A Day Hike

A few weeks back Frank's parent's came to visit, and we Rovey'd them into the wilderness and took them hiking Sanitarium Style. One of our many favorite places around here is the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. All of the trails up there go on and on and on forever, but they can also be used for fun, mostly casual (if you don't count fairly quickly moving creek crossings) day hikes.

My girlies... Stunning Vistas all around. Washington is second-most in glaciers in the nation...second only to Alaska. We didn't actually make it to any glaciers this time. Hopefully soon.

It's beautiful to just be up there though, even on a hot day it's cool in the cover of the trees, and the sound of rushing water is a restful constant noise. (Unless you have to pee, of course. Then suddenly it's not so restful.)

If you're a tree, it must be a comfort to know that other trees will catch you when you fall, and save you from the dreadful tumble down the mountainside.

There are not any words I could possibly use to explain or justify the strange absurdedness seen in the below photo and all the elements thereof.

So, I will not try.

I will say, however, that this was a very preventable three-foot drop through just a patch of snow. This same weekend a girl died on a glacier stepping through snow in exactly the same way.

Just goes to show that one must ALWAYS, no matter what, be aware, use caution, pay attention and think about what they're doing--the silliest bits of inattention can kill you, or at least result in a broken something-or-other when you're in wilderness areas and engaging in wilderness activities. A good reminder.

And, the wildflowers were pure bliss--I included too many in this post, but I actually didn't blog about half of the ones I took on this day. You're welcome.

Our friendly water-break buddy.

Me and my sweetie. :-) We love it out here.

We waded through several creeks (read: freshly melted snow) this day...finally we turned around at one that was running too deep and fast for us to feel like heading through, only to turn around and come back a few minutes later. Our kids were, as always, pretty much troopers.

Heading through the dark woods... Interjection: I love this man. :-)

And then popping out here and there to views like this doesn't get old.

I was instructed to look like Captain Morgan one minute, and the Lara Croft the next. I like to think I got a little bit of both in this picture. Ha!

We were here.
So much water... wow, SO much water. Creek after creek after river overflowing their banks. Wish we could send some of this water to places that desperately need it in this country!!
And, one of my favorite pics from the day.

A purty good weekend

Last weekend was a purty good weekend. And, that's a big time understatement. Two of my stisters (What Kiki and Debris call each other, and the term has stuck) and my Dad and Mom came up, and we had a great time.

Saturday AM started out with local friends, some friends from Seattle, and family doing the MS Walk. And, strength tests, somersaults, and otherwise silly things in the park afterwards.

Then Saturday evening we cooked dinner, packed it up in a cooler, and headed up Burch Mountain for our first Going Losting trip of 2011 to eat dinner and watch the sunset and hopefully get to break in our winch.

The winch breaking-in was successful. Sadly, we have no pictures of this epic event, because when Frank and I are working the winch, whose gonna shoot the pictures? I basically went up-up-up until we hit snow, and then went up-up-up through the snow until it became marshmallowey, and got stuck. Then, we winched ourselves out, turned around, and came to a place not quite so snowy for dinner. With not quite the sunset view we were hoping for, but still pretty good. It was really fun.

This would be dinner. Hot stir-fry.

It was quite delish, if I do say so myself. I have a secret stir-fry sauce I've developed in recent past, and I love it. Maybe I'll un-secret it on my blog sometime.

We had some pretty happy babies... Frank, Me, Kiki and Debris have ALL been itching to get out in the woods in the Land Rover. The girls were so excited they were in the Rover and buckled in before we were ready.

I love this picture. :-)

What we were viewing while we ate dinner.

My Daddy, who loves to go off-roading with us when he gets the chance.

My other happy baby.

Rovey, whose had some work done on him this (early) spring, getting ready for more work to be done, and more adventures this summer. Yay!

Me: You can't tell, but I'm really dancing and screeching inside. I love pine trees, and sage steppes and especially being n them with my peeps. And who can resist that vibrant, and yet somehow washed-out magical glow that is the few fleeting moments before a sunset?

My jacket is the Marmot Precip: We bought one for Frank and me here with an emailed coupon as well. The girls have this one... not quite as nice and feature-ful, but does the trick for little people who grow out of stuff every season. Things I LOVE about the Marmot Precip jacket. It is most definitely waterproof. The only time I've ever sweat faster than it can wick sweat away from me in it was when I was running intervals in a spring rain storm, and even that wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined it would be, as I have horrible memories of claustrophobic feelings from dripping sweat inside raincoats. There is NO nasty clammy raincoat feeling in it. The pit-zips are awesome, and did exactly what they're supposed to when I started getting hot in the jacket. The range of motion for my arms is awesome. It stuffs into it's own pocket, and weighs approximately nothing. The hood does a great job of keeping rain off my face, but I still have my peripheral vision... that's a big deal when you're a momma. The only thing slightly weird about it at first is that the pockets are high... like if you start to do the chicken dance, that's about where you're going to be putting your hands in your pocket, directly below your breasts. But, I KNOW I'm going to LOVE that when I'm wearing a backpack, (or if someone else was wearing a baby on their back with a waist strap, perhaps?) so that's really a good thing. It breaks wind very well, (heh heh!) and I'm seriously considering just getting a 200 weight Polartec fleece to stick under it for wintertime wearing with thermal underskivvys, instead of getting another winter shell. It was a bit cold on a windy ridge on this day, but if I'd had my lightweight fleece underneath it, it would have been perfect.

