Visiting Glacier

Fisherman at Crypt Lake, Alberta

As I have gotten older I crave beautiful vistas, wide open space, plenty of fresh air and starry filled skies.  Next week I will be posting about our recent trip to Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park (the Canadian side of Glacier). Those few days we spent there our legs functioned on overdrive from hiking eight to ten miles per day and our brains were spinning from all the gorgeous scenery we witnessed.

If you cannot wait until next week, here are some photos from our last trip to Glacier.

Summer walks

Summer walks are pretty spectacular around here. We have this lovely park called Lincoln Park, just minutes away from our home. We spend countless hours going on walks, sitting on park benches while watching the ferries come and go and watching the sunset.

A weekend on Orcas Island

We planned a kayaking trip with friends to Orcas Island several months ago and just recently returned from our much anticipated trip. I walked away from the weekend with a newfound love for Orcas Island.

A walk in the woods

Nothing grounds me more nor alters my mood faster than some quality time outdoors. Whether it be a butt burning hike, a walk in the woods, a paddle on the sound or a sunset stroll through the park. I have found spending time outdoors is essential to my physical and mental well being. If you have not taken some time for yourself lately, might I suggest lacing up your shoes and setting out for some natural scenery.

Mountain House giveaway and blog feature

Update: Kelly Dee you are the winner! Please email me with your mailing address.

Today is the last day to enter to win three meals from Mountain House.
For more details and to enter, go here.

Also, I was featured on Gluten Free Travelette last week talking about one of my favorite camping sites, read all about it here.

Walking through Upper Antelope Canyon

Have you ever been inside a slot canyon? I had never been, so I was excited to visit the most photographed slot canyon in the world, Antelope Canyon. This particular canyon is located on a Navajo reservation, which means the only way to access it is by going on a tour. Since it was the last tour of the day, there were only ten of us, which meant we were able to take photographs without strangers being in them and enjoy the canyon as if we had the place to ourselves. The ride out to the canyon was extremely bumpy, we were continuously bouncing up and off our bench. It felt adventurous being jiggled around and kicking up so much dust as we barreled down the dirt road.

City adventure: waterfront walk + picnic at Sculpture Park

On a random day in May the thermometer crept up to eighty seven degrees!! This not only made people temporarily forget they lived in Seattle, but put everyone into Summer mode. I met up with Cameron after work and we strolled along the waterfront to the Olympic Sculpture Park for a picnic dinner. With views of ferries, sailboats, mountains, and water from such a beautiful shoreline park, it was pretty much a quintessential Summer evening. Such a great surprise so early in the month of May.

Take a hike: Mt. Si

When we want a hike to leave us feeling exhausted at the end of the day we head up to Mount Si, with eight miles round trip and 3150 feet elevation gain, it is a good indicator if we are in good hiking shape or not. On a clear day you can see both downtown Seattle, Bellevue and Mount Rainier.

Day adventure: Gas Works Park

Gas Works Park is a flurry of activity morning, noon or night. There is not only kite flying, picnicking, and people watching galore, but all types of water and air traffic. Recently, we spent one evening at that park and much to our delight discovered a beaver. With Seattle boasting more parks than most cities it is fun to discover pockets of nature and spend an evening watching seaplanes take off and land, sailboats breeze on by and a beaver busily building a dam all with the city and the Space Needle as their back drop.

Seattle: hey, we've got color too!

Sure our skin is a whiter shade of pale than the next person, and we might even get a sunburn if the clouds part for a day in February, but what we lack in good weather; we make up for when the sun decides to make an appearance. Here are a series of photographs (all taken within the past nine months) which best depict our city full of color, sunshine and happiness. As much as the country likes to poke fun at Seattle for being an unfriendly place, where it constantly rains, there could not be anything farther from the truth.

Mt. Pilchuck

Mt. Pilchuck is a relatively easy hike (3.5 miles each way) with a massive award at the end (Mother nature dependent) You start off the hike around 3400 feet, so once you reach the top you are standing at approximately 5600 feet which is just enough height to bring you up through the clouds and standing high above them. You feel like you are in an airplane minus the uncomfortableness and cramped space. Most people seemed to be disappointed with the clouds, but after sitting and watching them for an hour you realize how swift moving, ever changing and mesmerizing they truly are.

The Mt. Pilchuck Lookout is not a good place for the clumsy nor people afraid of heights. You climb over large boulders and then a ladder to reach its platform.

