Loving the Sunshine!

When you live in Seattle it is ok to mention the weather daily when the sun is out and shining.  It is a gorgeous Fall day and with each one that passes I am more and more thankful for the beautiful weather that we have been able to enjoy this summer.

Dixie is thoroughly loving the sunshine as well.  We are settling into a new daily routine and enjoying our recent addition.  This includes me making every effort to get out of the house to start work an hour early as well as coming home daily for lunch and potty breaks.  The extra hour built into my day allows me to get off work at the "normal" quitting time of 5 or 5:30 PM instead of staying late as was my previous schedule.

Monday of this week was rainy and cool and we learned that we have a bit of a princess on our hands.  Dixie is not fond of the wet stuff on her back or on her feet which makes necessary pit stops challenging to say the least.  She will stand on the front porch shivering and whining a bit.  My approach is to pick her up and place her on the grass, pulling her further into the yard if the porch is still within reach.  She may be in for a long winter if she doesn't figure out how to love the Pacific Northwest's liquid sunshine!

Nathan surprised me recently with a new digital SLR camera.  We have been talking about making the purchase for months and I have looked at photography classes through the local community college on several occasions but we never got around to it.  He took it upon himself to do some research before diving in and we are both excited about the new toy.  Just days following the camera's arrival Groupon had a deal for an introductory photography class which I signed up for.  Will keep you posted on my artistic endeavors.

In the meantime, as Nathan played around with the camera, we caught the following fun shots of Dixie at play and soaking in the sunshine...

Sniffing her next meal.

She likes to lounge on my legs in the most funky way.

Checking Nathan out as he captures her expression.

Enjoying her new favorite toy, a stuffing-less fox that squeaks.

We know exactly what "puppy dog eyes" look like.

Playing with the red ball - good fun!

The "Family" in Chronicles

Nathan has to work one Saturday a month and when he does, I usually find plenty of reason to go into work myself and get prepared for the upcoming week.  Once we both got home, around 1 PM, we were quick to pack a basic overnight bag and some extra layers before heading out for the Zac Brown Band concert at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA.

For the first time in weeks Western Washington was getting some rain.  The clouds followed us over the Cascade Mountains but the rain diminished about an hour and a half into our 2-hour ride.  We arrived at 4:30 PM and stood in line until the gates opened for General Admission at 5:30 PM.

I can't say that I've been to a lot of outdoor amphitheaters in my life, but I have heard that the Gorge is one of the best natural outdoor amphitheaters there is.  It is situated at the top of the Columbia River gorge and has commanding views of the river below.  Unfortunately the cloudy skies kept us from capturing much in the way of sunset but the views were worth every bit of the drive time.

The Columbia River Gorge

All seats are general admission.  It is a crazy rush to claim your lawn seats.

Concert-going neighbors offered to take a picture.

A wind energy field atop the ridge across the Gorge.

As we started layering.  I ended up with a beanie as well; it got chilly!

The concert was good but not the best we've seen of their performances.  This was the fourth time we've seen Zac Brown Band in person.  The first time we had general admission seats at an outdoor amphitheater in Charlotte (2009) and we sat in the pouring rain on life preservers - seriously - and had a great time!

Standing in line, showing off our last-minute purchase: buoyant lawn seats.

Donning our Walmart rain ponchos in the Charlotte rain (Aug 2009).

Back to present day: following the concert we were able to get out of the lot and back to my parent's house by 2 AM, quietly slipping in and crashing for what was left of the morning.

It had been a couple of weeks since we'd seen my folks so it was nice to sleep in and then visit with them and enjoy a wonderful Sunday afternoon meal of scalloped potatoes, bbq brisket and fresh corn (cut off the cob).

Once we left my parent's house around 3:30 we headed south to Tacoma to pick up our newest family member, 8-week old Dixie, a mellow Boxer girl.

Big yawns on the drive home.

How cute!

Resting after some exciting play with her new toys and new family!

I took the day off from work today to take her for her first vet visit and vaccination.  She is extremely well-behaved and very cuddly.  She took lots of little naps today, played with the leaves and the dandelions outside and learned how to master the wood-floor stairs.  We are excited to round out the "Family" in our Chronicles.

Majestic Mountain - Part 2

We knew that the sun was set to rise on Sunday morning around 6:30 AM so by 6:10 I was able to nudge Nathan awake and we made our way to Sunrise Point to await the big event.  We were joined by a handful of others, on a clear, crisp morning.  

Once we had our fill of the sun rising, we returned to camp for our breakfast.

 

As disgusting as dehydrated eggs and bacon sounds, it was surprisingly tasty.  I had chosen the granola but for some reason had it in my mind that I had chosen oatmeal, something hot.  I made up for it with a cup of hot chocolate.

We quickly and efficiently packed up camp before Nathan spent some time thoroughly bandaging his heels with band-aids and Moleskin. We were then on our way to the popular Summerland trail head by 9 AM, just a mile or so down the road, in the direction of the park exit.  Thankfully we found a spot on the street to park just beyond the Fryingpan Creek Bridge, donned our Camelback packs full of water and snacks and began our trek.

The 4.2-mile hike (one way) was very enjoyable.  The 1500’ elevation gain was gradual at first and then packed a more intense challenge in the last ½ mile.  The terrain was varied and interesting.  We started out in the forest with sufficient breaks in the trees to enjoy waterfalls, flowing creeks and views of the mountain and surrounding hillsides.  We crossed water and rickety bridges, walked through meadows still fully in bloom with gorgeous flowers and little bees buzzing around.  The description I had found suggested that we might run into elk and mountain goat but sadly we did not catch a glimpse of any wildlife.

