CHIPS OF HOY

New Year's Eve Magic

2012-01-08T00:40:00.000-08:00

Seattle Autoshow

2011-11-12T03:25:00.001-08:00

with Christian

Some B&W Pics from the Hike

2011-09-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

Day Three

2011-09-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I didn't get any decent pictures on the second day of the hike, but there were really only two things worth taking pictures of that day anyway. Our lunch spot that day was beautiful. Hopefully the other guys got some good shots, which I'll post if I can. But before lunch - the highlight of the trip - we saw a bear. In all my years of hiking and camping, I had never seen a bear in the wild. We saw him about 50 yards up the hill off the trail, just minding his own business, rooting around for something to eat and walking the opposite direction from us. I would have grabbed my camera, but the other guys insisted I had the pepper spray in my hand and ready to go (that's true, though I don't think any of us were scared; we were too excited).

At this point we were all pretty beat. Good thing we only had the nastiest climb of the trip between us and our cars.

You can only kind of see it, but this lovely bridge only took us half way across this creek.

This is the portion it did not span.

Luckily a trail crew had set set up a make-shift solution. This was only the 2nd or 3rd diciest river crossing we came across.

Last day lunch rock.

Backpacking in the North Cascades

2011-09-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a couple years of frustration, I got to go backpacking again. Mark, Kurt, Laird and I took a little 3 day, 32 mile wander through the North Cascades, starting at Easy Pass, following Fisher Creek and Thunder Creek, then out through over 4th of July Pass.

We hiked about 9.something miles the first day, which included the highest elevation and probably the best views.

Getting ourselves pumped to hit the trail.

Easy Pass trail head.

We ran into a little weather going up the pass.

The top of the Easy Pass...

...and the view down the other side.

It only drizzled a little bit on us, but we got soaked from hiking through the thick underbrush in the valley.

The Four Seasons

2011-08-21T00:33:00.000-07:00

In order of preference:

1. (tie) Fall
1. (tie) Summer
3. Winter
4.
5.
6.
7. Spring

Torchlight Parade

2011-07-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

I do love a parade...

...and I decided that night parades are awesome. Especially ones where pirates shoot off ridiculously loud canons through the streets of downtown.

Perfect Weather and Bright Yellow Kayaks

2011-07-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

Back when we were teenagers, Brenden and I talked and schemed about kayaking out in the San Juans. Those plans never did materialize, but here about 15 years later, we finally got hold of a couple kayaks and paddled around the coast near Larrabee State Park. It had been cloudy and even a little drizzly that morning, but as soon as we got down to the boat launch, the sun came out and warmed us up to about 70-something degrees. It could not have been nicer.

Tan arms, pasty white shoulders. Thank you, bicycling.

Brenden was obsessed with getting a picture of a seal that had been following us around. Every time he pulled out his camera, though, the seal dove back underwater. They're tricky, those seals.

Those are the San Juan Islands in the background. We are no where near hard-core enough to paddle out to them.

I did managed to get Brenden and I in the same shot.

Huge thanks to John and Debbie for letting us use the boats. This is where we stopped for lunch. I'm pretty sure kayaks have just made their way back onto my list of toys-to-someday-own.

The Tateoka Farm

2011-05-11T00:52:00.000-07:00

Charlotte had told me and Jill that we were going to stay at her Grandma's house a few miles outside of Burley, ID and visit her Aunt and Uncle who live down the road. Not having ever been to Burley, I envisioned something of a suburban setting, perhaps on the outskirts of town.

You probably already knew this, but Burley, Idaho does not have suburbs.

Charlotte, I learned on this trip, comes from a long line of farmers. Her family (Grandma, Aunt & Uncle and cousins) are absolutely delightful people. They were extremely welcoming and friendly and we had a great time visiting with them. They even made ham for me when everybody else had chicken for lunch. I was honestly sad to say goodbye.

This is the original homesteader's house (it's since been remodeled).

The barrels on the right are for gasoline. I'm not sure what's in the round shed/stubby silo type things are, but they looked cool. At one point, Uncle Ted came out and asked me what on earth I was taking pictures of. "This is just dirt. You should come back when I have something growing and this is all green." He insisted we jump on the 4-wheelers* and go down to the river.

Also not bad.

*side note - Somehow in my life, I had never ridden 4-wheelers for any significant amount of time, which made me kind of nervous at first. I'm pretty sure everyone was laughing at me behind my back, but whatever, I deserved it. I had fun.

