Macaw, aka Karen Owens, is the friendly person behind the official ACBL and Accounting usernames on BBO. What most people do not know, though, is that Karen and her husband Dan (BBOer MTN) are passionately in love with the mountains and living in the middle of nowhere.
From Alaska to the Rocky Mountains, to the Olympic Peninsula, the Owens family have lived since forever next to bears, deer, marmots, birds and other critters, growing their own veggies and fruits, looking after their pets and enjoying nature. Just like living in New York City.
Their latest adventure had them moving from the Eastern Washington area to the Olympic Peninsula, pets and all, and starting yet another home-redecorating project. Karen fell in love with the place some years ago, and the couple decided that it was time to move a bit closer to civilization. This was their compromise.
The Olympic National Park is a unique and totally beautiful place to visit. It features glaciers, alpine and sub-alpine climate zones in the upper mountains. Temperate rain forests in the low areas, and 70 miles of wild undeveloped coastline, the only wild coastline left on the West Coast along the Pacific Ocean.
A favorite place to visit for Karen and Dan, along with the other 3.8 million annual visitors to the park, is Hurricane Ridge, located at the top of the Olympic Mountains and the trail head for multiple hikes, short or long depending on how good your knees are and how well you do at high altitude. It’s almost enough to just drive up there to breathe the air, a heady mixture of conifers and wild flowers mixed with fresh air coming across from the ocean and across ice fields. They don’t call it Hurricane Ridge for nothing.
Then you can drive back down the mountains and out onto a spit and enjoy ocean birds and marine mammals, like seals and the occasional whale, or just sit on a rock and watch waves roll in.
Here are some photos from our valiant yellows’ adventurous life.
Karen and Dan in front of their bush cabin in Alaska, many years ago… 
Rocky Mountains, 30 years later 
Hurricane Ridge Vista, looking South to West 
Hurricane Ridge Vista, looking South to West 
Blacktail Deer, a sub-species of Mule deer 
Olympic Marmot, an endemic species 
Trail blocked by snow. This won’t be all melted until mid July. 
A view of the Olympic National Park 
Visitors at the house in the Rocky Mountains 
Visitors at the house in the Rocky Mountains 
Prince Mishkin with his toy knitted by Karen 
Terry doing her favorite trick: “Wings!”
Comments
9 responses to “Macaw moves to the Olympic Peninsula”
thanks for sharing, all of the pictures were fun to see .especially you and your husband 30 years ago….Karen you looked 12 years old in that picture 🙂
What a delight seeing your pictures and reading a little about your life story. Best wishes in your new nature’s wonder abode. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Good luck with the move. I enjoy hurricane ridge. What a view. Thanks for being so very helpful when I was new to bbo. Have a great summer
Who do you play Bridge with in those outbacks? Just Internet Bridge?
Thank you very much to sharing yours life with us! What a great and fantastic neighbours you got! Great wishes from Stockholm
AnnC8
how nice! enjoying seeing the pics
My wife, Linda and I moved to the Olympic Penninsula from NJ in the summer of 2015. We are currently living in Sequim. I agree with you and your hubby 110%. The Olympic National Park is a wonder to behold. Thank you for letting others know what a beautiful place in which we live.
Are Hill people get excited often and uneasy? I hope they aren’t crafty.
🙂