Washington

Location Description

Sub-locations

1466 photos

Wednesday afternoon in Seattle: beautiful, crystal-clear...
How cool is it to just have this gigantic mountain...
This is pretty obviously a volcanic mountain. Also,...
A sign on a waterfront pier.
Another sign. No lighting fires or camping!
Looking at some of the buildings of the city from the waterfront.
The Smith Tower. Particularly interesting because of...
As Josh explained, Seattle is very big on water...
After visiting a prestressing plant in Tacoma, I drove...
I wouldn't mind living in a neighborhood with a view like this.
Imagine my excitement when I pulled down this road and...
Looking at the two structures. Newer on the left. I...
Jay took a picture of me as I headed out to my big...
Then, Jay wandered off around Olympia. I really...
Even though Olympia is a pretty small town (42,000...
The main product shipped out these days are logs. PS,...
Not long thereafter, the sun had come out strongly...
Looking the other direction (90 degrees to the left) at...
Another 90 degree turn and you're facing a switchback...
Jay trekked up the hill, and Capitol Lake can be seen...
The capitol building. The Texas Capitol is bigger.
The foliage was beautiful around the capitol. This is...
This big tree on the capitol grounds is supported by a...
Catherine, hanging out in the hotel after the interview....
Close-up. I almost look not unhealthy!
Upon discussing what we were going to do Saturday...
Mt. Rainier! As viewed while driving up I-5, somewhere...
Fast food joint sign spotted somewhere near Tacoma, WA,...
Thursday night, Jay arrived. Friday = interview, and...
Four slices of pizza and a pint of beer for $14. Not too bad!
The pizza was pretty delicious, too.
Yum. Morning bun from the Bread Peddler in Olympia, WA.
Catherine on the High Steel Bridge over the Skokomish River.
Bridge engineer on bridge!
After leaving Olympia Saturday morning, we headed north...
Jay checks on the rental car near the High Steel Bridge.
Ah, roadsigns. Always good for target practice.
Peering over the edge towards the truss below.
Looking down at the Skokomish River, some 400+ ft below....
We found this vista through a "waterfall tour" map Jay...
But yeah, sure, this is pretty too. The picture really...
Supposedly the river below is a pretty intense kayaking route.
Very pretty, for sure.
Including the bridge in the shot. The big waterfall is...
When I wear my down sweater (very warm) and Jay wears...
While it was beautiful in Seattle on Wednesday, and in...
This picture is simply washed out a bit, but also is...
Looking across the High Steel Bridge (685 ft in length)....
One more look upriver.
Bridges are also great places for graffiti. Apparently...
There were two bridges on the road to the High Steel...
Back on 101... our two-hour drive on 101 to Port...
I wish Texas had signs like this.
Old concrete arch bridge on 101.
Cat contemplates a different kind of cat.
The Marymere Falls trail. It was very wet, even while...
Jay and I drove to Port Angeles, and, upon learning that...
Jay was in a tshirt and a light jacket. Catherine was...
Jay hugs the biggest tree we saw.
We were off on the Marymere Falls Trail! Something like...
Jay near a tunnel under 101 at the start of the hike.
Jay and Catherine by Marymere Falls.
Jay tries to sneak up on any fish that might be in the river.
Man my camera stinks at this light level. Trying to...
With flash...
A fancy new bridge over the river... in the river was...
Bridge information. Too bad it's illegible.
Walking across the bridge.
Marymere Falls!
Catherine takes a drink...
Another shot by the falls; this time from the upper...
Jay, wide-eyed with wonder and happiness in the Olympic...
Trying to capture both halves of the falls and the pool...
Showing of Jay's use of his gorillapod. Not exactly an...
Blurry, but showing the other bridge over the river near...
At our topping out point of the Storm King Trail.
Jay and I started up the trail to the top of Storm King...
Still smiling, however. I will also take this chance to...
Water beading up on Jay's hood. Note: it wasn't...
Looking up from the base of a very, very large tree.
I believe this was the creek near Marymere Falls that we...
Lake Crescent. This lake was formed in part by a...
Jay has more awesome pictures of the lake, that I am...
Jay ponders the yonder across the lake. We're standing...
The official depth of Lake Crescent is 624 ft, though...
Sadly, we saw very little wildlife on our hikes this...
Jay got some awesome pictures of Lake Crescent as the...
The dots of light are car headlights on 101 circling the lake.
A dock out into the lake...
... with a lone man visible. It's fun to flip between...
View from the hotel in Port Angeles. If it were...
Looking out from our hotel window in Port Angeles at the...
Our hotel is Port Angeles (the Port Angeles Inn, I...
The shower curtain.
And the floor.
Put it all together in a small room and your eyes hurt a...
When we got up Sunday morning and left our "harbor view"...
I think this is an unfortunate example of poor food...
Looking out the window from breakfast at the Port...
The Hood Canal Floating Bridge (built 1961, 1982, 2009)....
Our boat, the Puyallup, pulling into the dock to pick us up.
Sunday morning, we drove from Port Angeles to Kingston,...
Catherine on the very windy, very cold bow of the Puyallup.
On the ferry!
Look how clear the water is! You can see multiple feet...
Jay smiles on the ferry.
Desktop background of water churning near the hull of the ferry.
Our boat was named the Puyallup, which is also the name...
The fellow in black bought a bag of cheetos, stood out...
This of course attracted more seagulls. There was one...
Jay looks towards Edmonds, WA, as we pull in to the dock.
A seagull and a cormorant on the ferry pier.
Look closely to see the two groups of scuba divers (one...
The local climbing gym in Edmonds, WA, which has an...
Catherine, trying not to be sick at the spillway at the...
Ignore the blur to see the hummingbird!
Jay and I visited the Chittenden Locks in the Ballard...
Looking down into the big lock, at the seagulls. ...
Now take a good look again. The picture above was taken...
The small lock (30x150 ft), in use.
Looking out into the sound (west).
Looking east into Salmon Bay. The panels on the left...
Water is lower.
And even lower.
To the side of the locks is a dam with a spillway. Dams...
Weird drawbridge (I assume)-like structure in the sound.
Scary scary amounts of water pouring through the...
Water churning beyond the spillway.
Sadly, we did not see any sea lions or seals. Wrong...
A big ship in Salmon Bay. Amazingly, that boat went...
The small lock ready to accept boats from the Sound. ...
We also checked out the fish ladder, which was...
The viewing room for the fish ladder. Theoretically,...
Fish ladder viewing area.
Jay watches a ship come through the lock as the skies...
The Lake Washington Ship Canal Fish Ladder.
I seem to see ASCE Historic Landmark signs everywhere I...
Looking down at the Sound side of the locks from a...
The big (closed) lock is on the left.
Crazy big truss bridge on I-5 near the University of...
Sunday night ended with a (short) microbrewery pub crawl...
Up next was the Elysian Brewing Company restaurant/bar...
This beer was delicious. I have often heard of pumpkin...
Flying in to SEA in early August. I believe Mt. Adams...
A few minutes later, Rainier came into view. The flight...
Looking back at these photos having just seen Mom's from...
More of Rainier, with St. Helens behind. I think this...
Mom and Catherine on the plane on the way back to PHX...
Rainier from the southwest this time, as the plan...
One more picture. Compare to the one taken three weeks...
The new Olympian preparing her first meal at #204 Tabula...
And her dinner guests, enjoying the shoes off policy and...
View of Mt Rainier from the Alaska Air non-stop to...
And more or less straight down on Rainier. Summer snow...
Just the trailing south side of Rainier.
A sign explaining the Nisqually River Project near Alder, WA.
And more information, about the dam. What dam is that, you ask?
Why, this dam, of course! Saw this on National Park...
The TYLI-mobile, which I was able to use from when Mom...
Jay smiling as he heads towards Rainier!
Jay and I arrived in Rainier around mid-morning, and...
Jay by the signpost indicating our turnoff for the...
Closer view. The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile route...
Jay in front of some maple-like trees that were...
Lots of trees had slabs of rock in the roots like this,...
