Spring break 2015

Travel has been on the back burner with so many other things that have our finances tied up in knots this year.
My folks were awesome (as usual) and were able to use their travel points to fly us down to Texas for a family visit!

Since we last visited, there have been 3 new additions to the clan!
Three little boys all born within a few months. A set of maternal twin cutie boys to my brother and a handsome little dude to my sister. Making the grand total of grandkids 6 for my folks. And... there is a little gal still cooking up for my sister who is due a few months from now!

We headed down south with a 12 hour day of travel.

The next morning started with a day trip to Brenham to visit my dear Granny and my cousins and their families. It was a super short visit! But, always good to see and be with them!

Then Sunday was Easter with my immediate family.

Monday, my hubby and bro spent some bro time together while my mom, my kid and I  babysat my sister's 2 kids.

Tuesday started with me not feeling 100%. The 3 of us took a morning trip to Mother Neff State Park. It's a cool little park. The 1st State Park in Texas and sporting phase 1 of an over 6 million dollar rehab / addition! It would be cool to overnight camp and walk the trails.  We walked the prairie trail loop. Hiked to the cave, the water hole and the water tower. Checked out the bird blind. Drove around the park. Checked out the new interpretive center. All in under 2 hours (even with me slower than usual).

Enjoyed some Clay Pot!

That afternoon, went to the Waco Mammoth Site (hopefully, soon to be a US National Monument). That place is pretty cool. I don't know why it wasn't listed on my Google "things to do nearby". It is a 45 minutes guided tour of the site. The only place you can visit an active dig site of the largest known mammoths in North America. With 3 different ages of remains. Our guide Jeremy, was very informative and entertaining. Pretty darn cool. Hoping to be able to go back again in a few years and learn more as they keep discovering and learning.

Wednesday, our last day. I started off with a sore throat and not feeling too well. I skipped out on the Mayborn Museum but, my hubby and daughter enjoyed it.

We got to nosh some real tex mex - yum!
That evening was family dinner at my brother's place. I was getting worse by the minute and kept my distance from the kids. I love it when we siblings can get together!

By the time bedtime rolled around I was feeling bad enough for a visit to the urgent clinic. Another strep infection just in time for departure. Boo. Thank goodness I kept from the babies!

Thursday was a 14 hour travel day!
Miss my family.
So good to be home and resting.

Summer 2014 Peninsula and Astoria Trip

Summers here are heavenly and all too short. Already nearing the end of another summer.

This summer started out with some great gardening and continues as I write this post. So far, I have harvested about $200 worth of organic produce and I am using only half of my potential gardening space this season.

We "remodeled" the main bathroom. That is another post later.


Earlier this year, hubby purchased a weekend in Astoria package at a charity auction. We decided to make our summer vacation out of it and drove the 101 around the peninsula on the way to Astoria.

We stopped in  Sequim Bay State Park for picnic lunch. The park is really nice with short, well maintained trails, nice picnic areas overlooking the bay.

Before checking in to the cabin, we toured the Makah Cultural Museum.
This is a really nice museum and cultural center and a must-see in the area. The area is territory of the Makah tribe and they are so gracious to open and share one of the most beautiful land in the USA to the public. In my opinion, visitors need to take an earnest effort to learn about and give the utmost respect to the culture and the land.

We stayed in a cabin at the Hobuck Beach Resort. The cabins are great and the beach is phenomenal. We wish we could have stayed at least one more night. We relaxed in the cabin and played in the sand. We walked (and ran) along the beach, searching the tidal pools for sea anemones, hermit crabs, barnacles, clams and crabs. We made sand sculptures and drawings.

The hike out to the point on Cape Flattery is moderately challenging and the trail is well-kept. The overlooks are awe-inspiring.

This is the most north-westerly tip of the continental 48 states.


Note that these Cape Flattery photos, I did not re-touch them. Only used a UV filter on the lens and did compositing for landscaping and cropped. It is really that beautiful.






















Ruby Beach was our late-lunch stop. We have been to Kalaloch and Beach 2 and 3? in the past. Most everyone that has an opinion of the beaches is of the opinion that Ruby Beach is the most beautiful. I did think it was beautiful but, not any more or less than the others. It is a small beach, rocky and a good elevation change to get down to it.