The rushing water created beautiful background "music" for most of the hike.

Mountain views aplenty.

Fellow hikers offered to take our photo.

An artistic view of a questionable bridge we crossed.

The trail, drenched in sun, lined by beautiful flowers.

Our comfy lunch and rest spot before attacking the final 1/2 mile.

Checking out the view, two switchbacks above me.

The view: breathtaking.  We know that pictures don't do it justice!

Arrival at our destination.  The trail continues but this was our turnaround.

A view of the valley and Cascade Mountain range.

Glacial water coursing its way down the sunny hillside.

The stream cutting a path and providing cool refreshment for some nearby hikers.

Intently reviewing our new map and calculating the mileage (and elevation) of future trail options.

Another wild flower photo - so pretty!

Our return photo, back at the trail head, 8.5 miles and 4.5 hours from the start.

Nathan informed me on our way home that he really doesn't like hiking.  He just likes the views that make it all worth while!  This day was full of "worth while" and we both felt grateful to be able to enjoy the journey with one another.

Majestic Mountain - Part 1

At 6:50 AM on Saturday morning it was decided.  Camping at Mt. Rainier was the consensus and we had precious little time to get the packing underway.  With weather forecasted to be in the 80s and clear, we anticipated we would not be the only ones with the same idea!

By 9 AM we were in a loaded car and on the way to run a couple of errands: Safeway for some apples, deli meat, string cheese and Smores makings, Subway for our lunch and REI for some last minute camping necessities including dehydrated food packs, a footprint for our new 2-person tent, a topographical map of East Mt. Rainier and an America the Beautiful National Parks pass, one that we can use for a year at any National parks in the US.  For those readers who happen to be 62 or older please know that you can get a lifetime pass for $10 (trust us, this is a steal!) so take advantage of it if you are out visiting the National Parks and Forests throughout the US.

Entrance to the National Park

We pulled into the White River entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park, located on the northeast corner, at 11:50 AM.  Following a 30-minute wait at the gate, we were setting up camp and enjoying our Sub sandwiches in a very crowded White River Campground.

Our new, 2-person tent from REI.

Following lunch we changed into our hiking boots and decided that we would hike to the Sunrise Point and Sunrise Visitor’s Center instead of making the 10-mile drive.  According to our new map this appeared to be about a 3 mile hike (one way) with nearly 2200’ gain in elevation taking place in the first 2.5 miles.  Having recently hiked Mt. Si (stay tuned for a future post) where we gained 4000’ of elevation in 4 miles, the challenge in front of us seemed manageable.  The trail started out steep, very honest about what we’d be experiencing for a while.  We took lots of breathers and enjoyed the surrounding scenery.

A rock field that was tempting us to climb.

Look closely and you'll see two birds just chillin'.

Nathan ahead of me on the trail.

Then Nathan’s boots began to rub on his heels.  He experienced something similar during our Mt. Si hike as he was breaking in his new shoes and we didn’t do anything about it in preparation for this trip.  He stopped to put on band-aids and as we continued on the band-aids began to slip.  We stopped again to change up the heel protection and had a couple of down-hillers pass by.  An hour into our trek and I was anxious to get a report on our progress (signs were minimal) so I asked one of the passing hikers.  Checking his altimeter, he claimed that we were at 5300’ with 1000’ to go.

Changing the bandages.

Back on the trail, Nathan make a gallant effort to forge ahead, noticeably favoring his heels as he made very careful and deliberate steps but it didn’t take long before we came to the conclusion to turn around.  Good decision.  It is no fun to walk on blistered feet.  Besides, by the time we had returned to camp we’d been gone for two hours, plenty of good exercise for the day. 

We climbed into the car and decided to make the 10-mile drive to Sunrise Point and check out the views the easier way.

Glorious.  Majestic.  Pictures don't do it justice!

Another view from Sunrise Point.

Following our picture taking at Sunrise, we returned to camp for dinner.  The mission of this trip was to be minimalist and we intended to expedite our departure so we depended on dehydrated food packs from REI.

Dinner - yum!

Packing camp food, necessary preparation supplies and anticipating the required clean up in less-than-sanitary conditions is enough to ruin the experience for me.  Dehydrated food is the way to go!  May be more expensive but SO easy!  And actually pretty yummy.  While boiling the water for my meal (the Mexican Style Rice and Chicken) I noticed that it was a 2-serving pack.  Somehow I convinced Nathan to share it with me, saving the Spaghetti and Meatballs for another trip.  We added an individual Colby Jack cheese stick to it making it stringy and cheesy!

Following dinner it was time to build the fire.  As author of this blog it is with excitement that I get to share this little bit of information with the readers.  Below you’ll find a picture of my love starting our fire.

Focus.

While it looks promising in this photo, let it be known that 6-months in Cub Scouts did not pay off quite the same as 3-4 years in Brownie’s and Girl Scouts!  I had to help Nathan’s efforts when the little bit of a flame that you see above lost its oxygen.  I rebuilt the pile of kindling and got a nice flame going before I added the larger logs.  Due to our combined efforts through the evening, we enjoyed nearly 3 hours of warmth and light from our camp fire.

And let us not forget one of the most important icons of camping, the S’more!  We rocked the S’mores for dessert!

Perfectly roasted 'mallow.

Happy Campers!

By 9 PM the full moon was working its way through the treetops and the surrounding camps were quieting down.  A full day came to a conclusion and we put out the remaining flames in our fire pit.