Jay being part of my bridges of the world collection.
A bizarre tree making a 180 out of the ground and back...
The path less traveled...
Looking up into the canopy.
Jay looking stoked to be on the "ridge" part of the...
Looking back at the Longmire camp, where we started an...
The Nisqually River bed snakes down the canyon; the...
Jay hiking...
Hey wait, what's that? It's Rainier! We stopped for...
Catherine posed in front of the mountain.
Looking off at the routes to be climbed another day.
Another nice shot.
Jay, Catherine, Rainier, and the tip of the rock the...
A much smaller peak near Rainier, with evidence of...
Further along the trail.
Jay on another bridge.
Looking up the trunk of a massive tree.
Jay in front of a fallen tree.
There were a lot of big trees in this forest. I think...
Walkway on the Wonderland Trail, made from large strips...
At the end of the hike - all smiles!
A slice of Douglas Fir at the Longmire camp, with...
Close-up of the date markers.
Trying to look at Rainier on a topo map at the Longmire...
The full model. At the bottom - the tan line is the...
Steel plate girder bridge over the Nisqually River...
I love simple roller supports.
Looking at the trusses under the bridge. Fracture critical, yay!
The bridge again. From far away, this looked like a...
Catherine in the car between Longmire and Paradise.
Starting up the Moraine Trail towards Deadhorse Creek...
Looking at Rainier across some alpine meadows. It was...
Do not assume that Rainier was all there was to see on...
Jay hikes confidently towards a slight obstacle on the path.
About this point, I turned around to look at the range...
Jay with the trail and Mt. Adams behind to the left, St....
Remember that huge steel bridge? There it is way down...
We saw lots of climbers on the Skyline Trail, looking...
We made it to Glacier Vista, 6300 ft. Paradise was at...
Glacier Point, the nearby ridge, and Mt. Adams.
Looking at Rainier from the SE. The main glacier to the...
A guy was out photographing at Glacier Point, so we...
Another picture with Rainier in the background.
Some lupine-y wildflowers on the trail.
Close-up of that waterfall from earlier.
At Glacier Vista, a bee settled on my leg and would....
More pictures of a big mountain.
Big mountain, blue sky, great waterfall. What's not to love.
See? Mr Bee is still there.
It's amazing the rock formations that can be formed by...
One tired hiker paused for a nap on the trail...
More paths less traveled (paved edition).
Ack! We obviously chose the wrong path back from...
Where's Waldo, Skyline Trail edition.
This path had rebar sticking out of the ground, and what...
An even harder Where's Waldo... in there, there is a...
I swear he's there. Sadly, the two times he popped his...
Another shot of a meadow and Mt. Rainier.
A map that would have been more useful to show before...
Some information about the routes. We were trying to do...
Mt. Rainier from the lower Paradise parking lot.
More wildflowers. It was so nice to see things in bloom.
I took this picture four times. Jay looks great in all...
Hikers heading to the car...
Sarah, Bob, and Lucie, waiting on the boat to take us to...
Catherine, Bob, and Lucie. It was very, very sunny!!
Boats in Lake Washington
Coming in to Husky Harbor, right next to the stadium.
This was our boat across the lake. It would stay here...
The Fan Zone at the stadium.
Looking at the field from our seats. Not too shabby!!!
Sarah, Lucie, and the friend who Bob has had seats with...
It was 9/10, so there was a lot of America-themed...
Sitting on the boat on the way back to Kirkland.
On the way back, with the stadium behind me.
The local police boat, complete with triple 350 motors,...
James Bond's car! This was the one actually used in one...
The car was in town for the Kirkland Concours...
Sunset viewed across the lake from Bob and Lucie's. ...
More sunset, more fire.
Forest fires are no good, but the sunset sure was beautiful.
Looking towards Seattle from the Fjeldstad's balcony. ...
Up here in OLY, I can't find my favorite sandwich bread...
Not sure I'll be buying sandwich bread again any time soon!
Eleanor and Catherine at Laredo's in Seattle. The...
Unfortunately, UT lost and we didn't have tickets to the...
Most of our beers overlapped... I'm trying The Horror,...
Details of these beers...
More details...
This one was flat-out gross. It tasted like flowers,...
More details. The two very dark beers (this one and The...
Last description.
Now, next to my list of beers is a pint of what I...
... fortunately, this face does not describe my feeling...
See! Happy! On the left is Stephen Pool, a UT grad from...
Happy!
Hey Jay! Look! Taco Tuesdays!!
Stephen and Eleanor with the Olympics in the background....
Looking towards downtown from Eleanor's apartment. ...
Sunday AM, we went to Mecca Cafe for breakfast, and not...
An ocean of low-lying clouds forms mountain-islands on...
Every so often, bigger mountains popped out. I think...
New snow has definitely started to fall up at elevation here!
Another adventure in baking: pumpkin muffins!
Oh, did I mention they had a cream-cheese filling? Yum.
Christmas Cookies 2011! Chocolate cookies with pecans...
Cookies in a glass container.
Ginger cookies with lemon filling... not very prettily...
Oatmeal chocolate bars.
My favorite peanut butter cookies.
Chocolate mint sandwich cookies. The cookies pictured...
Gingerbread stars. I have given up on lots of different...
A survey of all the cookies.
Almond Christmas tree cookies!
Saturday, I got invited to participate in the Duwamish...
Other boats in the race. The weather was cloudy all...
Kind of a depressing sign on the boat about what it is...
Looking towards Alki Point just south of Seattle.
The boat we did battle with much of the race. Note the...
Catherine + penguin + boat mast and spinnaker pole.
Coming around the point towards Seattle.
The lighthouse on the tip of Alki Point.
Downtown Seattle.
Downtown Seattle without a line in the way.
The wind was very light, so the race got shortened from...
More downtown Seattle.
Stadium district, with the Cascades in the background.
Seattle and another sailboat.
At this point, we have crossed the finish line. The...
Sailboat + Space Needle (these pictures accentuate how...
Sailboats, Duwamish Head marker, and downtown. And the Cascades.
Sunday morning, my new OLY friend Diana invited me to go...
We stopped a few times on the road from Hoodsport, WA to...
Between us and the mountains is Lake Cushman, which is a...
Self-portrait of Diana and myself with Cushman Lake behind.
Another picture of the Olympics. This was basically my...
The road to the trailhead, surrounded by ... birch? trees.
Our trail: the Upper Big Creek Loop Trail #827.1,...
If this is the Big Creek, it doesn't look so big...
More views of mountains.
Woohoo, a bridge! It looked like the trail used to go...
Not sure if this is the Upper Big Creek or not.
We paused at what we thought might be the overlook......
Ah ha! A few minutes later, we found the sign for the "RLOOK".
When we got to the actual overlook, the sight was...
Looking down towards Lake Cushman.
Mount Rainier again.
My big head is likely blocking the mountain. D'oh.
Diana and Mt Rainier. Barely visible in the full...
Catherine and the Mountain.
One more. It looks like I got Adams right behind that...
Looking down (or up) the trail.
Hey look! A bridge! We're now back on the main Upper...
Catherine on the bridge.
The bridge was over Branch Creek.
Diana makes the crossing. Check out the awesome green...
Diana poses on the bridge.
Flowing water.
Another bridge! The first half of this trail had a ton...
This was Diana's first hike with me, so she didn't mind...
Some of the bridges had wider spaces in them than...
Bridge! This one had a giant boulder precariously...
Diana in front of the giant boulder.
Catherine + bridge + beautiful day = smiles.
This bridge had a troll living under it.
It also was only halfway built, it seemed, with regard to sides.
Smiles!
Beautiful sun-lit path through the trees.
Oh! Here's the other half of that other bridge. Sadly,...
Huh, that's an odd sign to have on a tree...
Oh. That sign now makes more sense. I believe this is...
More of Mt Ellinor. Diana has actually hiked this!
And this is Mount Washington.
I suggested the trees needed trimming, but apparently...
I need more camera skills to somehow be able to both see...