(I thought that instead of doing huge overwhelming blog posts about outdoor gear we love, I'd do short little snippets inside posts as photos of things come up, and just do an Outdoor Gear We Love label so people can find the posts with all our favorite gear in them at a click.)

And, as we headed back down into the valley, the sun set completely... thanks for joining us on our first going losting trip of 2011!

Silver Falls in Autumn

Saturday Morning I awoke to a sweet surprise on my couch... my littlest baby sister had driven up after she got off work, and crashed on our couch... so, we decided the original plan of yard work for the day was in no way acceptable... is it ever acceptable?! and we headed off to capture the magic of a gorgeous Autumn day for our very own.

Hiking Silver Falls is a natural Autumn activity choice hereabouts... it's a 30 mile drive up the Entiat Valley, and it is SO. Very. Lovely. It's a perfect hike for kids as well. One of the neat things about this hike (as mentioned in the link above as well) is the drive in and the view around the hike really indicate how "on the edge" of the Cascade Range you are. There's a mix of the rainy mountain trees on the West side of the waterfall, which slowly changes to the dryer, more "desert" forest trees on the East side of the trail. The water tumbles down the hill, a few still pools interspersed with white water short tumble sections, and huge misty falls as well. It's dark and cool and shaded in some places, and brilliantly ethereal rainbowed and water diamond sparkly in others...

The hike is saved from being terribly steep by the switchback trail on either side of the falls.

And just when it starts to get boring you're back at the falls, and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the rainbows in the mist.

The whole way up, you have this view off the steep side of the trail.

And at the top you can hop back and forth over the creek as much as you like, since there are old logs and stones and branches standing firm, and lecturing the cheerful creek as it tumbles past. ...I've seen you come through here before, they say, and many waters before you. The path is hard, and different troubles will beset you as you head for that mighty Pacific Ocean. But, I will see you here again soon, or my tree/rock brothers will see you elsewhere in these great mountains of ours. Carry on, and we shall await your return... The water cheerfully carries on, having no idea of the plummet that is in it's near future. Fortunately it's water, and in it's powerful fall is only beauty and grace.

While we admired the gurgling creek and talked about weather patterns, Frank and Auntie Caca had fun with the bridge and the camera. :-)

The best pictures of the day were at a trail spot that we almost didn't bother to go to, as it wasn't in the main path. I'm so very glad we did.

From behind the waterfall.

Auntie Caca and my babies... excuse me, kids. I've recently been informed that even though they will always be my babies, even until they're 110 years old, it would be best if I didn't feel compelled to embarrass them by publicly calling them my babies, as they are now "kids" not babies. Yeah, forget it babies. You're my babies and even when your babies babies have babies, I will still call you my babies.

I'm so glad that Auntie Caca came to see me...

I'm pretty sure she actually came to see the babies but I'll still take it. :-) Have a great week!

Fabric from Africa*Great Friend*Lake Chelan

Early last week, this friend came to visit me... She has made three trips to Cameroon with a medical team... and each time brought home fabric. So, she came to visit me, and we spent a day and a half marathon sewing to create things with said fabric.

We made Pajama Pants... if you would like to learn to sew, but just don't know where to start, may I suggest Pajama Pants? They are SO easy&fast--a great hour long project, and the best part is that you can wear them and admire them every night-I particularly love making them with fabric I love, but that wouldn't necessarily work as a skirt or dress. And, you can make them exactly the way you like them so they will fit perfectly when they are done. (started out with Simplicity pattern 4429, altered as we saw fit)

We made the darlingest of summer dresses... (started out with Simplicity pattern 2421, altered as we saw fit)

Two handbags for knitting stuff... (pattern from 101 one yard wonders)

And a twirly skirt. (my design.) Every girl can use a twirly skirt. But, they take A LOT of fabric to make an adult sized one. This was 6 1/2 yards... perfect for this project-we saved a few strips for a quilt, but used close to all of it. I imagine it with cute cowgirl boots and a long sleeved shirt in the winter, and flip flops and a tank in the summer. It's a really lightweight cotton and took to this design beautifully.

We had plans to sew all day Monday, and stop sewing Tuesday morning at noon to head up to Lake Chelan. We ended up stopping at 12:30--not bad--with everything completely done. So, we headed up to Lake Chelan for an afternoon of fun.

It was a gorgeous summer day... Looking Northwest... the other end of the Lake is about 45-ish miles up there!

Looking North across the Lake at Manson...

Eating chips and being hams...

Sand wreaks havoc on pedicures...

Apparently I had a toe obsession on this day...

My beautiful girl... who was in heaven. She loves swimming in lakes, unlike her mother.

Debris took the opportunity to do some push-ups on the beach. Her father will be so proud.

Aw!

On the way home we stopped by a local fruit stand and got local fresh-from-the-tree Rainier Cherries. Lovely and Glorious, they have become the epitome of summer time for our family.

Stay tuned for posts about our wonderful July Fourth Weekend... I'm working my way through all 292 pictures we got, and will do a post very soon!