Morning Run and Painting

What a great morning.  Slept nearly 10 hours and we headed out for a 3.5 mile run (well, there was some walking as well).  42 degrees, brilliant fall day.  The slough was beautiful and Fall has completely taken hold of everything as winter approaches.  The blackberries, so ripe and plump seemingly just a few weeks ago are dried and shriveled. 

Wonderful way to start the day, then we headed into Seattle to help paint the new Seattle headquarters of 'Girls On The Run'.  Tonight is football and flatbread!

More Island Time

Back to the island. If were up to me, we would have left at 2 or 2:30. it’s a 4:30 boat, an hour and a half maybe 15 minutes more with some light traffic and its the off season. But Jodi suggested 1:45. Seemed early to me, but ok. We left at 1:47. As it turned out, had we left 2 minutes later we would have missed the boat.

A string of mechanical failures plagued the island run and as it turns out, the former pride of the fleet, the Evergreen State, was doing the heavy lifting on the Friday afternoon run.

She did this throughout the 1960’s and was the mainstay of the island run. But she's inadequate for today's traffic even in the off season. We pulled into the ferry line along with several other cars all at about the same time. Within a minute or two there were 5 cars behind us. We would be the 2nd to last car on the 4:30 boat. Whew!!

We caught up with an old buddy who has a farm on Lopez, then chatted with another acquaintance who was in Victoria the same weekend we were. Just off work, he was headed to the ' Rumor Mill' to play in a swing band. We were headed there as well to have dinner and watch game 7 of the world series.



We did meet an interesting fellow at the Rumor Mill. An old fisherman who was well into his 80's. He's made the run up the inside passage 70 to 80 times by his estimation. He told us his father was on of the first fishermen in Bristol Bay in 1916. He also told us of his fathers navigational prowess using horns in fog to bounce sound signals off land masses to determine where you are. These old salts didn't have all the navigational tools we now enjoy and by necessity had to instead hone their skills to a level that is rarely, if ever, seen these days.



The band cranked up putting an end to conversation and we settle in to a good dinner, watching the Cards win the final game of 2011 and listened to the swing band.



Saturday dawned suddenly. I was sound asleep and Jodi woke me up. She was either panicked or excited. I couldn’t tell at first. I thought something was wrong, She was breathless and yelling me to come outside. House on fire? No. She had been walking Rex out front and there was no sound save for the unmistakable blow of a whale. A minke whale was slowly making its way up the channel right on front of the cabin at dawn. A perfect way to start the day.

I took this shot of some impressive mushrooms.  They should have names....

Kuper, cute as always...

Not much to write about the rest of the day. Chores around the house and winterized the boat. Good dinner with Mom and pleasant conversation.



Sunday was drippy and gray, but we were looking forward to attending an 'event' that we had been invited to. It was a breakfast hosted by Barb and John whom we had met at the fair in August. They host an annual 'dead parents' swim and breakfast. While it sound odd, it’s a charming event attended by a small group who have experienced a loss. We did not partake in the swim (maybe next year), but the breakfast was great. Everything locally grown. The setting was magnificent, as their home is a log cabin. Not just any log cabin, it was inspired by the great national park lodges of Yellowstone, Paradise Inn, and Timberline. Breathtaking setting and exquisitely executed. Wonderful.



The company was great and it was really nice to have a great meal, honor those who are no longer here, and share memories about them.



After the event we went back to the house, packed up and headed for the ferry. No theatrics getting on the ferry – amazing how easy a Sunday departure is in the off season.

On the way down we had dinner at the Skagit River Brewing Company.  Nice way to end a good weekend.

Mount Washington (Again)

This is a great hike, but it's unsigned and the WTA web site doesn’t mention the summit. Which is great news. Given the fact this blog's readership is near zero, there's little risk of exposure or letting the cat out of the bag.




This would be our second time up, the first being about two years ago. the trail is unsigned at the base and not on the maps at the trail head.



To get there take exit 38 off I90 then turn right at the bottom of the exit and about 100 yards later take another right to the parking lot. You'll need that new ‘discover pass’ to park in the lot, or you can park on the road just outside the lot.



The trailhead is by the outhouse at the end of the parking lot. The initial trail is short, and leads to a gravel access road which in turn joins the John Wayne trail. At both junctions you'll want to bear right. Once on the John Wayne trail, look for an unmarked trail on your left. its about a tenth of a mile from the junction of the access road. This will take you on a fairly steep rocky trail which later joins an old logging road well on its way to going back to true trail status.

The WTA site covers the trail up to the Owl Look Out but there are better lunch spots further on. Unlike Mt Si, there are decent views periodically along the way.



This day was a great day for hiking, but not for picture taking. We got a late start and while the temperature was in the high 50's, perfect for hiking, it was a little gray and the light was flat.



The late start also prompted a turn around just shy of the summit. I had forgotten our head lamps and we had a turnaround time figured to get off the mountain with a suitable margin of safety before sunset.



The hike was followed by a beer and a burger at the brew pub.   The world series was on and formed a nice conclusion to the day.