The mountains looked just spectacular. These pictures...
This hike had many entries for my "Pathways" collection.
Aw, poor tree. Really gotta wonder what happened there....
Power plant in Hoodsport, WA, just off US-101. Giant...
One more for good measure. It was a neat old building. ...
The Hood Canal part of Puget Sound was calm and...
What is this random through-the-windshield picture? Oh,...
As if the day had not been incredible enough, we then...
I pulled over in hopes of getting a good shot or two,...
This picture does at least show the back half of the...
A final parting shot. I should also mention that...
Saturday night, the snow started falling in Olympia. ...
By Wednesday, I figured they actually had something to...
That's my foot buried in the snow. At work, I think it...
Wednesday night, I borrowed a shovel from my coworker...
As no one else chose to shovel out their "driveway",...
Most people didn't even try... this was a common site for days.
At the apartment, the snow came up to more like my...
Li'l Blue tucked in my garage. Not coming out any time soon...
They did snow-blow the walkways. When I asked if they...
The main road through the complex. There are two tire...
Thursday morning, I walked down Trosper Rd to catch the...
Crossing I-5, the bigger problem becomes evident -- it's...
We were at work for about an hour before this...
Getting back to my apartment... the buses are prepared!
After getting home to a cold, dark apartment, I left...
This car, window open, was probably not much fun to deal...
Like the bridge rail -- everything was coated in ice.
Fortunately, I remembered to bring my Nubrella on my...
More icy branches. I really love how this looks, if not...
The trees all look so sad...
I haven't gone to check if this one is going to make it....
More beautiful ice.
The complex pool and not-so-hot tub.
I can't imagine this cactus-like plant has any business...
More icicly tree branches and berries.
As evening set in, I saw by the biggest window and read...
The sky was a beautiful color that isn't really captured...
As were these.
Friday I finally got out and was escaping to a hotel...
Close-up of a small tree in need of serious pruning. ...
Jay came to visit, and we decided to take advantage of a...
Like good hikers, I took pictures of the map in case we...
That Patagucci twins set off!
The trail wasn't much of a trail, and didn't seem headed...
Blue skies appeared! How nice.
There were a few signs along the trail, explaining that...
The remnants of a much older tree.
Getting back to the car after a fairly dull hike (with...
Also, a welcoming hut and bathrooms. This was literally...
The beaver pond. Note that while there is still blue in...
Jay on a bridge overlooking the beaver pond. No signs...
There were lots of ducks, though. These are all...
Quack quack.
Looks like a beaver has been here!
A tree stump in the damned part of the lake. It had...
A grove of trees by the beaver pond. In the end, we...
Catherine and Terra at the Tacoma Art Museum after a run...
A couple weeks back, Diana and I took advantage of a...
I must like this place, there's a bridge!
Diana on the "beach". I have trouble truly accepting...
Lots of rocks.
Looking east at Puget Sound.
Now looking north / west. It was a beautiful day.
I really like this picture... except that somehow my...
Terrible shot, but that's actually a bald eagle, so I...
After Tolmie, we went to the Nisqually National Wildlife...
Another great pictogram for the books.
Diana looks for water creatures.
My camera really wasn't good enough to catch this well,...
The Refuge has a really nice boardwalk that stretches...
Pondering the yonder.
I think I'm trying to get a picture of the Tacoma...
While seeming like it might have been low tide, it...
I think there's a bird in the middle there that seemed...
Yeah, there he is.
Shadows!
Hey look, Dad, it's a dog! Wait, no, that's a heron.
Who apparently did not approve of my easy access to him...
And proceeded to stand there for a while. Nice life.
Interesting formation in the middle there. I was...
Looking west from the boardwalk.
Diana enjoys the sunshine.
There's a lot of boardwalk to go... At some point, we...
... so we ran, instead. We look a bit pathetically...
One last look out at the marshes and the end of the boardwalk.
Flying out of Seattle, looking at the Olympic Mountains...
The last weekend of April, Olympia hosts an event called...
Sylvester Park and the old Washington State Capitol...
I honestly am not sure I knew Olympia had this many...
Because of this, we know that cheese is good.
One solitary artist.
My new friends Jen and Jake.
While in Austin, I taught Diana how to do a Hook 'Em for...
The beginning of the parade! As far as I can tell,...
According to their website, the Procession "is a joyous,...
This primarily resulted in people dressing up, often in...
Look, a dinosaur! I'd be scared, but I'm pretty sure...
Antelopes and a lion.
Aardvarks were very popular.
This was a common sight - a parent carrying or holding...
Animals and a moon.
Unicorns, I love them, unicorns, I love them. ...
A baboon showing off his baboon butt.
A sock monkey! John suggested (after the fact,...
This guy was definitely my favorite. Look how cute and...
I don't know why this lion was so cute to me.
I didn't even think about the appropriateness of my...
Time to get on the crazy giraffe-slash-megabike.
I never did understand what this lady was doing or what...
This buffalo was very well done.
Diana's friend Tim, as a hummingbird (he was on...
A giant spider!
Mother bird, and baby.
These dandelion costumes were very well done. Look at...
I hope the snails traded off who got to ride on the...
Praying mantis. Apparently some of the bigger, airier...
Centipede and the world. And a large yellow bird-thing.
Awesome kicks on one of the centipede parts.
I've shown a lot of the pictures of people dressed like...
These ladies... belly-danced? in bras and crepe-paper skirts.
Example of an adorable but unhappy child, being toted...
A jazz band of piranhas.
This guy was super-psyched that he got to be the one to...
A geoduck (gooey-duck) (the mascot of the Evergreen...
A giant microscope.
If only I'd kept up with my fluting...
Shamu riding up a wave. I realized too late that I...
Awesome owl hat!
We escaped the procession to go get some snacks at a...
More azaleas, with really big flowers.
I guess having something in the shot for scale would...
Looking towards the Olympia Peninsula from Swing Bar. ...
Jen at Swing Bar.
Jake shows off the wine-glass holder/tree provided with...
Catherine with her wine tasters.
Jen, Jake, Catherine, and Diana.
Mount Rainier from the airplane. St. Helens is in the...
Second shot of Rainier. Tucson desert, this is not!
On Saturday, Diana and I drove to North Bend, WA (near...
A map of the area, in case we got lost. We were...
Near the parking lot was a pile of walking sticks to...
Diana takes a picture of what might be Mount Si -- a...
Woohoo, a bridge! Turns out the wooden-ness of this is...
Diana with the waterfall that ran under the fake wooden bridge.
The waterfall by itself. There was a great pool just...
Catherine + waterfall.
Diana by another stream crossing, this one without a bridge.
Finding a way...
Making my way across the stream.
We had been told there would be obvious cairns in the...
We had been told of the pile of rocks at the turn. ...
First glimpse of the falls!
My first peek at Otter Falls. I found the trail by...
Otter Falls!
The waterfall is supposedly 1600 ft, total (...
I can just imagine otters slip-sliding down this. ...
Diana stands at the edge of Lipsy Lake, into which Otter...
One corner of the falls.
Hey look, there's a big rock; guess who tried to go climb it.
Woohoo, success! As expected, getting down was harder...
Staring in wide wonder at the gorgeous falls.
A girl from the sailing group said that she has climbed...
Diana being silly.
A part of the giant pile of logs that essentially formed...
We spent a while just looking at the falls. My love...
It was surprisingly hard to get good photos because of...
I tried to balance on a log and basically failed......
An attempt at whimsey. My forehead sure is wrinkly.
Diana "Vanna-White"s the waterfall well.
Pondering the nearby, as it were.
Zoomed-in view of the top of the falls.
Attempt #3 (I spare you the others) at...
Only as we headed back to the main trail did we find the...
And, a great log to rest the camera on for a time-delay photo.
Walking back to the main trail. If there are shorts...
See -- fake wooden bridge. Steel support beams (though...
It started raining in the last mile or so of the trail,...
What a beautiful day to go sailing! Getting the cover...
John demonstrating the practice course we were going to follow.
