The Cascades

We have been poking around several towns and areas of the Northern Cascades of Washington.  We tried to go to Mount Rainier, but the access road was closed.

    After going over the crest of the cascades we found ourselves in the Wenatchee Valley, which is on the eastern side of the mountains.  This means that it isn't your typical Pacific Northwet climate.  We found a beautiful valley filled with fruit orchards that just happened to be in bloom right now.

We went to the town  of Leavenworth, which strangely enough is a Bavarian themed village right at the base of the mountains.  It seemed like an adventure sports mecca, most cars were driving through town with either bikes, skis, or kayaks on the roof.  The streets were filled yodelling coming from the town sponsored speakers and there were people in traditional dirndl in the streets.  It was a bit over the top and very obviously a tourist trap.  However, the mountains outside of town were amazing.  We went for a run in a wilderness area above town and ran into the snowline after a few miles.  After our run, while driving to our camping spot, we happened upon a beautiful valley in the mountains that had a town by the name of Plain.

It rained the next day and we drove up and over Stevens Pass.  I am sure we missed a lot of good scenery, but all we could see was rain drops, clouds, and fog.

We actually had a beautiful day yesterday as we checked out the area on the wet(west) side of state highway 20.  We went through Marblemount and Darrington.  Darrington looked like the ideal place for a town, but this one seemed pretty hard up at this time.  A lumber mill seemed to be the main employer and looking at the log yard we were both surprised that there are any trees left in Washington.

 

The mountains were glorious, especially since we could see them.  

 

It is such a nice contrast, that below treeline you can be in a very moist and mossy environment, and then above treeline there is such a stark contrast.

We had our most scenic campsite yet last night.  Right along the beginnings of the Cascade River.  We pulled up to find such a great view.  Colin made a fire right on the bank of the river and we watched the mountains change color with the sunset

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to our dear moms. We miss you a lot and wish we were with you today. 

 

Lake Wenatchee

Wow. That sums it up. We spent the day poking around Leavenworth and the Wenatchee Valley. The entire valley is filled with fruit orchards and they are all in bloom. The entire valley is carpeted with white and pink blossoms. We found a very cute town called Plain that was at the base of the mountains that we are now in. Too bad it is too cold for swimming!

Leavenworth, Washington

Just pulled into Leavenworth. Not sure about the Bavarian themed town, but the mountains outside of town sure look nice. We are going to explore the town today

Oregon Slugs

While we were eating dinner with Michael and Dara the talk turned to gardening in Oregon.

Somehow slugs came up and what a problem they were. I thought to myself, you can sink a few beer cans in the ground with some beer in them and the slugs will be taken care of. Dara said that doesn't work out here, that you have to pick off each one individually. Well a few mornings later I saw why Oregon slugs don't go for the beer cans, they are so big they wouldn't even fit in the opening. These things are huge!

Portland to the Coast

That's funny. I saw that heart in the sand last night as we were walking out to make a fire and watch the sunset on the beach. I said, "Hey, Colin! Look! Someone made a heart in the sand out of bull kelp!" To which Colin replied, "Oh, someone is more impressive than I am."

Anyway, we are at the coast and it really is as beautiful as everyone has been telling us. Rocky cliffs, rolling hills speckled with evergreens (only speckled because everything is heavily logged around here), and pretty sandy beaches. We are being blessed with sunny weather again today and we will head over to Oswald West State Park.

The best place to visit in Portland! 

After a week at Dara and Mike's house, we felt it was time to get out of their hair. As much as we were enjoying their company and the warm shelter of their cute house, we didn't want to overstay our welcome. But we had an awesome time hanging out and riding around Portland with them (and Pumpkin). It was great to get shown around town by a couple who really loves where they live.

On Sunday Kate and Josh took us to Opal Creek for hiking and wild mushroom foraging. It was absolutely gorgeous hike (or "dreamy," as Kate would put it), and we were lucky to have sunshine streaming through the trees at us. Had it been about 50 degrees warmer, I might have thought it was a nice day for swimming. Colin and Josh, however, thought it was just fine as it was, and each took a dip in the painfully cold water. Yikes!

Josh contemplating the plunge

The other highlights of the day were a picnic in a sunny meadow and Josh showing us how to find wild hedgehog mushrooms in the moss. Colin had an expert eye for mushrooms and managed to find some good ones. Josh kindly gave us half of the day's finds to take home, along with instructions on how to best wash and cook them. We ate them the following morning in a tofu, egg, spinach, mushroom scramble, and they were actually very tasty!

We will enjoy the vacation-like atmosphere of the beach for one more day and then head up to Washington. Time is beginning to pass increasingly fast and before we know it, it will be time to meet Kumi in Seattle and celebrate her graduation and Colin's birthday!

Our Anniversary

Misa and I were out on a run this morning on the beach and we realized it is our 10 month anniversary today!

So happy anniversary Misa, I love you more and more each day.

Colin