We took an unplanned stop at Fort Columbia. Hubby had visited years ago before we moved here, and I wanted to give it a go. Very informative, and  cool place to visit. The interpretive signs are kinda willy-nilly stuck in the ground at odd places and the park requires a lot of up and down and climbing up steep hills but the military base is pretty much like it was. I enjoyed walking about, and found myself imagining the feeling of wool socks in laced up leather boots as I marched up and down the misty hills and stairs a midst the crumbling concrete and steel. The salty sea-wind in my face and the barracks at my back.


The Astoria Commodore Hotel is a bare-bones, retro/modern place in the heart of downtown. The service is extraordinary. The beds are fairly comfortable. We booked the river-view suite. A corner room with a queen and full couch with a full bath in the room. Most rooms are MUCH smaller with community bath. Amenities in this room included a shower/bathtub, toilet, sink, toilet paper, shampoo / conditioner / body wash in a dispenser in the shower, tissues, towels, a throw-blanket, TV/dvd (we did not use), table fan (very quiet), clock/radio/sleep-center with ipod station. That's it.  It was very noisy the 1st nite due to the drunks hanging out in the street under the window (historic single pane windows here). The next night was typical road noise. They do offer ear plugs if you need them. The location is great and the building is cool. It is walking distance from just about everything to do in Astoria. I would surely recommend the place for a superior location, charm, service, price as long as you don't expect the modern amenities in-room and can tolerate a historic building downtown with all its sounds.

The Columbia Maritime museum is really good and a must-visit.

Eateries:
BlueOcean Thai is soooo yummy. The Bowpickers fish and chips boat is a must. Check the twitter feed for hours as they are subject to change and bring cash. I thought it was the best fish and chips style fish I have had and although their tartar sauce is great, I thought it was phenomenal with malt-vinegar. The chips are just steak fries from a bag and fried in the fish oil which does make them taste good.
42nd street cafe has good light breakfast. Pig n Pancake has good big breakfasts.
Fort George has 3 opportunities to dine and brew. The Pub is pretty much a pub. The tasting room is located in the brewery itself. It is intimate and urban-rustic with a light selection of nosh. It has a view of the operations. The restaurant is above the Pub and offers outstanding 3 sides of picture windows of the town and the river. It has pub tables, a few small seating arrangement but mostly heavy wood and metal family-style tables. A selection of games adds to the atmosphere. The beers - typical Oregonian IPA hopsy stuff. I am not a fan and should have expected as much. They did have one wheat and 2 stouts that I could enjoy. The food on the other hand was super fab! Smoked salmon spread with pita, apples and carrots - WOW especially on the apples. Elk burger cordon bleu style was tasty and the herbed mashed potato fried blobs were good but would have been fab with some tillamook cheddar in there ;-). The wood-fired pizza - super delish! Carrot cake - yum!


Astoria column - The artwork on the outside is wonderful but, the climb is not worth it not to mention that they just let people go up and down without any kind of traffic limitation - hazard waiting to happen.

Flavel House - nice house, not huge but not tiny either. It is nice but really not a must-see.

We spent 2 nights and felt like we don't ever need to go back. We did everything in one day. It is nice though if you want to get away to a small town that has great walking downtown, a decent river walk and great maritime museum, good food. I do suggest staying downtown as you can walk anywhere. The shops are cool (if they are open). There was an arcade a few blocks down. Yeah, a real one with Donkey-Kong and everything - old school kind - that was totally awesome.


On the way back we visited Cape Disappointment State Park. Also, a must see but give yourself at least a half day. Don't miss the North Lighthouse area. Renting one of the keepers homes in January I expect would be an adrenaline inducing experience.

We had to jot up into Long Beach for a late lunch before heading out. Bobs Chowder is a tiny tiny 9-seater tucked away in a "museum" just off the main drag. Menu is simple. Chowder is pretty much it besides fish and chips and crab rolls. I found the clam chowder good but a too thick and plain for my gold star stamp ( I like mine less potato-y and with more fresh herbs). The smoked salmon chowder on the other-hand was just knock your socks off good. Fish and chips also good as well as the tarter and the slaw had a surprisingly good twist with the addition of cranberries. Super friendly folks.

Then back on to home.