Rather astutely, Cameron pointed out how Ansel Adams these photos look, well thank you very much.

There were brief interludes of the clouds momentarily parting to catch a glimpse of Mt. Rainier. For those less patient, they had already headed back down, shame on them.

I was not in love with the hike up because there was a lot of climbing over things and it felt like walking up a dried river bed instead of on a trail. Once we were up there I quickly changed my mind and decided I would come back here in a heartbeat to see what Mother Nature had in store for us. On a clear day you can see the San Juan Islands, Olympics, Mt. Rainier and just about anything else you would want.

Hiking, hungry bears and one handsome husband

As we hiked out of the trees and continued our ascent up Granite Mountain we were slowly loosing daylight. This is in stark comparison to mere months ago when we enjoyed daylight until 10pm, which gives me pause to think where did Summer go? Everywhere around us are reminders of Fall and my heart cannot help, but skip a beat when I think of emptier trails and more vibrant colors in the coming months.

The opportunity to squeeze in a mid week hike is the equivalent to a child getting to eat dessert before dinner, such a treat. It was one of those perfectly warm Summer days, giving way to a clear moonlit night.

If you enjoy a workout head up Granite Mountain, it is one continuous climb.

Dusk and dawn are my absolute favorite times of day. Not that I am consistently up for dawn, but if I were I know I would love it as much. The light at dusk is so delicious I want to eat it up and store it for a dark grey Seattle winter day.

Taking it all in and hardly breaking a sweat, no fair.

Mt. Rainier had to peek itself out to say hello.

Once we got word of a black bear sighting, we made the decision to turn ourselves around. We did not want to be some hungry bear's dinner, that is for sure. It is mind boggling and exhilarating to think that bear country exists so close right off of I-90.

We descended the trail with the help of headlamps and flashlights as we witnessed this beautiful sunset. What a perfect way to end the day.

Webs

When I was young I held the title of best friend near and dear to my heart. I wanted to be the ST END of someone's BE FRI necklace. I sought to cultivate strong bonds of friendship at an early age and could present you with a list of all my former "best friends". Long gone are the days I am concerned with such matters, but rather prefer to have a web of friendships. I have friends whom I am close to because we shared common experiences, friends to share life's current experiences and friends who will forever be in a different place than I. I have friends to call when I want to chat, shop, be inspired, be adventurous or want to feel loved. Now many of these friendships stretch across categories, know no category or are in a category all themselves. One particular friend of mine is my hiking buddy. I am grateful for her because not very many ladies like to huff and puff and sweat with me, but this one does and for that I am glad. We were able to witness this marvelous dew covered spider's web while hiking last week, which reminded me how good it feels to have a web of friends instead of just one best friend.

The misty morning brought out a slew of slugs.

Summer nights

While the rest of the country is sweltering under the intense Summer sun, we have enjoyed a relatively dry and mild Summer. We have had our weeks of heat here and there, but overall it has been warm enough to not need a jacket, but cool enough to not get all sweaty. If it gets too hot, we always have the cool breezes off the water to cool us down. We took to a double kayak for a little sunset outing last week.

One of the reasons I like to be in back is so that I can steer and keep rhythm with Cameron. When he is behind me, who knows what kind of antics he will be up to......case in point this picture.

It is so peaceful on the water, with the ferries passing by and the sun dipping down on the horizon.

Living close to city, but not in the city allows us to be away from the hustle and bustle, while the skyline is a backdrop on our everyday lives.

Me and my twin

Nothing makes me love a person more than when they get out of their comfort zone for me. The other day my little sis and I headed to Rainier for some fresh air, hiking and to see the beautiful wildflowers. I am fairly certain she did not know exactly what she was in for, but between the sunshine and the scenery it could not have been a more idyllic day on the mountain.

Old coworkers, former classmates and other lame people mistake my little sis for me frequently. She hates the mix ups and I find it amusing. I do not really see it, but then again I can never look at us simultaneously except for in photographs. Do we really look that much alike?

I told her she got to play the role of Cameron which meant I was going to be taking lots of pictures of her, she was a good sport and oh so photogenic.

We thought this view would suffice when stopping for a snack.

The marmots were peeking out of their homes throughout the trail.

This particular marmot reminded me of a bunny.

Wide open trails, very few crowds and no shortage of vistas to photograph.