Diana poses in the boat.
It'd be a lot cooler if we were off the dock, but it's...
I'm pretty sure this is what Diana saw a lot --...
A slightly happier face. Other stars are behind us.
Looking over the bow at our crash boat / instructor and...
Flying the jib.
More anxious staring at the sail...
Diana was full of smiles, though.
More smiles.
Ah, yes: Junuary. The lovely time in the Pacific...
The map at the trailhead. A GPS map of where we went:...
We started bundled up because it was chilly.
Things started out okay. While it was a bit wet and...
Standing on a log bridge!
Diana crosses the bridge.
Stepping carefully across a stream.
Diana hikes through the woods. The amount of fog was a...
This path looks scarier now than when we hiked it.
Eventually, we shed layers because the trail was fairly steep.
Working hard...
I wonder what lies through those trees, through the fog...
Pretty waterfall.
Trying to get both of us in the shot.
A mine! The trail writeup [...
The hike had two things we were looking to see: an old...
Which is good, cause it had started to rain, the...
More plane parts.
More plane.
It was a bit crazy to see all this metal laying about in...
And the glimpses of the mountains beyond indicated this...
Exploring the plane parts. Note the raindrops on the...
Wreckage and mountain.
I don't even have any pictures on the way back down! I...
Diana got one, though: heading downhill as fast as my...
While flying back to Seattle from Dallas. We seemed to...
Freak thunderstorm (with lightning; very uncommon here)....
Jay and I got to the parking lot of the Mt Pilchuck...
Awkward picture of two hikers heading out.
Mt Pilchuck Trail sign.
Hmm. That isn't a very reassuring sign to see at the...
Jay crosses a little stream.
The trail was excellently maintained, which made for an...
Jay hiking up the Mt Pilchuck trail.
Catherine tries to climb into a tree.
This hike's newest piece of gear - the blue gaiters. ...
Despite the clouds, there are still smiles to be had.
Part of the trail skirted a talus field.
Please tell me there is some blue sky back there somewhere.
Self-portraitery.
We saw several rocks that had these star-shaped scars in...
We finally got above the cloud line and got a view of...
Uh-oh: snow. Jay tries to skirt the snow as his shoes...
We figured from our map that these (this?) is the "Green...
Jay in front of the Green Mountain.
Decent self-photo, though I'm blocking the mountains behind.
A lone tree in front of a lot of clouds. I think Mt...
Catherine in front of Green Mountain.
Hrm. More snow. This snowfield (with trail across it)...
A bridge made of snow!
Jay carefully navigates more snow.
Jay the hiker.
As I said before, this trail was well-kept; here is an...
The pine trees had fluffy light green tips where they...
Another shot of Jay hiking the Mt Pilchuck trail.
We stopped at a stream to wash our hands and enjoy it;...
Cool rocks we found on the trail.
Hey look, we're back in that same cloud...
Hikers about to head back towards the big city.
Ooooh a wild raspberry! Tasted okay, not great. Oh well.
Heading back into town (the town of Granite Falls, that...
Understandably, there were lots of giant slabs of granite there.
Also, lots of safety fences and scary signs.
Looking downriver of the falls and at the cliffs on the...
Trying to capture the whole of the falls. I don't think...
I loved how there was tons of fencing and DANGER signs...
Rock wall on the far side of the river.
The water was an awesome green glacier-melt color.
Jay ponders the water and the rock...
... and plots a route up. Through the grates under Jay...
The first spout of the falls. I would have liked to...
Looking downriver.
Catherine + flowing water.
The weather has not been on my side this summer. My...
The building on the top is a hotel - the Salish Lodge.
The Falls are rather incredible - 268 ft tall and just...
Construction in the background has to do with harnessing...
On the observation deck. The falls are very accessible...
There is a lot of construction going on right now, and...
Jay did some research and found that while the highest...
Jay + waterfall.
AECOM is/was in charge of the renovations to the site,...
A map of the entire complex.
Hey, a Canadian flag! I swear, this is the first time...
Big ol' salmon waiting to be bought at the Pike Place...
Uh oh. Someone is guarding the beans.
Apple-anache. Love it.
I thought this was a neat poster for the South Lake...
It was beautiful in Seattle - sunny and in the high 60s...
My new apartment! This picture taken from the front...
Now looking back at the living room / front door.
Front bedroom.
Closet of the front bedroom, and the front door.
From in front of the front bedroom door, looking towards...
Looking into the back bedroom.
And the other side of the room. This room would fit a...
Kitchen. The owners are debating painting the red walls...
More kitchen, with bathroom doorway visible.
Bathroom. Kind of small, but it'll do ok.
Gas fireplace heating unit and the two bedrooms.
Doorway from the parking lot.
More sailing photos! Catherine and Terri cruise during...
Close-up!
Headed downwind, or across the line.
All five boats in the regatta.
Linda and Wendy round the mark in Boat 17.
And settle in downwind.
Catherine and Terri near the mark.
Harumph. I tacked late; we're high up on the mark.
Having the main in the water is not fast.
We made it out in front, though, phew.
Time to settle in for downwind.
Headed to the mark in the next race (these photos...
Yesss, proof that we were in front around the mark --...
But drat, I overshot the mark again.
Less out in front this time.
At the mark.
Hike! I'm reassured to see that the bottom of the boat...
Cruising again.
Action shot of Terri. No idea what I'm looking at.
Whatever it is sure had my attention.
There's lots of stuff to do all at once, so this moment...
Ah, the upwind leg that broke my heart. We were well...
The result: 15 hits the line with us a good couple of...
Sadly, that was the end of our night. Headed to shore.
Possibly my favorite picture. Very full of emotion. I...
Catherine and Terri head out from West Bay Marina to...
One of our competitors in the background. We were just...
I figured out eventually that on beam reaches, it was...
The weather could not have been nicer. Sunny, warm, and...
Heading downwind, again possibly before the races...
On a reach.
Headed upwind. Looks like we're racing?
Or buzzing the committee boat, as the photographer was...
Speeding upwind.
Looks like we're still practicing, or cruising up and...
Now we're racing! Look at us, all in front of the other...
Headed past the pin towards the leeward mark.
Uh-oh, competition.
With two boats bearing down, I think we still came...
One of the trickiest parts of the Star boat is managing...
Cruising downwind "wing-on-wing", with the jib supported...
Heading upwind while two boats near the leeward mark. I...
Coming in to the finish.
Ready about!
Hard a'lee!
Coming around...
And out the other side...
Two more tacks later, finishing the race. I like that...
On the start line.
There was enough wind for me to be working hard.
It looks like there is about to be a giant collision,...
Sure enough, we pull ahead.
Downwind battle. This race turned into a bit of a mess...
And it wasn't until I started demanding mark room that...
I quickly ducked to their other side and ended up...
It definitely slowed us down, but we got to the windward...
Starting line!
If this is a start, I'm in great shape!
The red buoy is the pin.
Out in front of at least one boat.
This might be a finish. Seeing these photos, I'm pretty...
Get out and hike!
Some heel is fast. That much heel is not. Get the boat flat!
Sail 844 was, for three races, our big competition (we...
More downwind.
This mark rounding was a little hairy. We made it okay...
A nice shot of the committee boat and the majority of...
Catherine and Star crew Terri after winning the 2012...
Looking out over West Bay Marina towards the Olympics.
After getting turned back in North Bend by rain last...
Hiking from the parking lot to the start of the Mailbox...
I accidentally walked into Diana's picture of the...
Hrm. Another dangerous trail. Maybe we should start...
Topo of the route we took. Here's my GPS tracker:...
Diana navigates some mud at the trailhead.
Catherine hiking up the trail. I guess Diana's camera...
See, look, the clouds are clearing! It's going to be a...
The trail was very steep and slow-going.
Diana poses for a picture.
Hiking uphill. Notice how I'm basically stair-stepping up.
And again. I am glad that Jay and I did not try this in...
Note that two hours have passes since the last photo. ...
We had finally broken out of the thick woods and had...
Now, about views... we did not have those.