WashOrIdaUt Road Trip

2011-05-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

These pictures, along with the last post and a forthcoming farm-themed post, are all from a sweet road trip I took last weekend with Jill and Charlotte. We needed to get Charlotte's car from Seattle (well, technically Hawaii) to Salt Lake, so naturally that meant stopping by Portland for doughnuts and driving up the Columbia river.

For some reason, I always get back from trip like this and find I took a lot of scenery pictures, and very few people pictures. Oops.

This building is a restroom. That is the sole purpose for which it was built.

A portion of the road, upon which said trip took place.

On the second day, we stopped for lunch at The Hungry Onion in Meridian, ID. Tasty. Meridian, apparently, likes to keep a few railroad cars available downtown (yes, this is downtown) for the local artists; we stopped here to eat our burgers.

Part of the trip was even in color. I really have to work on my people-picture skills.

Waterfalls

2011-05-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

Fire Walk with Me

2011-04-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

I can't visit the 4th floor of the Seattle Public Library without feeling like I'm in the strangest scene in the history of television (skip ahead to 2:24).

This is my friend Shelley, but doesn't she look almost exactly like Laura Palmer?

Let's rock!

Birthday Party

2011-03-01T22:52:00.000-08:00

Jakob's 1st. My 31st.

It was cowboy themed.

My sister did an impressive job with the decorations. Well done, Stace.

Things got pretty wild at the end.

Pike Place on a Rainy Day

2011-02-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

...a.k.a. most days. Oh just kidding, we only average 155 rainy

days/year. That's way less than half.

                                  I would rather take pictures of fresh sea food than eat it. Also,
                                  I would rather throw a large fish across the market than try to
                                  catch it.

This could mean lots of things.

Building Tour

2011-01-31T00:03:00.000-08:00

On Saturday afternoon, my friend Jennifer and I got to tour this old building down in South Seattle. Jennifer is writing a paper about it for a class and I got to come along with the camera.

The building currently houses several different tenants who use if for everything from storage to shop space, to business space, or even office space. Essentially, that is what the building is - inexpensive space in the industrial district south of downtown. As you can see, it has been modified to fit the various needs, but you'll have to read Jennifer's paper to get all the details.

These trucks were all lined up a few blocks away.

Turns out, I wasn't the only one who did a photo shoot here recently.

...and from D.C.

2011-01-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Holgadelphia

2011-01-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

I may have mentioned before that I'm bad at getting film developed on time.

Things I Love About Snow

2011-01-12T01:13:00.000-08:00

1. Every thing is quiet
2. Reflected light at night
3. That crunching noise it makes when you walk

A Few More Miscellaneous Pictures from D.C.

2010-11-17T01:55:00.000-08:00

Independence Hall

2010-10-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

John Adams looked out these windows.

George Washington sat in this chair.

Benjamin Franklin stood on this floor.

Thomas Jefferson climbed these stairs.

Go to Philadelphia

2010-10-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend it. I took a lot of pictures in Philadelphia, but not many of them turned out any good. Trust me, though, it's a cool town.

Elfreth's Alley is the oldest continually inhabited street in the U.S.

I love the signage on this building. I need to incorporate that font into my life somehow.

Sadly, I only one full day here, but I did get to eat a cheese steak the night I arrived. Jon, what was the name of the place you took me to? Delicious.

Self portrait.

More Tinkering

2010-10-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

I'm playing around with a new template and larger pictures. Let me know what you think.

Art and Science

2010-10-30T03:02:00.000-07:00

This is where I got on the subway every day. All the locals I talked to complained about the Metro. I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

This sculpture is based on a painting by Giuseppe Arcimbolo. The National Gallery had a whole collections of his works (no cameras allowed). The most impressive part? He was doing this in the mid-1500s! I'm not an art historian, but it seems to me that this guy was miles ahead of his time.

Dali's The Sacrament of the Last Supper. Love it.

I absolutely love Mark Rothko. These pieces are part of a set he was commissioned to do for what was originally a Catholic Chapel. If you look closely, you can see (as you would expect with Rothko) that they are not just black rectangles.

Albert and I had a little chat. He had some good life advice for me. Thanks, Al.

A Trip Out East

2010-10-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

I went on a vacation a couple weeks ago. The first real, purely recreational, vacation-for-the-sake-of-vacation in a long time. I don't know why backpacking trips don't seem to count as vacation in my mind, but for some reason they don't. Maybe it's because they do not usually involve getting on an airplane. Maybe it's the bears. More likely it's that walking across mountain ranges with all your worldly possessions carried on your back is more survival than recreation. But, I digress...