Ah-guest 2013: Part 2 - A Whale of a tale.

mom n pop

The 2nd part of August hails in my folks from Texas. It is always good to see my parents and the older we all get, the more I soak in the moments (the good and the frustrating).  After a busy week with my brother-in-law, we still had a busy week but it was slightly more laid back.

This visit was flipped from the last guest, with my hubby going to work and me hanging out with my folks for the most part.

We started the week off with a visit to the Space Needle. (Sorry all my future guests... Your visits to downtown Seattle will be on-your-own. Rent a car, take a cab, or transit there 'cause this train is done with the typical Seattle tourist hits).

playing with forced perspective - how fun!

Seattle Space Needle  - my untested tip: Plan ahead...well ahead and make reservations for dining to visit the needle. No lines, no waiting and although there is a minimum per-guest charge, the view is free, the visit to the deck is included and you get chow. Plan a few weeks in advance because reservations are a few days to weeks out in the tourist season. Our family has been a total of 3 times (one regular admission, 2 VIP) and still wish we would have done dinner or lunch.

singing flowers

The next few days were filled with quality time with the parents and they with the grand-daughter.

Yum! goulash!

We had a campfire, visited the lake and gardens, completed school-shopping etc...

Then we took a 3-day weekend to "Beautiful British Columbia". We packed up like clowns into the VW Golf and took the Coho over to Victoria. Stayed in a nice little apartment near the Fishermans'Warf. Visited the Butchart, Craigdarroch, Parliament, and with all the walking we did... you would think I should have lost weight instead of gained.

Here is our experience...

Papaw and kiddo

Coho ferry   my rate = 4/5 stars
departs Port Angeles on the upper OP, across the Strait of San Juan de Fuca into Victoria Harbour. Wear appropriate clothing to stand out on the bow of the ship and look out for sea life. We sighted Humpback whales on the way and back. If you have kids or are a kid at heart... get up to the bow right away and watch them cast off.

Craigdarroch Castle   my rate = 5/5 stars
More of a mansion with a tower but, very cool anyways. The history of the building makes it interesting and how it is still in process of being restored after all the many faces it has worn. The docents are extremely knowledgeable and my hubby couldn't even stump them with his inquiries.

Parliament Building  my rate = 4/5 stars
How fun is this. A bit of politics, a lot of detail and astounding beauty in this building. Makes ya wanna run for office just so you can work here. The great thing - free! The guides were lacking and we were on the weekend so, the group was huge and wish we could have taken more time as we could have during the week. The guides seemed like they were scripted and did not know much beyond the speech with the exception of the surprise period speaker (not sure if there is a different one each time).

Waterfront  my rate = 5/5 stars
There is no lack of water-front on Vancouver Island. Walk the harbours, visit the parks. Fantastic! You can go at your own pace. Relax. Exercise. Eat. Watch the wildlife (people too).

Butchart Gardens   my rate = 3/5 stars
My 1st visit was (clears throat) about 20 years ago.Yikes. Seems about the same except the time of year.
It took us about 2 -2.5 hours to go through. We took our time and read signs and such. It is nice and the sunken garden is really nice. I was quite disappointed in the rose garden (they were labeled) because they planted carpet phlox along the pathway and it really really masked the scent of the roses. Carpet phlox is kinda stinky! If you are a garden person then I would suggest it otherwise... you can get your garden fill just walking around the city. It is a private garden not a botanical so, the plants are not labeled.

B.C's licence plates slogan is well-fitting and is not just a slogan - it is truly Beautiful! I would love to visit again and hopefully see some of the upper-lands.

Ah-guest 2013 part1

My daughter said that this year August is Ah-guest.
Rightfully so... the first part we were blessed with a visit from my brother-in-law all the way from the east side of the USA.

Most of the activities were done by my hubby and I chose to stay home for most of it. A whirlwind visit to Mt Rainier, visits to Pikes Place, downtown Seattle landmarks and tours etc... I am just not a high activity person and "once is enough" when it comes to city things. It also saves us a bit of cash for our next guests in 3 days arrival, and allowed Hubby and his brother some brotherly bonding time without having a wife to drag along. I know I appreciate sister time when I can get it.

I did join in in some things that I had been wanting to do or would do again (nature stuff of course). A first time visit to Mt St Helen's, a trip to the coast (been several times but who doesn't enjoy the coast?), and another visit to Northwest Trek (which turned out even better than the 1st time). And on his last nite here, we got to finally have the 1st campfire cook-out of the summer! I know, a bit late but, we've been kinda busy this summer. It was so nice to have him visit and hope he can come again another summer.