Wandering off into the cloud.
Seeing these rock fields was a relief - the guidebook [...
A cool old dead stump.
Looking out on what must be a gorgeous view on a clear day.
I think the rock fields would have been even cooler if...
Signs at the bottom indicated that many parties got lost...
Diana hikes through an even more open area, with more flowers.
The final push for the summit was through a nice field...
Apparently this is the best time of year for wildflowers.
Hiking through the fog.
Hey, a mailbox! And very low visibility.
Diana at the top!
Summit marker.
At the top!
Signing my name.
Diana writes her name in the summit register (kept in...
Our view, to the east.
Or maybe it was to the west. I have no idea.
Our names are proof we were there! Note, however, the...
Inside the mailbox was a Baby Mailbox. Inside it, of...
Cam and Cari left a sign saying they survived Mailbox...
I found the tallest rock and stood on it. Success! The...
Diana scopes out the vast world before her... or the 20...
I'm not sure we're really happy we made it as much as...
Heading back down!
Note the smiles and joking! Downhill, woo!
We were chatting and being happy (especially once back...
Looking up into the trees.
An hour has passed since the happy joking smiles. ...
This picture and the last were taken while resting on a...
This was our only picture-with-view, taken at the same...
OHMYGOSHYESWEDIDITWE'REBACK! We actually had another...
Wouldn't it be nice without all those clouds...
I don't think I've ever been so happy to see the car!
Headed back to town. Unfortunately, Diana had evening...
Mount Si, as seen from the McDonald's parking lot in...
A couple weeks back, as we sailed in from a night of...
The boat is currently unloading those logs in Kure,...
On Sunday afternoon, after an overcast Saturday and...
Mt. Adams peeks over some nearby hills. Jay hiked...
Self-photo. I really like this one. Though I am really...
What the mountain looked like before May 18, 1980.
... and after.
I walked a little ways down the Boundary Trail.
There were nice wildflowers.
If you zoom in on the middle of this photo, there is a...
NOT self-photography. I suppose it could have been,...
Slightly different shot.
Looking down towards the Toutle River. 110 cu yds of...
I think I'm around 5.5 miles from the center of the...
At this close range, trees were ripped apart by the...
Another self-photo.
People are generally very impressed with the amount of...
On my way back down to civilization, I stopped at...
Explanation of the explosion.
More explanation of hummocks.
These flowers are all over WA right now - and mainly...
Looking at Mt. St. Helen's from the Hummocks Trail.
I believe this is a hummock, with a mucky pool at the...
From here, one could hike back up to the Observatory. A...
Another informational sign.
Looking back towards Mt. St. Helen's. It's very green,...
Final self-photo in the parking lot. I didn't get to go...
Two things of note: one, there were lots of cool (and...
This maybe shows it better? Anyone know what is going on?
Interesting Weyerhaeuser sign about the damage done to...
A big fancy new bridge. They had a "bridge viewing...
Details of the bridge.
Another shot.
More details on foresting.
Flying back into Seattle.
Another shot of the sunset.
Jay and I went to the beach! Hello Pacific Ocean!
Sure, it was November in the PNW; but how is that not...
Jay looks down the jetty in Westport, WA.
Jay tried to get some photos of surfers who were out...
Walking on the jetty.
There were actually a lot of folks in the water. They...
Jay ponders the surf.
Self-photo try 1.
Self-photo try 2.
A surfer paddles out. You can imagine, looking at him,...
Surfer!
Sandpipers were scurrying around on the beach.
I need something for scale, but I don't believe I've...
Cool tsunami warning logo.
Hey, this viewfinder was made in Norwalk, CT!
Looking up at the underside of the roof of the town lighthouse.
All kinds of protective measures had been taken to keep...
Westport is on the bottom peninsula on the west side of...
Oh, why hello little furry bandits. These guys were NOT...
A more detailed map of Westport. The jetty from before...
Unfortunately, we did not see any.
Boats in the port of Westport. Interestingly, there is...
Driving back to Olywa.
John settles in to his couch-bed at the Alpen Chalet...
Jay showing off his new tshirt at the A.C.T.
Buildings in downtown Leavenworth. The entire town...
Catherine and Jay, Saturday morning in Leavenworth.
Looking down one of the main streets in Leavenworth,...
Willkommen in Leavenworth!
Ah yes, ye olde Bavirian Lodge-e.
Our welcome sign outside our Chalet room.
John, Jay, and Catherine at the base of the Icicle Ridge...
The fall color was great in Leavenworth, although almost...
John marches up the trail.
While Jay led the way.
Looking down into the picturesque farmland and houses...
That little tree has a nice pile of leaves around its base.
Nature meets technology. I laughed while taking this,...
Looking down at the Icicle Creek (which drains into the...
Jay is all smiles on his birthday!
Catherine poses in a bed of leaves near a cross-trail stream.
Back-of-heads group photo.
The light was really nice on a nearby prominent peak...
Jay gives a sense of scale to the leaves on the ground.
Looking down into the outskirts of Leavenworth again.
John standing on the trail.
We made it to the top of the ridge! The trail meandered...
I need a good (topo) map to really figure out what's...
Looking down at a bridge over the Wenatchee River, next to US 2.
Jay and Catherine on the Icicle Ridge.
Jay investigates a fallen tree. There was lots of fire...
Catherine and John.
Catherine and Jay.
Icicle Creek and the colors around Leavenworth.
Burned trees and fall colors.
Downtown Leavenworth, WA.
Jay looks out at the town.
Jay decided the hike worked out his legs, it was...
And John decided to become a monkey.
John, hanging out.
Los tres at the top of the Icicle Ridge Trail. ...
Second group photo.
Having come down off the Icicle Ridge Trail and stopped...
John and Jay consider the Wenatchee River outside Leavenworth.
Another shot of the bridge. The fall colors were...
Another, closer up.
Nature does the weirdest things sometimes...
I think this guy (on a car in the lot near the start of...
Interesting. Not only is the river closed to fishing...
Jay looking excited: not only did he successfully bat an...
Catherine standing in the Wenatchee River Bridge, also...
Apparently, where we parked the car used to be a power...
It had rather crudely been torched so that half the pipe...
Looking at the Wenatchee River from the Great Northern...
More fall colors.
The bridge had a bit of a flooding problem... previous...
I'm not exactly sure what he did between the riveted areas.
Another shot of the river. My internet searches are...
We thought we saw some kayakers on the river from the...
More evidence that this trail wasn't originally made to...
Any ideas on this one?
This picture makes the river look much less ferocious...
John looking out at the Wenatchee River and US 2 towards Seattle.
Jay and John march through some pretty fall leaves... or...
Before they got out the far side, Jay turned and his eye...
A boulder! he exclaimed. Look at this magnificent boulder!
Meanwhile, Catherine photographed the pretty leaves.
A little exploration off the main trail resulted in...
It's pretty fun to download these two photos and flip...
Not being a particularly good boulder-er myself, I found...
John looking for holds.
Hey there stranger! Too bad this is a little blurry...
Jay looks for holds while John provides a spot.
Success!
John tackles another problem. They both claimed the...
John trying to find a way up around this tree.
Jay providing a spot.
I again found an easier way up, but the light was...
Back at the first rock we had gotten to (near the...
The rushing Wenatchee River through the cross-braces of...
Sunday morning dawned bright and not really early, what...
There was a $5 fee to park in the lot; here was the box...
And here was the backside of the box, full of piles of...
A nearby trail to Eightmile Lake (a route we had...
Fortunately, our route in the Enchantments area, was...
Bridges of the PNW!
Repeat, with different hiker.
Like yesterday, the trail started chilly. Our beta...
A small boulder field near Mountaineer Creek.
The surrounding mountains began to come into view. It...
John and Jay hike out of the woods.
And through the rocks.
The beta said we would come to "an attractive log bridge...
Catherine and Jay, on a bridge.
Looking up Mountaineer Creek.
Jay on the bridge over Mountaineer Creek near mile 1.75...
Self-photo!
