The Great Escape, Part 2

 

Hello again!  Yikes, the weeks have flown by, and the rest of the story was left dangling.  Quick...I better close one chapter and start the next before it too is over and a distant memory.  Is it age or am I just too busy living my life to sit down and concentrate on writing?  

After our time in Seattle, Olympic National Park and Mt. Rainier National Park we drove through some stunning countryside to North Cascades National Park.  I did not know much about this park but after researching prior to our trip it may have been the one I was most excited to visit.  It was everything and nothing like I expected.  Once again, the expectation of wet dreary weather was unrealized and we enjoyed almost perfect conditions.  We arrived later in the day but just had to drive into the park and headed right to one of the most iconic viewpoints in the park, the Diablo Lake viewpoint.  It did not disappoint!  The color of glacial lakes cannot be mimicked!  That turquoise blue is just stunning!  Our appetite to see more grew!

Lake Diablo inviting us to come back tomorrow!

Our accommodations were...rustic.  I am not sure there is anything but rustic accommodations around the park.  Seems North Cascades is a camper's and hiker's paradise.  We are not campers but we do like to hike!  We stayed in a small cabin not too far from the park.  Very functional is how I would describe it.  Luckily, we were driving and had our breakfast provisions, some snacks and our evening card playing refreshments with us as the on-site restaurant was closed for renovations.  The "nice" restaurant nearby was also closed for renovations.  We settled for the next to nice restaurant for both night and were happy.  If you hike enough, hot food is very satisfying

The next morning, we took the obligatory national park sign photos which gave us many laughs.  I mean how many tries does it take for 4 people, of a certain age, to get a good photo?!  You would have thought we were toddlers...one with eyes open, 2 with them closed...photographer not quite in the photo yet...totally awkward poses...We made many attempts and cracked up at the poor efforts.  Note to self...stand as far away from the camera as possible and don't stand like a statue!  Vanity has no end.

Nope...only 3/4 with open eyes.  And so it went!

First hike of the day, Blue Lake.  We had high hopes for this and it did not disappoint.  Possibly our longest hike with the most varied terrain.  We were farther north and at higher elevation so we hiked through some mud, some snow/mushy ice and crossed water on log bridges.  We also got to see some mountain goats up close and personal.  The lake at the end was beautiful!  We sat on a rock and ate our lunch marveling at the beauty.  

The view along the trail was motivating!

Navigating the mud and the snow...not as much fun.

The lake did not disappoint!

Nice view for lunch!

We hiked back and drove back to hike the "short easy" trail to Rainy Lake.  Another lovely lake and we appreciated the short and easy part!  

  

The adequate accommodations and as close to camping
as I like to go!

The dam at Lake Diable

Enjoying the cold glacial soak after a day of hiking!

Amazing!!!  Rainy Lake

The day surpassed my expectations!  North Cascades has so much more to offer and a new breathtaking view around every corner.  It was also the park we saw the most wildlife!  We saw a bear across Rainy Lake while soaking our feet...  The park has so many hikes of various elevations and lengths, we just touched the tip.  I would go back.  

The next day we drove up to Vancouver.  After all the time I have spent in Canada, I have never been to Vancouver.  I was very excited to visit.  Plus, it was nice to get back to "civilization" after a week in the parks.  Vancouver is not like any city in Nova Scotia that's for sure.  So shiny and modern.  We stayed in a very nice neighborhood and enjoyed walking to dinner.  We did not mind driving in and out of the city either.  Compared to Houston...super easy!  In order to see as much as possible in as little as possible time we did the hop on hop off bus tour.  We had never done one before.  Not a bad way to see the big sights quickly.  We did take a break at the market and in Chinatown.  We had a great meal on the water and indulged ourselves.  The last day of the trip we drove the Sea to Sky Road up to Whistler.  TJ was curious to see the ski village as he has it on his radar.  The drive up was the best part.  So scenic!  We made a few stops to take a short hike and to see a few sights.  Lunch in Whistler Village which is a summer mountain biking mecca and a winter ski resort.  

