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The Tav
Mmmm, breakfast is on the way...
My sister, her husband and kid, me and my daughter
Hanging out at Lion's RockThe Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute
"in Ellensburg"
The reason for this little Ellensburg page is to tell you about a really cool place called the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI). It’s certainly NOT what Ellensburg is most known for! (That would be the Ellensburg Rodeo.) Ellensburg is a small university town in Central Washington. It's about a 2-hour drive over the Cascade Mountains from Seattle. I've read about some nice walks/hikes around here, which I hope to do in the future. A lot of vineyards in this part of the state, too.
I was very surprised to discover the first chimpanzee ever to learn sign language, a former space program participant, was living right here in this little desert town.
CHCI is a chimpanzee sanctuary, and they offer workshops to the public to learn more about chimpanzees and about communications between our two closely related species.
I’ve always enjoyed learning other languages so I can interact a little with others on my travels. In some ways communicating with chimpanzees seemed more exciting - in other ways, it seemed fascinatingly similar!