I've been to Europe and Central America, but I had never seen my own country's capital (or capitol). For that matter, I had never seen any part of the U.S. East of Wyoming, which I decided is not right. So, I went East. I went to Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia and and had myself an American History themed vacation. Nerdy? Yes.

I was getting used to a new camera, so I don't think I took the best pictures ever, but here are a few of them anyway. I'll post more later.

A Cathedral in Philadelphia

2010-10-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

I'll have more details later about the trip I took to the East Coast, but for now, here are a few pictures from a Catholic Church I wandered into in Philadelphia.

There was a plaque outside the door that said Pope John Paul came and celebrated mass here once.

I can see why.

Cascade Pass

2010-10-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

I had recently read that Cascade Pass is one of the more Spectacular day-hikes in Washington. Chris and I took advantage of the nice weather last week to go check it out. We were not disappointed.

Verdict #1: I need to do more hikes in the Fall.

Verdict #2: I need to come back here.

The trail continues another mile or so past this point to the Sahale Arm. Time was short and we were feeling pretty beat up, so we turned around here.

Verdict #3: Hiking downhill hurts more than hiking uphill. I need to figure out why that is and do something about it.

Pain aside, I was so glad to get out into the mountains. I hadn't even come close my quota for the year.

2010-09-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

We've had terrible weather this summer.

Really, it's been bad.

Just not on this evening.

North Cascades Hwy

2010-08-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

These are from a drive Christian, Stephanie and I took a couple months ago at the beginning of June. The North Cascades Hwy is closed most of the year because of snow, but they plow it usually sometime late Spring and it stays open until the Fall. I brought my Holga along for the ride.

We pulled off at the top of Washington Pass and hiked a little trail out to an overlook, took some pictures, ate some Jiffy-Pop, and just chilled out for a little bit before turning around and heading back home. Not a bad little Sunday drive.

A couple of these pictures already made it onto Facebook, so I apologize for the repeats.

Christian and Stephanie modeling.

By the way, I love the mountains. They make me very happy... perhaps even giddy. I may have skipped down this road a little bit.

It takes monster snow plows like these to clear the roads.

Hurricane Ridge in a Weekend

2010-08-03T00:38:00.000-07:00

Every time I go out to the Olympics I'm blown away by how beautiful it is out there. There's just something about them that impresses you. On the map it doesn't look like a major mountain range - it doesn't span the continent - and they're not the tallest mountains, but they're so remote, so steep, and so mysterious that they just beg you to go explore them. There's everything from rain forests to alpine meadows to glacier fields and not a single road transecting the park. I wish I could have spent a good week out there just wandering and taking pictures.

A couple more

2010-04-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

The Aurora Bridge (from my urban hike).

Camano Island State Park.

I finally got some film developed.

2010-04-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

This was one of those rolls of film that was in my camera for a long time. Let's go in reverse order.

We cruised around Vancouver on bicycles when we were up there for the Olympics.

I'm pretty sure I have a picture of the aurora borealis, here... in downtown Vancouver... in the middle of the day. Hey, it's Canada.

This is the waterfront at the Scout Camp I worked at (Camp Black Mountain). Brenden and I visited there when he was up for Christmas.

The Deception Pass Bridge

More Deception Pass

Two Trips to the Olympics

2010-04-12T00:10:00.001-07:00

Trip One:

I have wanted to go to an Olympic hockey game since before I was born. I was not disappointed.

Having a rowdy group of Swiss fans in front of us made it even better.

Yes, this is the best shot of the cauldron I was able to get. I read somewhere that the organizers in Vancouver were surprised at the level of interest people had in seeing the Olympic Flame. I call that poor planning.

What trip to Canada would be complete without a visit to Tim Horton's?

I'm noticing that I'm not very good at taking pictures of people. Christian, Stephanie, Hope, Josh, Jill, thanks for the awesome adventure.

2010-04-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

Trip two:

Hurricane Ridge

The Hoh Rainforest. There is a short little trail called "The Hall of Mosses". Definitely worth the walk if you are out there.

Sometimes I get frustrated when I get back from a trip and the best pictures on my camera are the ones other people took. Cassie, you are a better photographer than me.

Cassie and Tyler, just lounging at the beach.