Apparently horses won't cross the bridge, lovely as it...
Hey look, another boulder! Also - sunshine!
John looks for a way up.
Now Jay takes a turn.
Trying something new. I believe that with the sun, this...
More peaks appear through the trees.
John and Jay continue to play.
Wow! A snowfield comes into view. I'm pretty sure,...
John found snow (a trip report from two weeks prior said...
Well, at least he's not throwing it at anyone!
Having fun.
With snowball visible.
Another bridge over Mountaineer Creek.
From snowballs to shirtless in a matter of moments...
John poses on the far side of the creek.
Looking up the boulder field.
Dragontail Peak finally comes into view. The elevation...
If you want to see some truly amazing photos of this...
Catherine in front of Dragontail Peak.
Jay in front of the snow-capped peak. A mountaineer can...
The mountain was named in 1955 after some climbers...
Looking up into the trees above (and the blue sky!).
Dragontail Peak from a rock near Colchuck Lake. While...
The (shrinking) Colchuck Glacier, with Colchuck Peak...
Jay eats and Catherine rests at Colchuck Lake...
It was hard to get good photos here, with high winds and...
Dragontail, with Aasgard Pass to the left. USGS refers...
Los tres. Bright-colored jacket coordination unintentional.
Jay ponders a swim...
But settles for a cool picture instead.
John on our lunching rock.
John with Aasgard Pass and the edge of Dragontail.
Jay and John, before we head back down the hill...
One final look at the lake.
Mountains we had not noticed on the hike up (either due...
And Dragontail continued to watch over us.
Jay navigates some rocks.
John crossing Mountaineer Creek.
Aha! No wonder he was lagging behind.
Jay finds a way up.
The Stuart Lake trail is No. 1599. Apparently Colchuck...
Jay notices the photographer.
Jay and John say goodbye to Mountaineer Creek (which...
Catherine and Diana set off on the Mount Si trail in...
The trail is short but a bit steep - 4.0 mi one way with...
Diana heads up the trail, with a funny-looking tree...
It was sometimes pretty, but got boring.
At some point, a lack of drive, a blister, concern about...
Looking up into the tree tops.
(Please excuse the power lines, this was taken while...
The road to Rainier! Li'l Blue managed to get through...
My friend Jeremiah from grad school came to visit in...
We headed to Mt. Rainier and parked at the Longmire...
Neither Jeremiah nor I had snowshoed before, but it was...
One of the ranger station lodges at Longmire.
Catherine suited up for the hike.
Catherine hiking. I think Jeremiah's and my camera...
Bridge!
Looking up into the trees.
Jeremiah heads up the trail.
Crazy tree still exists! ...
Catherine hiking uphill.
Catching snowflakes on my tongue!
Snow on the treetops.
Jeremiah with a slight view.
Probably pausing to change gear. Or set up my phone to...
Looking down towards the Longmire Lodge.
More snow, trees, and clouds.
A little birdie landed precariously on the top of this tree.
Tweet tweet.
When I was last here, the view was much better....
Self-photo.
The snow made the area very peaceful.
D'oh! Snowflake ruined this one.
More pretty trees.
Looking down on Longmire.
This was one of the nicest parts of the trail. Good...
Jeremiah up the trail.
Tunnel. Alternate pathway?
The wide, wonderful views from the lookout.
Catherine at the lookout. I probably can cut off the...
Continuing to hike.
Observing the wide world to my left.
And considering starting a death tumble.
Nearing a big clearing on the trail.
Jeremiah in the snow.
I wasn't 100% sure this meadow wasn't actually a lake. ...
It's funny how everything looks like it was taken in...
Close-up of a tree branch with snow.
I still have no idea what was going on here. There was...
AND, we had to walk directly underneath it. ...
Cool split tree trunk.
I think at least one of us took a picture of every...
Very strange-looking cliffs that I thought the...
Another shot.
Back in the car after hiking. Time to head back to OlyWa.
Cool window art at the Seattle airport. Of course, as I...
Looking towards Moloka'i from the beach in front of Bob...
Footprints being eaten by the waves.
Lahaina Yacht Club sign.
Diana and I joined a group from Olympia to ride up to...
When we got to the base, it was super sunny. Awesome day ahead!
Diana smiling at the top of the first run.
Diana on Ptarmigan, where White Pass had some jumps set up.
She was braver than me with regard to jumps.
... almost liftoff.
And almost landing. Her butt hit pretty soon after...
On Chair 4, near the "bird" runs (Quail, Ptarmigan, Grouse, etc).
Makin' faces.
Last Saturday, I was in Maui. Paradise. This Saturday,...
Looking across Paradise towards the back (new) area.
Diana at the top of Paradise.
On our first lift of the day, Rainier was totally...
Diana and some random dude.
Catherine under the Basin Quad lift.
One more look at Rainier from the top of the Basin Quad.
Awesome old-school sign at the High Camp Lodge of White Pass.
Looking down mountain on Out of the Lupin.
Diana is all smiles, even with the clouds.
I've been helping Boat Builder Bill work on a wooden...
He has also been working on this one, named Glisten. It...
Fancy woodwork (done by Bill and Jim Findley) on Sparkle.
Glisten on the left, Sparkle on the right, in Bill's workshop.
Josh, Chrissy, and Catherine before a day of skiing at...
I should probably preface this by saying this was my...
Supposedly the views from this place are great!
I think this was about as good as it got before the...
Chrissy skiing down some trail on the skier's right side...
This is me, re-learning how to ski.
And obviously looking awesome doing so.
Through some fortuitous timing and nice people, I have...
John came to visit and on the slopes seemed like the...
John exploring the trees skier's left off the top of the...
Mt Rainier becomes visible through the morning clouds.
John and Diana strap in for some serious boarding.
John, ready to go with Rainier peeking out (ha - typo'd...
Diana heading down mountain.
The conditions were pretty much fabulous. The morning...
John gets ready to hit it.
Pondering which route to take. I kept a tracking...
John and Catherine.
I'm not sure if I like this photo better with the guy in...
... or without. I think without. After lunch, the...
Diana continues to be fancy. Rainier emerges further.
Catherine, Mt Rainier, and the base of the Couloir Express.
The clouds around the mountain never really fully...
Catherine and Diana on the chairlift. Sunshine! By this...
Group shot! Catherine, Josh, John, and Diana at the top...
Second attempt.
High Camp lodge (aka, our lunch spot) (photo taken later...
Diana catches Catherine about to start down the mountain.
Photo op!
This could have been cute if we'd told John he was in...
Heading into more trees. My motto of the day was: I'm...
At certain times of the year, a large herd of elk settle...
Sunday, John and I rented kayaks and headed out into...
Catherine looks a little wary, too.
John out in the kind-of open water.
I never did manage to get lined up behind John with the...
Now that I'd paddled enough to not feel like capsizing...
Boston Harbor lighthouse.
Look at that many, many-legged starfish!
John explores the shore.
He also has started smiling.
Headed towards downtown.
Trying to capture the Olympics peeking out under the clouds.
Turns out I found it difficult to take a straight photo...
Making my kayak bigger than it really was.
Sea anemone enemies!
Mom - is this jack-in-the-pulpit? Or skunk cabbage?
John exploring the beach at Burfoot Park.
Bridges of the PNW!
We had no idea what was going on here: the large bank...
Catherine on a great PNW bridge.
In an effort to tire ourselves out before trying to go...
Also, the flowers have started blooming.
Catherine takes a picture of John taking a picture.
The Washington State Legislative Building.
The sky reflecting on the super-calm surface of Capitol Lake.
One last shot, with the rest of the Willamette River...
My friend Stephanie and I, after a nice bike ride. Best...
Last week, I took a day off from work and went hiking...
Here's a photo of Frank and Kathie, and the faintest...
Frank's car after having driven up the dirt road to the...
Now, there is a whole backstory with this hike. It is...
Not a very long hike (1.5 mi, one way), but a decent...
More hazy blue skies.
Frank looks down towards Hood Canal and Lake Cushman. ...
