Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Weekly Hikes #12, #13 and #14: On the Cloudy Mountain

I'm still a bit behind in telling you about my recent hikes, so this is post is going to be mostly photos. Last month, from August 26th through the 29th we were on Mount Rainier, staying at the Paradise Inn, and hiking every day except the last one, when there was a downpour that started overnight and was still going strong when we headed home.

We had a great time, but there was one thing that was very disappointing: we never saw the top of Mount Rainier, because it was cloud-covered the whole time we were there. Here is what it looked like:



Just because it was cloudy didn't mean that we couldn't hike, however. I'd like to take you on a photo tour of the three hikes that Mr. D and I did while at Paradise.

Day One: We arrived around noon, and after eating our picnic lunch, we set out on the Lakes Trail, then the High Lakes Trail, looping back to the Lakes Trail, which brought us back to the Paradise Inn. We saw wonderful alpine meadows, filled with wildflowers, and a serene little pond that reflected the sky.





Day Two: We drove a few miles below Paradise and parked at Christine Falls, then walked a quarter of a mile down the road to the Comet Falls trailhead. The trail started out relatively flat, and we passed some of the cascades of beautiful Christine Falls before the trail began to get steep and rocky. It was a real slog getting to the falls, but once we did, the view was worth it.




Day Three: Whenever we are at Paradise we hike up to Panorama Point and have our lunch looking out over the Paradise valley and the Tatoosh Range. This time, the view wasn't the highlight of the hike, although we enjoyed it. We were more enthralled by the wildlife. Very early in the hike we saw a doe calmly nibbling greenery near the trail and totally ignoring the hikers going by. Later in the hike we had several close encounters with the marmots that live in the high alpine meadows.



Being at Paradise isn't all hiking. Mr. D and I went on some pleasant walks on the paved trails near the Visitor Center, and we hung out and enjoyed being in the inn. So, to finish this post, here are some photos from our walk and our time at the inn.





Sunday, September 22, 2013

Photo of the Week: Pesto Pizza

249/365: Pesto Pizza by jchants
249/365: Pesto Pizza, a photo by jchants on Flickr.
One of my favorite meals: pizza with pesto, homegrown tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and cheese.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Weekly Hike #11: Hiking the PCT (For a Little While)


I am woefully behind on telling you about my weekly hikes, but I aim to get caught up this week. Today, we go back to August 6th, and a short hike that Mr. D and I took on—you guessed it!—the Pacific Crest Trail. The Pacific Crest Trail runs all the way from Mexico to Canada, but we planned to hike a very, very small segment, starting in the morning before the sun got too high (it was going to be a very hot day).

We started at the Snoqualmie Pass trailhead, which is easily accessible because it it right off Interstate 90 and just up the road from the Alpental ski area. Once we were on the trail, however, you would never know that these indicators of civilization were anywhere nearby.

There were wildflowers.




There were spooky trees, that seemed to be reaching out to grab you as you passed.


Best of all, there were spectacular mountain views of Denny Peak and the appropriately-named Red Mountain, which was much more red than my camera was able to capture.



In short, it was just a wonderful hike!

Up next: three very special hikes in one post.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Photo of the Week: Purple Waves

245/365: Purple Waves by jchants
245/365: Purple Waves, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

My Wandering Whippoorwill shawl. Here are all of the details:
Pattern: Whippoorwill by Carina Spencer
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in the Honey and Primrose colorways, Hazel Knits yarn club selections for February 2013.
Cast on: July 30, 2013
Bind-off: August 31, 2013
I love these two colors together! Of course, I'm a purple girl, you knew, that, right?  I don't usually wear gold, but I'm trying to branch out a bit in the colors I wear. I knit this shawl for the Hazel Knits July-August knitalong. This was also part of the My Sister's Knitter Get It Done KAL. (Hi, Andi!)

I am also going to use this project for the Yarniacs podcast Colors of Fall KAL. The idea is to knit something in one of the Pantone Fall 2013 fashion forecast colors. The purple in this shawl is very close to Pantone's Acai. One of the requirements of the KAL is to style your photo with the clothing and accessories you would combine with your project to make an outfit, so here are a couple bonus photos:


This has been a fun challenge. I may have two more projects knit in Pantone fall colors that I can share with you. One isn't finished yet, but is getting close, and the other just needs a photograph. Watch for another post coming soon!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Photo of the Week: A Bit Early for Halloween

Anyone who knows me well knows that Autumn is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. You can imagine how happy I was to see this ripening pumpkin in a garden in my neighborhood. Autumn and Halloween, all rolled into one photo! What could be better?