where American Dippers, Winter Wrens, Pacific-slope Flycatchers, and Marbled Murrelets nest.
The rugged Olympic Mountains stand tall above the great forests. Snow cloaks many of the peaks throughout summer, and 60 active glaciers are still giving the mountains their shape. Subalpine meadows fill spectacularly with wildflowers in mid-summer, a backdrop for marmots, bears, elk, and other mammals that roam the meadows during the warmer months. The alpine environment is home to Sooty Grouse, Red Crossbill, Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagle, and a colorful assortment of butterflies
PACE, WEATHER, AND TRAVEL CONDITIONS
Our goal is to visit each of the major habitats on the Olympic Peninsula, searching for birds and other wildlife while learning about the ecology and conservation history of the region. Most of our walks will be gentle and slow-paced, but some moderate hikes are available.
DATES
Wednesday, August 4 (meet in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport) to Thursday, August 12, 2010
PRICE
$1,900 per person, double occupancy. Single supplement (payable if you request single occupancy or if we cannot find you a suitable roommate) is $410. A deposit of $500.00 will hold your place until June 4, 2010 when full payment becomes due.
PRICE INCLUDES
Lodging for 8 nights, ground transportation from Seattle to all destinations, group activities and admissions, expert leadership, and resource materials.
NOT INCLUDED IN THE COST
Round-trip transportation from your home to Seattle, meals and beverages, telephone calls, laundry service, airport departure taxes, or other items of a personal nature.
TOUR SIZE
Travel during this tour will be in vans, with no more than 7 participants plus a leader in one "12 person" van. Tour size is limited to 12 participants.
Additional information about the tour, with specific meeting times, a list of participants, addresses of motels, lists of things to bring, a reading list, a list of probable/possible birds, further information about weather, dress, etc., will be mailed to all participants well in advance of the tour.
SEND DEPOSITS AND OTHER PAYMENTS TO:
NJ Audubon Eco-Travel
P.O. Box 126
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
(908) 204-8998
Make checks payable to: New Jersey Audubon
Or by e-mail to: travel@njaudubon.org
TOUR LEADERS:
MARK GARLAND is a naturalist and tour leader celebrated for his amazing wide-ranging knowledge, teaching skills, and great sense of humor. Mark spent four full summers in Olympic National Park as a naturalist for the National Park Service, and has returned to the park many times since, both as a tour leader and on his own. It would be difficult to find a better qualified leader for a trip to the Olympic Peninsula! Mark was for many years on the staff of the Washington D.C. based Audubon Naturalists Society and later a Senior Naturalist for New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory. Mark is now a freelancer and Associate Naturalist with CMBO; Mark's followers are legion, and few who join him for Cape May workshops, or his domestic and international tours, fail to repeat with another trip.
DON FREIDAY is Director of Birding Programs for New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory. A New Jersey native, Don’s degree in Natural Resource Management and Applied Ecology is from Rutgers University, where for several semesters he taught Wildlife Ecology and Environmental Education to undergraduates. Don has worked in the field of nature interpretation and/or wildlife biology for over 20 years, during which time he has led birding and nature tours to many states across the U.S. and abroad. Don edits NJA’s New Jersey Birds magazine, and is a member of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee. An author and columnist on nature, Don’s near-daily blogs on birding can be found atwww.birdcapemay.org/blog , often accompanied by his photos. Don's remarkable bird-finding and hearing skills complement enthused and focused leadership.