Steam Clock...check!

Shannon Falls and many rock climbers in the area! 

Drink a Ceasar!  Check!

Cross a suspension bridge!  Check!

Enjoy the waterfront!  Check!

Vancouver was lovely and we wish we could have spent more time exploring the area but all good things come to an end.  Maybe we will go back and visit Victoria...hint, hint.  The Pacific Northwest in June was a real treat!  We all loved it!

Back at the shore, life moves along.  We returned to summer in full bloom.  June proved me a liar.  June was a lovely month as far as historic data goes.  July began warm and continued to heat up to almost Houston summer conditions.  Luckily it did not last 3 months only a few days.  The population continues to grow almost daily now.  Some people have come and gone already which makes me a little sad.  If their time up here has ended for the year, mine can only be approaching.  Better make the most of the days we have here, they are precious and numbered.  It feels like I am about at the halfway point of my time here and heading down the other side of the countdown.  I guess I can't think about that now.  Hopefully I will have a day to myself again and find something fun or thoughtful to share here.  Until then, enjoy the summer and make the most of the days that give us extra hours of sunlight to enjoy.

The Great Escape, Part 1

Hello there!  Is it just me, or did June fly by?  Seems like only a month ago or was it more...I arrived to tulips in bloom and trees with budding leaves.  The garden was nothing but a plot of dirt full of high hopes and the temperatures required more than one layer of clothing.  Today, the garden has already provided many delicious salads with fresh spinach and assorted lettuces.  The strawberries are good if we beat the slugs(?) to them and most seeds have turned into plants!  The peonies have already gone from tight buds to spent flowers and the lupins made their beautiful showing along the roadsides and are gone until next year.  The next wave of color will be provided by the daisies, lilies, irises, lavender, geraniums and petunias.  I continue to be amazed by how quickly everything grows up here!  

Huge and fragrant peonies!

Almost at their peak!

Until we meet again next year...
pruned and headed to the bin.

As per our agreement, the one where I agree to come to the shore in May and TJ agrees to a couple of weeks away in June so we can escape the onslaught of black flies, cold and wet early June weather and mosquitoes (which may be an impossibility), we took a trip to the Pacific Northwest.  Back in November we planned this trip with our anniversary friends Roberto and BellaDonna.  I had never been to Seattle or Vancouver; TJ had only been to various paper mills in the area through work...so basically, he hadn't been either!  Over the spring Roberto and I worked out an itinerary, found accommodations, and started researching the best trails to hike in each of 3 national parks.  TJ was in charge of booking flights and renting our chariot for the trip and tossing out more things to do and see.  BellaDonna is our on-site queen of delicious snacks and resident card shark.  If we had played for money, she would be rich now.  

I had some broad-brush stroke ideas of what to expect from Seattle.  I expected gray skies, maybe some fog and a lot of coffee, which sadly, I do not drink.  TJ and I did a half-day-hit-all-the-high-points speed visit to the city.  We had about 4 hours in the morning before our friends arrived to see Seattle.  They had already been there and done that.  We took the super convenient but not super-fast, light rail from our airport area hotel into the city.  We were on a mission!  Public Market, waterfront, Space Needle and surrounding area, eat some seafood, get a feel for the city and back to meet our friends at the airport.  I was pleasantly surprised by Seattle!  It may just be the cleanest city I have ever seen!  At least the parts we saw were immaculate not to mention all of the beautiful flowers!!!  We walked immediately to the Public Market, witnessed the iconic fish tossing at the fish market, reveled at the beautiful flowers in the market, strolled around drooling at all the of amazing seafood we were not going to be able to buy and cook...all the while enjoying the perfect location of the market.  We were also blessed by perfect weather.  We did the most touristy thing ever and I drug TJ to the top of the space needle.  Since we weren't going to get to see the entire city close up, we saw it from high above. As they say, on a clear day you can see forever!  We found a place that served one of the best fish sandwiches ever...and I love a good fish sandwich.  All in all, I would go back...especially if we could be guaranteed the same weather.