Time for a travel review...

Mt St Helens National Monument, Washington, USA

If you only have a day and it is your 1st time... Go to the Johnston Ridge Observatory.
This is only 5 miles from the crater and right smack dab in the blast zone. From here you can visit the center, watch films, read survivor stories, hear Ranger talks and go on Ranger guided hikes. This is THE premiere vantage point and learning opportunity for a day trip. Oh, and you can hike to Mt Adams from here (more than a day trip by the way).

It is not as easy to drive around this mountain as it is Mt Rainier. Mt. St. Helen's , although a smaller park, has a huge protective zone! This means you have to drive back out and all the way around to get to each of the other areas of the park from Johnston Ridge. Making for a 3 hour drive to the next section from Johnston Ridge, not including scenic stops along the way. And, you will want to stop. Along the road there are several vantage points and historic information from both the park and commercial ventures (much of the mountain was logged in the 1980's). A few commercial stops along 504 are the Forest Learning Center at mile marker 33 and the edge of the blast zone viewpoint and bridge around milepost 29 - the Hoffstadt Creek bridge and lookout point.

This area of St Helen's is amazing. It is fairly windy and the views are great (for now) because of the lack of old growth forest that was here merely 30 years ago. What a great opportunity we have here in the USA to be able to witness such a vast geologic history! We have old growth forest and ancient canyons to new-birth and re-birth of Earth like St Helen's.

Ocean City State Park, Washington

Ocean City is OK. If you are camping, by all means get a pass and go to the park. But, if you are going for a day trip to the beach... go south of the park down 115 onto Ocean Shores Blvd. into the town of Ocean Shores, visit some shops maybe and just drive onto the beach from one of the 2 access drives (Please know how to drive on the beach people!! We saw way too many people sink their vehicles and get stuck. Geesh! - Use some level of common sense.)
Now, it is not a pristine beach by any means. That's what you get when vehicles are allowed. There was an oily sheen on the "sweet spot" of the beach and who knows what other vehicular fluids and pollutants. There was also the pre-composted product from the business end of the horses (which is way cleaner than what the vehicles leave behind but the gross factor is still there). Considering the volume of humans, the beach was fairly litter-free which was the biggest, and most pleasant surprise.
Anyways.. pack a picnic lunch (don't litter you slobs), kites, a change of clean clothes, SUNSCREEN, and whatever else like... beach toys a shade tent to sleep under, wet-suits for boarding (the water is cold all the time) and just have some beachy fun.

Northwest Trek, Pierce County, WA

The 1st time I went was in the late spring and it was good. Now it is late summer here and it was even better. I want to go again in the fall for the Elk Rut and in the winter when all the undergrowth is gone and get a new perspective of the wildlife.

A collage of the little guys...

from left to right and top to bottom...



Virginia Opossum - recent introduction to Washington in about the 1980's.

Beaver

Skunk

Badger

Porcupine

Fisher
















Carnivores... from left to right and top to bottom...

Grizzly bear - sleepy bear.   Grey Wolf.   Black Bear!!!!   Bob cat - here kitty kitty.   Coyote - mangy mutt.

Birds...  from left to right and top to bottom...

Golden Eagle, Barn Owl, Bald Eagle, Snowy Owl, Crow

Herbivores / the Big Game Boys... from left to right and top to bottom...

Moose (one year old), Bison (very old), Bighorn Sheep, Caribou, Roosevelt Elk

Flaming Geyser

When the vehicle registration reminder came in the mail last week it came with a friendly advertisement for a state park annual pass. Well, we have been here a year and have our National Parks Pass worn in from our visits to Mt Rainier and the Olympic Peninsula. What an opportunity to start visiting our State parks as well.

When the pass arrived a short 2 days later, I went online and discovered we are literally surrounded by state parks!

Today, we decided to fore-go our plan to visit Mowich Lake and break in our State Park Pass with a visit to a local park with a cool name,  

(imagine a monster truck rally announcer when reading the name...) "Flaming Geyser". 

Who can resist that kind of name?

After our visit and hike at Flaming Geyser, we briefly visited Kanaskat-Palmer and Nolte State Parks, as they are only all a few minutes drive from one-another. Pass - paid for itself in one day!

