We continued our '12 Months of Christmas' trip series by heading to... Olympia. Not real exciting of a location, but its where the calendar I used sent us.

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
Our first stop was at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, which is just to the north of Olympia.

Welcome Center
The refuge is an attempt to return the delta of the Nisqually back to the marshy area it used to be before it was drained and turned into a farm.

Wood Duck
The refuge is home to a large variety of birds, such as this interestingly marked bird

Intertidal Marsh
The levies were removed or cut into, which allows the river to flood the marsh, and the sea water to wash over it during high tide, forming an interesting estuary.

Nisqually River System
The Welcome Center showed the Nisqually basin, and had a lot of information about the various zones of the river.

From the Mountain to the Ocean
The Nisqually starts with glacial meltwater, and flows to the ocean. It is unique in that more than 90% of its run is through undeveloped and/or preserved land, making it one of the more pristine rivers in the country.

Checking out the birds
A boardwalk lets visitors walk through the marsh and check out the birds... the Refuge is one of the prime locations for birdwatchers to visit.

Running on the 'Big Bridge'
The little guy REALLY liked the 'big bridge' as he called it.

Nesting Goose
There were lots if birds, including this nesting Canadian Goose.

On Patrol
I noticed a couple of bald eagles patroling the route of the river... but didn't see any dive in for a fish.

Walking the line
The little guy had a blast! We were on a one-mile loop, out to some barns, which he was really looking forward to -- he really likes barns for some reason.

The twin barns
These two barns were the major buildings supporting the farm operations when the farm was still active.

Pointing out the Swallows
The little guy really liked watching the barn swallows swooping around!

Big Barns
Close up... the barns are really big!

Lots of nests
There were lots of awnings for the birds to nest, and they seemed to take advantage of it!

Wore out
On the way back from the barns, the little guy needed to rest...

Heading back
The walk back was along a roadway... the field ont he left is one of the newly restored areas... its slowing transitioning back to a marshy area.

At the Capital
From the Refuge, we went to the Capital complex, in Olympia. The complex was built on land donated to the state by the founder of Olympia, who settled there from Eastport, Maine in 1830... Olympia is the second oldest community on the Puget Sound, next to Tumwater, a neighboring town.

WW1 Monument
The Monument is pretty impressive...

Washington State Capital Building
The capital building is modelled after the federal capital building. It nearly collapsed in the 2001 Nisqually Quake -- the damage took more than 3 years to repair.

The exact amount of steps
Washington was admitted to the Union in 1889 as the 42nd State, and there are 42 steps leading to the main entrance.

Counting the Steps
The little guy counted the steps as he went, but restarted every time he stopped to look at something that grabbed his attention.

In the Lobby
In the lobby of the capital building, a statue dedicated to the Sisters of Providence, a Convent of Nuns who brought hospitals and schools to the region, and were instrumental in the early pioneer days of the state.

The big chandelier
The main Chandelier weighs over 25 tons, and swayed for 3 months after the Nisqually Quake in 2001.

Ornate
The Chandelier was designed by Tiffany's, as were the light fixtures in the various hallways.

Detailed design
Built of Brass and equipped with a new (at the time) system for electric lighting, the Chandelier was a wonder of its day, and even now is pretty impressive!

Artwork
It cost the state about $10,000 at the turn of the century... one can only imagine how much it would cost nowadays!

The Caldrons
This is one of 4 matching caldrons in the main atrium, also designed by Tiffany's.

Saying Cheese
The little guy poses next to one of the many images of the Great Seal of the state. He had a great time exploring the capital building, and slept very well on the way home! It was a fun day trip, and now we're looking foward to the next 'Month of Christmas' trip!

 

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