Accidental Air Canada ad, and why I love the window seat.
Mount Rainier...and my heart going pitter patter!

Going up!

I can't wait to go explore those mountains!

On the itinerary in the area...see Mount Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park.  We said we would choose to see Rainier on the day with the best weather thinking we would have limited choices of good days.  We were wrong.  We had many good days.  We chose to see Rainier first and then go to Olympic.  Our third day was flexible depending on how we felt and what we wanted to revisit or visit.

Rainier was spectacular!  Seeing it from the plane, then again from the space needle, and in the distance on the drive to our Airbnb served to pique our interest more and more.  Stunning!  The park is very nice, with waterfalls, lakes, good trails and good roads.  Unfortunately, early June presents something I did not really plan for...snow on the trails.  Icy, slushy snow-covered trails.  TJ and I tromped around for an hour...maybe two around the mountain to see how close we could get and saw a waterfall.  The hiking was like hiking on a soft sandy beach...exhausting!  Glad we did it but whew!  All in all, what a gorgeous place.  We did see Reflection Lake and even found a place for a reflection.  

Not your typical National Park sign...

Waterfall number one of the day.

Just beautiful!

Second waterfall...

The point where I said, "OK, I will only go as far as the
next two trees."  Did I?  Nope...those words were repeated
a few times!

Never know what you are going to find after the next trees!

Reflection Lake

Roberto had them eating out of his hand...

Olympic National Park was a bit of a drive from our accommodations.  After a 2.5 or 3 hour drive early in the morning, we finally made it to our first trail, Hurrican Ridge.  Sound easy right...?!  With its advertised 360-degree view promised, we were ready.  Luckily, we drove a lot of the way up to the viewing point and only hiked the last bit up.  Another lovely day and the views were worth the steep climb.  After gawking at the vast range of mountains in the distance, realizing how massive this park really is and just enjoying feeling like we were on top of the world, we went to Port Angeles for lunch.  After lunch we drove to another part of the park for another hike around a lake to a waterfall.  I am pretty sure all hikes in the state go around a lake to a waterfall or past a waterfall to a lake!  Olympic National Park is HUGE! We barely scratched the surface.  In hindsight, maybe we should have chosen to change accommodations for this part of the trip and reroute, but it was too late for that.  So...we drove back making our best efforts to stay awake.  Our next day was decided in our exhaustion that night.  Stay close to "home" and see what we can see in the area.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and the plan we came up with, last minute, worked out pretty well!  One thing I enjoy about a bit of flexibility build into a trip is that many times it results in unexpected treats.  

Another day, another park!
We love our national parks!!!

They look like they go on forever!

Hurricane ridge!

The vastness is breathtaking!

Walking to yet another waterfall!

It is bigger than it looks.

One of the things you find when you explore
 ...and I love fuchsia!

There were so many different colors!!!

We all enjoyed seeing the Rhododendron Gardens and the Tacoma Rose Garden...all for the low, low price of FREE!  We found a super nice restaurant nearby, enjoyed some delicious food and went back to our Airbnb and BellaDonna proceeded to beat us all again at cards.  

The next day we were on to the next location which will be covered in another post.  I missed my June deadline by one day...so maybe if I focus (ha-ha, I'm at the shore...focusing is a challenge!) July will be a 2-post month!  Imagine...I used to do one a week.  Some of them were even good!  

So far, the Pacific Northwest has been more beautiful than I expected!  The landscape is stunning.  The trees are huge and plentiful.  The cities have been welcoming and easy to enjoy.  The water is everywhere and who doesn't love looking at blue skies, blue water and feeling a nice breeze blowing?!  What a great escape from the usual June gloom at the shore. (Not totally sure it was gloomy, but history shows that the possibility is high for gloom.)