How can it already be June? I've started my flurry of summer hike planning, but even though it's not yet summer, it already feels like all my weekends are booked through late September! Andy and I are seriously considering a long backpacking trip for our anniversary, so I'm hoping to make it out for at least one backpacking trip a month to prepare. Hopefully I can manage to stick to that plan. My biggest concern at this point is weather. Yesterday it was over 90° - way too hot for this wimpy Pacific Northwesterner. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have a repeat of the dry hot weather of last summer!
Read moreLife: Week 21
Hooray for long weekends! Since we both had Monday off, Andy and I took the opportunity to spend some time in Wenatchee. We ate barbecue and lemon meringue pie, and I made some progress on knitting, then spent hours reading (this book) in the sunshine while Andy played with power tools in the garage. On Sunday, we went for a short hike from the Mission Ridge ski area. Even though it was a beautiful day, and a short hike, we had the lake to ourselves for a while. It can be so lovely to get away from home for just a couple days, and totally worth the rather terrible holiday weekend traffic we had to sit in on Highway 2!
Read moreIron Bear - Teanaway Ridge
The Iron Bear - Teanaway Ridge trail is one of the one of the quickest ways to access the Teanaway forest from the Seattle area, with an easy drive of a little more than an hour. By the time you reach the trailhead, you've already gained most of your elevation too! I imagine that normally on a spring weekend, this trail would be thoroughly crowded, but on the cool, overcast day we visited, we passed only one other group. Because of the low, dense clouds, we had nothing in the way of views, but I was so pleased to finally have the time to get back out on a trail that I didn't mind. Especially since what the trail lacked in views, it made up for in blooms!
Read moreRoad Trip: Newport
I spent many summer weeks of my childhood on the Oregon coast. My family went on nearly annual trips to the coast, usually renting a vacation house in the Yachats area and spending a week or two exploring the beaches, tidepools, and lighthouses of the central coast. Since adulthood, I hadn't been further south than Canon Beach - another city that I love and must return to soon! We had planned this trip to Newport for my 30th birthday last year, but an emergency led us to cancel at the last minute. This year, nothing was going to stop us from finally making the trip!
Read moreLife: Week 20
If my weekly posts were accurately representative of my daily life, at least 50% of the photos in my posts would look like the two below. Work has continued to be hectic, but things are beginning to slow down. Soon I may even be able to take the occasional weekday off for hiking! Wednesday night, I left work a little early so Andy and I could have dinner at our favorite restaurant in Redmond - Stone House. Once upon a time, we lived within walking distance, and for several years, we went often enough that all the staff knew us well enough to recognize my voice when I'd call to make a reservation. We live further away and don't go as often anymore, but the food is as incredible as ever.
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