Frank and Catherine.
At the first lookout. We could see Mt Rainier, but I...
Demonstrating self-photography skills.
Sweet photo of Kathie and Frank.
Catherine hiking up the trail.
Catherine and Frank pause on the trail.
Making my way across a snowy patch. My hiking poles and...
Frank spends a lot of time climbing and hiking, and is...
There still isn't much to see below us...
Mmmm fir tips.
Somehow I convinced Kathie to try them, swearing that my...
The trail is very popular and is very well developed and...
There's that human/goat again.
A view of the slope. Keep this meadow in mind for some...
Kathie works her way up the trail.
We eventually started getting above the mountains around us.
Trying so hard not to be squinty!
It's amazing to think that in town, it was gray and...
Frank sent me some photos which do not have time/date...
Not quite there, but getting close(r).
Catherine and Kathie take a break for a photo.
Hiking more well-maintained paths near the top.
Hey look, the car! It's the silver one in front.
Looking over at what I later learned was Mt Washington...
When we got to the top, we were really excited to see...
Frank looks down over the back of Mt Ellinor, with other...
Kathie, the edge, and mountains in the distance.
A successful topping out!
There were a couple of friendly chipmunks at the top who...
Step 1: climb to the top of something. Step 2: find the...
Mount Washington. We passed the trailhead either on...
Kathie looks for goats.
... or just at the dizzying dropoff.
Looking out from the top of Mt Ellinor.
Frank ponders the yonder.
On that middle snowpatch are a couple of imperfections. ...
Looking off the backside of Mt Ellinor. We could hear...
Catherine pondering the yonder.
And there's another, in the middle of the shot near a rock.
Mama and baby goat come around the corner...
... Mama checks out the edge...
... and baby scampers over to join her. Those two...
I found a really comfy rock to sit in. My back was on a...
Frank, Kathie, and some mountains. The snow-capped one...
Goats on the move! These are the ones who were on the...
Hiking down through some snow off the top. Those goats...
Hiking down more steps (maybe the same ones as before).
Self-photo!
We are now back down to that steep meadow. Who pops out...
After he checked things out, the family followed.
We came from the upper left; they came from the upper...
Dad, baby, yearling, and Mom was how we saw things.
Close-up of the whole family (courtesy of Frank). I...
Attempt #1 at putting me and the goats in the same photo.
Attempt #2. I can't say either is really a print-it-out...
Frank did a better job of capturing me + goats.
Dad, shedding some fur, and baby, all fluffy and new.
The whole family scrambled across the path and straight...
Once at the top, they basically just looked down at us...
I swear they honestly just walked up the side of that. ...
Finally, Lake Cushman appears below us.
Hiking down through the snow patches again. We were on...
At the bottom. We joked we should be in a Gatorade ad.
Final group shot.
Pointing at where we'd been. The top of the mountain is...
On our way back to town, we pulled off at the Lake...
One last shot. A trip totally worth taking the day off for.
After Friday night dinner with Bob and Lucie in Bellevue...
On the road to Sequim to see the lavender, I spotted...
Sitting in a field of lavender. I'm somehow a bit...
Mom stands among the lavender bushes.
Our first Lavender field at Blackberry Forest farm. ...
Attempt 1 of 2 at self-photography.
Attempt 2 of 2.
...but they had lovely chairs set out. Still was a...
These wildflowers were everywhere along the roadside, no...
Hitting the big time lavender fields now at Graysmarsh...
At Graysmarsh Farm in Sequim.
More fields of lavender. The clouds were clearing and...
I was surprised to learn how many varieties of lavender exist.
I liked the juxtaposition of the upright poplars and the...
Maybe I could print one of these and put it somewhere it...
View across the other fields. Prefer the poplars.
Mom considers the bushes.
Catherine (and a bee) amongst the lavender.
This is my current background on my phone. I rather...
Don't worry, the bushes weren't actually this tall.
I'm not sure these photos really show how interesting a...
A bee doin what bees do.
Another bee.
Bushels of lavender for sale. Mom bought me one and it...
Mom at Hurricane Ridge.
Mountains visible from Hurricane Ridge.
Left the lavender and entered Olympic National Park and...
The lupine were past their peak
Views from just about everywhere of snow traced peaks. ...
Looking out at more mountains.
No signs of the pine bark beetle here, unlike Colorado.
Mom with the mountains.
The previous photos were taken from the trail visible on...
Looking out across the Strait of San Juan de Fuca,...
Faraway mountains and closeup flowers.
Given that our plan was to look at lavender in fields...
I do like that Washington has lupines, even if they...
Looking towards the High Ridge Trail offshoot to Sunrise...
We did some mild hiking / walking. Perfect temps
Pretty sure that is Strait of San Juan de Fuca which...
Another group photo. It had gotten downright warm!
Ski patrol cabin near the top of what didn't appear to...
Ski patrol building. Hmm. Seems like there should be a...
Aha. It was interesting to see absolutely no...
This plant was not blooming the way we saw at the top of...
Looking down at the Visitor Center and across at the...
And again, towards Canada.
I believe that is Mt Angeles.
The main canyon on the right is, I believe, where the...
From the top of Sunrise Point. With giant fly (the bugs...
Surrounding mountains.
At Sunrise Point.
Note to self: do not step back.
The photo of the High Ridge Trail was taken from just...
I tried to get some photos of these maps and then what...
And here's the right side of the view. Blue Mountain is...
Mt Angeles and Rocky Peak (left side of the map).
Middle of the map.
Mom celebrates the beauty around us.
Catherine pointing at where she had just been.
Mom pointing where we were headed.
More of the same
This was about the extent of the wildlife seen at...
More photo maps.
I think there were people blocking my ability to get...
Right side - Mt Fitzhenry, Mt Carrie, etc.
Middle, with the Elwha River valley.
Left, Lillian River valley.
Now with lens flare!
One last shot of fake-looking faraway mountains.
Aw. Cute.
This is looking up a valley which has a trail going up,...
Looking up the canyon at the Switchback Trail head.
Actually, some of us washed our feet off.
... while others took pretty pictures.
An explanatory sign partway down the mountain.
Can you see all that was pointed out?
Left side.
Contributed some beauty to the local landscape by...
A view of the lovely flower boxes outside my apartment,...
Close-up on the petunias and heather (?).
More wild sweet peas, on the side of the road near work.
Close-up of the flowers.
A couple of weeks back, I biked out to Boat Builder...
Bill and I with the boat.
Anyone know what kind of tree this is? It's tall and pokey.
Olympia friends Sarah, Justin, John, and Stephanie at...
Self-photo, since I wasn't in the group one.
Sunday morning, I joined up with my friends Chrissy,...
The first hour or so was spent in some pretty dense...
We came out into a meadow and again scoped out the summit.
Being less silly.
And one more.
Terra hiking through the meadow.
Terra poses atop a rock we decided to use for our first...
Chrissy working up to the snack rock. A lot of the...
I believe those rocks are the ones I saw goats...
Pondering the yonder. The clouds are over the Hood Canal.
A better view of the Hood Canal. I have learned on these...
Wildflowers were really starting to come out; the fields...
You can't really see it, but this whole field is full of them.
Somewhere near halfway?
Terra, ready to rock.
Josh tended to hike ahead of us cause we were slow in...
We crossed a few small snowfields, which allowed for...
More scree.
Making our way across the rocks.
Self-photo!
The clouds are clearing! I like using big rocks as...
Chrissy and Terra.
Chrissy and Catherine make faces at Terra.
With some scenery behind me.
Lunch! Not a bad view. We're not quite at the top, but...
The summit, from our lunch saddle spot.
Goats on the backside of the mountain.
The mountains behind Mt Washington. These should look...
Panoramic view to the west of the saddle below the...
Panoramic view to the east of the saddle below the...
Anyone know what this bush is? The pinecones were...
Looking from Mt Washington back towards Mt Ellinor. ...
The actual summit took some scrambling, thus why we ate...
Terra climbs to the top.
Chrissy made it to the top too.
