I’ve mentioned before how happy the elk in Yellowstone are to see me each fall, and how I was going to disappoint them this year by not going. The animals of Washington gave me a fantastic welcome, however, and this trip turned out to be one of my all-time favorites.

What follows is the welcome I got the moment I stepped on the trails in Mount Rainier National Park.

(Gasping in surprise) Oh my … Is that who I think it is? It cannot be but it is! It cannot be but it is! Hey everybody, Boolie’s here! Boolie’s here! Boolie’s here!

Are there any little rabbits in here? Because Boolie’s here! Boolie’s here! Boolie’s … what? Well how was I supposed to know you were asleep? I’m not even one year old!

(Speaking very softly) Are there any ground squirrels in here? Because if you’re not asleep, and you’re not very grumpy, Boolie’s here!

Nom nom nom … huckleberries huckleberries huckleberries … What was that? Did somebody say something? Nom nom nom …

It can’t be Boolie, he always goes to Yellowstone this time of year, let me go up and take a look. Well shut my mouth! It is Boolie! It is! It is! It is! If only we had a way get the word out to all the animals!

BOOLIE’S HERE!

(An elk bull halfway across the state in the Hoh Rainforest raises his head) What? What was that? Boolie’s there? Is he coming here? Can it be? OK OK, calm down. Deep breaths. All right listen up everyone, this is our chance to show him you don’t have to go to Yellowstone to photograph elk! On your best behavior!

(Here’s a description of the animals in each picture, maybe they all weren’t taken the moment I stepped on the trails).

1. The look of surprise on this American pika is actually it chewing with its mouth open. It was a part of a colony in a talus field near the start of the Palisades Lakes Trail in the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier National Park. I’ll be posting more pictures of this pika, it provided one of my favorite moments of the trip.
2. A black-tailed fawn nibbles on plants along the Skyline Trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park. It was one of two fawns following its mother beside the trail.
3. A black-tailed fawn nibbles on huckleberry bushes along the Skyline Trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park. The sections of the trail near the Paradise Inn are a great spot to look for does, fawns, and bucks.
4. A black bear eating huckleberries near the Skyline Trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park. This bear was the most beautiful black bear I’ve ever seen, it had brown fur with blonde hair sticking up on its back. Bears were the biggest surprise of the trip, I ended up seeing at least seven with two being close to the trail, I actually saw more bears and got better pictures than I did in Yellowstone and the Tetons last year, where I only saw a few and got no good pictures.
5. A golden-mantled ground squirrel (possibly the Cascade species, I’m not sure yet) in front of a snowfield at Panorama Point on the Skyline Trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park. More pictures of these charming little guys to come.
6. A hoary marmot calls out an alarm call at the end of the Summerland Trail in the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier National Park. I had never seen hoary marmots before this trip and was delighted to see them so often and up close, lots more pictures to come. This one was calling out a short alarm but it was pretty mild compared to the alarms that went out when a bear walked past a marmot colony, the marmots went berserk.
7. An elk bull sniffs the air in the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park. I enjoyed seeing elk in the lush rainforest and got a few nice pictures that contrast nicely with the elk in a sea of brown that I tend to get in Yellowstone.