Here are my photos from a day of 3 state park visits.

Flaming Geyser

Interesting Park. Nice facilities. Playground is for the younger kiddos. A really nice designated area for model aircraft flying. Good trails. The interpretive info about the flaming geysers and the salmon is really nice and informative. Interpretive trails are easy walking. Woodland and river trails are moderate with mostly gravel but with steep climbs and really steep, primitive stairs. There is a somewhat separate section of the park that is hidden via a residential road. We parked and walked in to find the old farm. It is reserved for future park development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one is available in my shop.

my girl down an old country road

Nolte State Park

Very cute park. Small. Woodland, lakeside pavilions for events. Playground for elementary aged children. Two small field areas. Fishing and swimming areas (though I still don't understand why people swim in this freezing water here). A really nice, wide, graveled trail circles the lake. It is an easy trail that takes maybe an hour to walk.

OOOOoooo....

.... Looky what we found.

I have been waiting to see some of these since I moved here. These are extremely delicate flowers. Yes, they are plants, not fungi. No chlorophyll! SOOOOO COOL!

Memorial Day Weekend 2012 & Grove of the Patriarchs

It started out with a Friday off for Hubby. We worked on the deck Friday and half of Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, we did yard maintenance.
Sunday we planted trees and set mole traps. Went to see a movie.

Observed owl babies on the west side of the property that evening.

I need to add better pictures and video from Mark.







Monday we went to check out the Packwood Flea Market. Supposedly the biggest in the State. Not impressed. It was like an overpriced garage sale. There were a few folks that had specialty items but not many. It was one of those things like the SeaFair - you go just to check it out and then never go again.
We dined at a place called Cliff Droppers. They serve burgers and shakes, fries and beer. It was nothing super special. Good burgers, ore-ida  tasting fries - which are good but, I prefer homemade-style if I am out to eat. Shakes were YUM! Service was fantastic! Decor is ski-tastic. I would give it a 4 out of 5 and would recommend it.

We tried our luck to see if we could go back home via Mt Rainier National Park. Most passes are still closed till June. We got conflicting messages as the Park website stated all except Chinook were open, the roadsigns said most were closed and chains were still needed. Well, only Chinook was closed and chains were not needed on the Stevens Canyon/Longmire roads were clear.  Looks like the park website is the best info. So, that is the way we went.


We visited the Grove of the Patriarchs this time. 

lichen @ the Grove of Patriarchs

Salmon-berry bud @ Grove of Patriarchs

Grove of the Patriarchs

This trail is moderately easy. It is not handicap accessible. It is about 1.5 miles long. There are some stairs, inclines and a suspension footbridge. The cedar loop trail on the island is a raised boardwalk with seating. There are informational signs along the way.

This is a nice light hike for those who are able of all ages.

my kid on boardwalk in front of Big cedar @ Grove of Patriarchs

Suspension foot bridge to the cedar Loop Trail

The Grove of the Patriarchs is a beautiful, ethereal place to visit. 

On the way out We took the South road through Paradise and Longmire.

The roads were still lined with waterfalls but, this time there were more and they were on full force. We passed a cliff of mud and rock and our stomachs flipped when we heard a strange rock-slide noise.

There were huge slabs of rock that had come loose that had not been there last year.

Through the higher elevations we encountered massive snow packs. With the rain and mass, we were both quite nervous through Paradise area.

Paintbrushes @ Stevens Canyon

Reflection Lake May 2012

We drove past Reflection Lake. Click here to see Reflection Lake in Late August of 2011. Here it is late May 2012. Just got the road because the snowbank is about 7 feet high. Rainier would be to the left out the passengers window.

On the south side of the mountain

Waterfall near Longmire

 It was a beautiful and peaceful drive as any campers that were there for the weekend were mostly packed away and headed home.
  

skunk cabbage near Longmire

 Some of these photos and others not seen here will be made available in my shop. Click links on page to go directly to my Etsy or Zazzle shops.



This Memorial Day we remember and honor all the people who died in service to defending the United States of America. Without their sacrifice and dedication to keeping our nation free and defended, these beautiful parks may not have been preserved for generations from all over the Earth to experience. The beauty and preservation of these National Parks stand as an honor to the lives past. present and future, that were sacrificed to make our lives free and safe.