Between a miserable cold I had all week and a major storm forecast for the weekend, I've been a major homebody lately. The storm turned out to be much less apocalyptic than forecast, but the cold has really hit me hard. Luckily we are well into soup season! As usual for this time of year, I've been cooking tons of soup - this week it was chicken noodle early in the week, followed by tomato with grilled cheese. There's nothing like a bowl of homemade soup on a cold fall night. Even with all the stormy weather, Andy and I managed to squeeze in a walk in the Redmond Watershed Sunday afternoon during a brief gap in the torrential rain. After a week cooped up inside, a short walk in the woods was the best medicine I could ask for!
Read moreLife: Week 40
Between my busy work schedule and the nearly constant rain this week, I only managed to make it outside a few times. Thankfully with the gorgeous fall foliage coloring all the trees of Redmond, it doesn't take much time outdoors for me to feel completely content. I wish I had more time to get out to enjoy the constantly changing leaves in the area, since the scenery can change dramatically in a day this time of year. One day this week, driving to the store to get lunch, I drove past some vivid rust-colored trees and thought about stopping to take a few photos, but didn't have the time. Two days later, when I drove by again, the branches were completely bare of that beautiful foliage. I may not have a photo, but at least I had the chance to see those beautiful trees! Before I know it all the leaves will have tumbled from their branches and we'll be well into the darkness winter!
Read moreGreenwater Lake - Lost Lake
With all the hiking Andy and I did over the summer, I've hardly had time to edit the photos I've taken, let alone write posts. Thankfully, now that fall and rainy weekends have arrived, I finally have some time to catch up, starting with a lovely, laid back weekend we spent at Greenwater Lakes and Lost Lake in late July. The six mile trail is gentle for the first two miles until you reach the second Greenwater Lake. Over these first two miles, we passed many families with young kids out for a short, easy backpacking trip. There was a bit of added excitement at the first stream crossing, where the log bridge has been damaged by winter storms. Even though the bridge was tilting rather awkwardly, it was clearly the safest option for crossing Greenwater River, and we managed to make it across without incident. I read that two weeks after our hike, the Washington Trails Association took a work crew to reset the bridge, which would have been an impressive feat to watch, or better yet, participate in!
Read moreLife: Week 39
Work is getting increasingly hectic as the holiday season approaches. It breaks my heart a little to feel too busy to enjoy my favorite season, so lately it feels like I'm living for the weekend. This weekend, that meant visiting one of my favorite mountains: Mt Baker! We managed to get to the trailhead at a reasonable hour, so we had plenty of time to take in the up-close view of the mountain from the Park Butte lookout. It was my first time hiking on the south side of Mt Baker, and even though the clouds never quite cleared from the mountain, it was a wonderful area, one I'd like to explore more! Andy really hates getting up early, but it was definitely worth it this time. We were able to enjoy our day, stopping for (probably too many) photos of the gorgeous fall foliage and to stuff our faces with the tastiest wild blueberries. To balance things out, we did sleep in the day before, spending a lazy Saturday eating a decadent breakfast of our version of huevos rancheros: homemade ranchero sauce and fried eggs on top of a black bean quesadilla. Afterwards, we lounged around the apartment for a few hours before dragging ourselves out to squeeze in a few errands. With how busy my work schedule is lately, I'm really enjoying these quieter fall weekends.
Read moreLife: Week 38
Now that it's officially autumn, I keep expecting cold rainy weather, but over the past several days it has felt like summer is having a brief revival. The pressure is back on to get outside and make the most of sunny weekends while they last! With that in mind, this past Saturday we headed for Melakwa Lake. Unfortunately, we got a very late start, which meant parking over a quarter mile from the trail and having hardly any time to relax at the lake. However, our late start meant we had some beautiful late afternoon light once we reached the lake. Andy really had to push me to leave the lake, since I kept stopping for "just one more photo!" I was extremely envious of the couple that reached the lake shortly after us with plans to spend the night. Andy and I both agreed we'd like to come back to camp in one of the rather impressive sites we found while exploring the area.
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