FINALLY, Naomi and I were finally able to have a weekend getaway at Starvation Acres. Didn’t even take the dogs with us! It’s just as well the dogs stayed home since it rained our first 20 hours there and 3 wet dogs in a micro-cabin is bound to have drawbacks.
Rain tarp as seen from the micro cabin. 
Hugging Doug.
Even without the wet dog scenario, we did all we could to enjoy the great outdoors by putting up a rain tarp and sipping hot drinks until past sunset. The rain stopped during the night and we started our Sunday with some tree hugging. Hugging Doug to be precise. Doug is the Douglas Fir tree which may well be the biggest tree on the Acres.
Our curvy driveway. 
Driveway rope to discourage trespassers.
Before all this rain and tree hugging started, we were a bit shocked to see someone pulling out of our new driveway as we were arriving. No clue who this maroon car belonged to but we should probably thank him for alerting us to the need for some physical security. For the moment, there is a rope across the drive at the top of the hill. Next will come a steel cable and later, after installing the proper posts, we will have a gate.
You may be able to see from the photograph that our driveway curves around a nice mature larch tree… 🙂 We had asked Jason, of Jones Xxcavation, to avoid mature trees if at all possible and he didn’t take out a single one for the driveway.
Four very relaxed deer. 
The same deer on alert. 
Finally they run away.
Naomi seized the opportunity to try her hand at big game photography when least 4 whitetail deer were browsing in the meadow near our cabin. The deer were the best wildlife view we had but the sounds were equally exciting. There were wild turkey gobbling and geese honking in the morning and grouse were drumming at all hours of the day. No owls this time but on the earlier trip barred and great grey owls were heard.
One week earlier, I had discovered a 3 foot diameter granite boulder on the Acres. I made note of the location and moved on. Nothing special there. Then this week I passed by the boulder and found a pair of safety glasses on top of it. Could I have overlooked these glasses the prior week? If not we may have had an uninvited guest hunting turkey on our hillside. The same visitor left a snack bag next to the boulder for some critter to chew on.
Safety glasses left behind near a snack bag. 
Elk near Valley, WA.
As the weekend was winding down and the rain was had stopped for a few hours, we engaged in an old camper’s tradition. We started the campfire and roasted a couple of marshmallows. Now smelling like a proper camper, carrying the scent of pine needles, rain, and wood smoke; we doused the flames and headed for home. While taking a narrow and winding route home, we found elk.