Hiking Mt. Ellinor...

Last Wednesday Rue and I headed out for an afternoon hike up Mt. Ellinor in Olympic National Forest right on the edge of the National Park.  I had to work until 11:30am so it was a rush to get home, grab lunch and our packs and drive over there.  It is only 1.6 miles to the top from the upper trail head, not too bad at all but it is a hike UP that just doesn't quit!  We started the hike at 2:30pm and got to the top at 5:15pm. 

There was thick fog the entire way up.  We saw three separate groups of people coming down and they all said we weren't going to see much and we weren't going to see anything at the top.  I was a little disappointed but determined to go all the way to the top anyway.  This was my third time doing this hike and I had yet to get to the top.  The first time was when Daniel was only a few months old, I was carrying him in the snuggly and it was a HOT day, in the high 80's.  It was just way to hot for me and for him.  The second time Daniel was about 2 and I carried him on my back.  But we had a time constraint and had to be back by a certain time and I was just going way to slow with all the weight.  This time with Rue was just right.  Even though it was foggy be both agreed it was just so wonderful to be out in the mountains together just the two of us.  We really needed it. 

It didn't rain but the dense fog actually got us wet.   

Sweet little rabbit. Rue was accessing the amount of meat we could get off of it in a survival situation.  :)

Looking down into the fog.

Looking up into the fog.

Can you see him?  Heading towards the summit.  

The fog made everything so quiet and muffled.  It was eery yet thrilling to see all the dark shapes in the fog.  At about this point I whispered a little prayer that God might let the clouds part a little bit at the top so I could get at least one picture.

At the top!

Rue snapped this picture of me at the top with his iPod.  FINALLY made it to the top!  

Summit all fogged in. Not much to see until...

...I noticed the clouds looking different and all of a sudden a mountain appeared right in front of us! 

Looking down to a snowfield.

The clouds just kept swirling and just when something would get covered up again something new would appear.  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in the mountains.  God was putting on a show for us and it was quite a show! 

The pictures just simply cannot do justice to how magnificent it was!  I knew God could answer my little prayer but the fact that He answered it the way He did took my breath away!  

We could even see Seattle! Believe it or not it's in the middle of this picture.  

And the clouds continued to dance.

I zoomed in as far as I could.  The two little white dots in the middle of the picture are a momma goat and her baby.

I could have lingered forever but sadly it was 5:45 and we needed to head down to beat the sunset. 

 Places that had been completely covered in fog on the way up we could now see clearly coming down.  

Even Mt. Rainier came out to play!  Amazing!

Hood Canal and Mt. Rainier.

Looking down to Lake Cushman.

If this ends up being our last hike of this year then I am content. I was feeling a little bit like I hadn't gotten any real spectacular hikes in this summer, although I had gotten in some very lovely hikes.  This hike was spectacular to say the least.  To be sitting on top of a mountain with the love of my life and watching a show only God could produce...I couldn't have asked for anything more.  Well, more time maybe.  :)

Here is a 3 minute video of the swirling clouds.  Once again it doesn't do justice to actually being there but it's still pretty.  :)

Glacier Part 1...

We got home this past Monday from our annual trip to Montana.

 We drove as far as Banks Lake in Eastern Washington our first day.  This is one of my most favorite places in the world. We set up camp at Jones Bay and then went to our favorite hidden swimming spot. 

(My mother-in-law took the above three pictures of Banks Lake.)

Our first evening in Glacier at St. Mary it started raining right after we set up the tent.  Since we have a nice big tent we put our camping chairs in it and played a game of Scrabble.  My mother-in-law Bonita won and was very proud of herself.  :)

 The first hike we did was to Apikuni Falls near Many Glacier.  Right when we got on the trail we saw this little guy, a small back bear.  He was busy eating berries and could have cared less we were there. 

The twinnies.  My mother-in-law Bonita and her sister Bonnie. Bonnie and Frank live in Kalispell and do all kinds of climbing and hiking in Glacier. 

Me and my hubby.  Surprisingly he didn't make a funny face for this pic.

 Daniel held on to a string on Daisy's pack and called himself the orange caboose.

The caboose is wondering what the hold up is.

Almost to the falls.

Apikuni Falls

Had to bundle up to eat lunch next to the falls, it was cold and wet!

Me and my sweet boy.

The second bear we saw on this hike.  It too was busy eating berries and could care less about us.  Rue did have his bear spray out and ready though.  Encountering these two bears actually helped calm my fears of camping in bear territory.

To be continued...

Charming...

http://pinterest.com/pin/266416134178961257/

Happy weekend everyone!

Waiting for spring...

 

I just purchased an 11X14 print of this picture I took in Glacier at Logan Pass this past summer.  I took it on a little climb we did up Mt. Oberlin.  I can't wait to head there again this coming summer for our annual trip. I framed it and hung it in my kitchen.  

 

This is the time of year when I really start longing for spring and the mountains.  (Well actually, I'm always longing for the mountains.) My little tulips are sticking their heads out of the ground, my blueberry bushes are getting little tiny buds and it's time to prune my lilac and rose bushes.  I already bought my veggie seeds for this year and when the weather is a little bit warmer I will start digging in my garden and get the beds all ready for planting when the time is right.  I have been saving my pennies so I can buy a truckload of good compost (and I do mean an actual truckload) for my garden.  My soil needs some good TLC. 

But even more exciting than spring is my sister-in-law Ruhiyyih who is expecting her sweet baby girl any day now.  Her due date was on Friday so now we wait to hear that she is heading to the birthing center. This Auntie can't wait to meet her first little niece!  I promised not to text her a million times a day asking if there are any changes.  :)






 I am going on walks with Daniel outside at least once a week.  Even if it is threatening rain I dress us appropriately.  Being out in the woods or some other pretty place is so refreshing for the soul.  Plus it tuckers Daniel out enough that he will actually sit still for more than 30 seconds. :)  I also want to keep him used to getting outside and walking since spring and summer mean lots of hiking and camping for us.  Our little walks are so fun and I treasure this time with him.  Our walk last week was in McCormick Woods.  They have lots of lovely nature trails and I found a nice loop that took us about an hour to walk. 


Today I am organizing my craft closet and then I am going to start scrapbooking prints I ordered of our vacations this past summer.  I find it hard to do any kind of crafty project until my closet is organized. 

Have a lovely Tuesday everyone!

Where have you been?!...

I know, I know, I have been very absent from the blogging world.  But I promise I am back now!  We finally have gotten rain here in the Northwest after an amazing stretch of no rain and warm weather.  Now my attention has turned back to indoors with canning, cooking, sewing, scrapbooking and blogging.  I opened my Etsy shop back up and soon I will be adding a couple new items to my shelves.  For now my baby bibs and burp cloths are still up for sale. 

My hubby and I love to ride bikes in the fall.  We love to find trails in the country with beautiful fall colors.  Rue pulls Daniel in the little trailer behind his bike.

Our latest bike ride was on the Olympic Discovery Trail out on the Olympic Peninsula "It's a paved trail system that links Port Townsend on the Puget Sound to the Pacific beaches at La Push." .  That's right, Twilight country! :)  Most of the trail is abandoned railroad grade. We didn't do the whole thing, obviously.  We rode on a little section between Blyn and Sequim.  But we know where we want to start from next time so we can see more of it.

Love my goofy men!

Talk to you soon!! :)