Looking northeast up the Hood Canal.
And north towards Port Angeles.
I include this shot of the summit only because it shows...
And here's a better shot, that Chrissy took.
Chrissy also brought the world's smallest kite to fly on...
There was a summit register, so we got to log our...
Taking photos on top of the world!
Josh filled it in for us. Note the couple ahead of us -...
Another shot of Ellinor.
Ahhhhh! Crazy giant flying ant!
Better landscape shot.
With me in it! Mt Olympus is the snowy one in the background.
Climbing back onto the main part of the summit.
More purdy flares.
And scree as viewed on the way downhill. When it was all...
Funny pair of photos - hiking down rocks...
... and hiking through a meadow. Not a bad place to spend a day!
Looking down the Nisqually River from the Nisqually...
Looking back at the bridge, of course.
Roof beams in the main room of the Paradise Inn, Mt Rainier.
Giant grandfather clock made with log accents.
Another shot of the framing.
Mt Rainier from the Paradise Inn. Clouds were definitely...
Another shot of Rainier.
Looking down at the Inn. Bob and Lucie had rented a room...
I never actually figured out if these were the same logs...
There was a Mail Bear, for all your mailing needs.
Friday morning, Lucie and I set off on a hike from the...
Most of our path can be seen on this map. Our full route...
Bob came with us the first bit, then circled back...
We didn't see too much wildlife, but did see this guy -...
Myrtle Falls and a bridge.
Catherine on the bridge over Myrtle Falls.
Looking up into the meadows. Sadly, the clouds from the...
Fortunately, the view away from the mountain was clearer...
Quick, who can spot the marmot??
Here's a clearer shot. We saw at least three in this talus pile.
Panorama looking away from Mt Rainier towards what I...
Sawteeth Mountains (?) and some wildflowers.
Another bridge!
And another! This one appears to have a structural flaw,...
Catherine by a stream through a beautiful meadow.
Can you see the marmot?!
How about now?
Note: that's our trail he's peering over. I eventually...
And so willing to pose for us.
Big fat nose.
These reminded me of the flowers Mom planted on my porch.
Meadow + flowers. If it had been clear, Mt Rainier would...
I convinced Lucie to divert from our path to Sluiskin...
Lucie stayed on the edge and I ran down to have my...
Glimpses of mountains, and wildflowers.
Lucie hiking down the Lakes Trail. There is some blue in...
I turned back to see how far the blue had reached...
Later, a little more.
And later, still more!
Meanwhile, we had hiked our way into some beautiful...
I didn't get any incredible shots, but you can see why...
When we reached Faraway Rock (I believe) overlooking...
The clouds didn't clear to a point of a great view while...
Also, Lucie took this awesome shot of me.
Close-up isn't as good, but again, shows Louise Lake below.
The Reflection Lakes are another popular destination for...
Of course, they hope and wait for clearer skies and...
But I was happy with what I could capture (yes, that is...
Another try.
And then it all cleared and I got this shot! Okay, I...
Catherine plus part of a mountain.
The top of the mountain peaked out for a bit.
Reflection Lake and the top of Mt Rainier. And some clouds.
Top of the mountain.
Wildflowers on the side of the road.
Bob later informed us that while Lucie and I looked at...
Beautiful waterfall next to the 4th Crossing Trail...
I am sure that water is so cold. But so clear!
Instagramed version of the stone bridge on the Valley...
After a lot of work (primarily by Bill), Sparkle is on...
Closer shot, showing the gorgeous woodwork on the sides.
Attempting to point at bow number 05.
Driving down the street.
Dad and I get her ready to come off the trailer.
Unhooking some things, hooking others...
In the air!
Another (better) shot of the bow.
Liftoff!
On the hoist at Zittel's Marina.
Okay, test one passed! (she floats)
Step 2: put mast in, secure vertically.
How many sailors does it take to secure something or...
Susan thought to bring Sparkle-ing cider to recognize...
Dad gets in on the fun.
Cheers! I did splash some on the boat, too, so we can...
Mast + sunshine.
The bow and "cockpit", or area with most of the...
Being towed from Zittel's to West Bay.
Self-photo.
Another self-photo, from the bow during the tow.
On the dock at West Bay.
Another shot. Gosh she looks good.
On the road to Mt St Helen's! Along the way, there are...
Worse, my attempts to get to a place where maybe I could...
Dad and Catherine head out on the Boundary Trail from...
We hiked from the Johnston Ridge Observatory to the kink...
Dad with the remains of MSH in the background - 1300 ft...
Looking down into the valley between Johnston Ridge and...
And down the North Fork of the Toutle River.
Catherine ready for a hike in front of the mountain. I...
Crazy-looking wildflower. Anyone know what this is?
Wildflower + mountain.
Note the hump in the middle of the crater - volcanic...
At first glance, I thought there was a fire on the...
Also, note the downed trees and lack of vegetation, 30...
Dad standing on the only sketchy area of what was,...
Dad points to the mountain, which is slowly being lost...
Uh oh, seems ominous. Well, I already sent Dad down...
Wildflowers plus dad hiking.
More flowers growing out of rocks. Having been at Mt...
Looking down from the trail. Definitely a no-fall zone.
Spirit Lake, as viewed from the Boundary Trail. During...
Dad and Catherine with part of Mt St Helen's in the...
Dad and Catherine with Spirit Lake.
Catherine with Spirit Lake. If the weather had been as...
One noble fir growing out of the dirt. As I understand,...
Sad face over the mountain hiding in the clouds. Final...
Leaving the dock Monday night.
Actually moving, despite the total lack of wind in the harbor.
Crazy reflection, crazy skies.
For the last night of Monday racing, we formed teams and...
First view of Sparkle under sail! We're in back, trying...
Well, it looks like we managed to get them. This...
The good news is that coming around the mark and heading...
Coming closer to the committee boat. At least Dad knows...
A friend and coworker from UT came to visit family in...
At the Rachel Lake Trailhead.
This made us worry a bit about the popularity of the...
Interestingly, a group bigger than 12 is welcome come...
The trail is in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the...
Using the timer function to get a photo with a waterfall...
Andrew investigates some trail maintenance.
Looking up where we're headed. The trail is described as...
Halfway through the steep section there was an...
Also, there was a frog. I'm looking at it.
See?
Bonus points if you can still spot it.
First views of Rachel Lake. We could not have asked for...
Looking the other way.
The water was beautifully clear.
Now, having hiked 4 miles and it being hot and there...
Although given that it was very cold water, it did take...
Trying to breathe in the cold cold water.
It still felt absolutely awesome, though.
There's a website popular this summer called "Hot-Dog...
We continued hiking from Rachel Lake to Rampart Ridge...
On the trail above Rachel Lake.
I'm intrigued to know if these berries are poisonous. ...
Berries and Rachel Lake.
Looking down at Rachel Lake.
We were swimming at the furthest left beachy area visible.
Andrew above Rachel Lake (representing FSEL, yay!).
Path, lake, mountains.
Anyone know what this kind of rock is?
One of the first of the Rampart Lakes we came upon.
Another Rampart Lake. There were probably four or five...
Crazy green moss in a creek between lakes.
Another Rampart Lake.
Self-photo with a Rampart Lake.
One lake had an accessible island, so I claimed it as my...
Andrew surveys the yonder. We would later learn that we...
More lake views. I love alpine lakes.
No such thing as too many lakes.
I could have hung out at these lakes and swum for days...
But I took more pictures as we went, for sure.
A stream between the lakes.
Having been told that Mt Rainier could be seen by going...
We could see Rachel Lake below us, though, and could see...
A poor panorama attempt (I tried twice and made the same...
Wildflowers and distant mountains.
Andrew looking down towards Rachel Lake after we finally...
Some brave soul had swum well out into Rachel Lake. Brr!
Passing by Rachel Lake, it was again impossible not to...
Water-level view of the lake.
Another try.
Pondering the watery yonder.
Meanwhile, Andrew's shoes had basically fallen apart...
Final shot before we head back down the four miles to...