From Tyler's pictures.

At the Track

2010-04-11T01:58:00.000-07:00

About eight months ago, I decided that there wasn't nearly enough pain and suffering in my social bike riding. So, one Saturday morning I put on my spandex, drove out to the velodrome and became a racer. It's easy to become a bike racer. All you have to do is give somebody money and own a helmet (they'll rent you the bike). There is a brief orientation, in which they teach you such invaluable lessons as, "only turn left", "these bikes don't have brakes" and "please pay with cash or check". They also teach you appropriate, if uncreative, things to yell at people when they are about to cut you off.

Included in the price of the orientation class are your entrance fees for two nights of beginner racing (licensing fee and rental fee not included). Here is actual documentary evidence that I am, indeed, a bike racer.

A strange thing happened in that first race. By some unexplained, metaphysical anomaly, it appeared that some of the other racers were faster than me. This oddity was something I was entirely unprepared for and truthfully, I still don't quite understand it. I wasn't able to ponder it much just then, however, because as soon as I tried to get off my bike, the second strange thing happened. I learned that my legs could no longer support the weight of my body and was overcome with the strong impression that I was about to die.

After I didn't die, I was officially addicted and spent the next few months piecing together a track bike. Today was only the second time I've had a chance to take it out the the velodrome and since it was such a nice day, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

I think it's kinda pretty. This is where I should talk about how I spent the entire winter in intense training for the upcoming season, but, um... yeah. In any case, I do have a for-real racing license for this year, so I'm sure I'll get plenty of that pain and suffering I was looking for. Wish me luck.

Two Shots from an Urban Hike

2010-03-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

It's not quite 8 miles around Lake Union.

I took a few more pictures on film. Assuming I ever get around to developing them, and that a few of them turn out, I'll post a few more pictures later.

Priorities

2010-02-18T23:44:00.000-08:00

Twenty nine years, eleven month, three weeks and four days ago, my father and mother were sitting on the couch, watching a hockey game, when my mother began to go into labor. Allegedly, my father asked her politely if she didn't mind waiting until after the game was over. She didn't. I was born at 10:11 o'clock the next morning.

What Winter?

2010-02-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I went for a bike ride and wished I wasn't wearing my warm gloves. On Friday, I went for an evening ride and didn't even wear a jacket (soooo nice). We just wrapped up the warmest January on record in Seattle. Either Mother Nature is finally making good on this "Global Warming" thing we've been promised for so long, or she's just making up for last winter.

For those of you who weren't around, this is how we keep ourselves entertained when Seattle gets more snow than it knows what to do with.

Gasworks Park

Cassie showing off her mad skills.

Jill being a dare-devil action sports photographer as Andrew jumps over her.

Stephen, Andrew and Jill, 20X6.

New Year's Eve

2010-01-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

Guitar Hero and wigs. What more need I say? Let's get straight to the pictures.

Preparations

Emmie not sure what to think.

Yep.

Shaunna, Julianne, Brenden, JB rocking out.

Plus a couple pictures Julianne took.

Check out the sweet neck tatoo.

Here it is, the picture that is so wrong, I can't even describe it. If wrongest is a word, then this is the wrongest picture ever.

Happy 2010!

December Camping: Camano Island State Park

2010-01-02T03:22:00.000-08:00

I hate to disappoint anybody (including, perhaps, myself) who was expecting my final camping trip for the year to be something extravagant, but let's face it, December is dark, cold, and busy. I'm happy to say, though, that I have now officially gone camping at least once a month for the entire year of 2009.

It actually wasn't the coldest night I experienced this year and the moon was exceptionally bright, so I didn't bother lighting a fire. I was even able to take some time to sit with my dinner, looking out over the water, and quietly reflect on the fact that even though it's just a state park and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one here, a squirrel moving in the bushes next to me can still make me really jumpy.

There aren't a whole lot of places on the west coast where the sun rises over the ocean.

My campsite was somewhere along the top of that cliff.

I'm often asked whether I'm going to continue camping once a month in 2010. My standard answer is an emphatic, "No way", though that is not to say I am done with my goal. I promised myself in January, as I lay shivering in my 3-season sleeping bag (three seasons which, incidentally, do not include winter) that if I made it through the entire year, I would get to reward myself with an awesome camping trip to somewhere warm. Somewhere requiring a plane ticket. Somewhere this very sleeping bag would be plenty insulation to keep me comfortable through the night.

I haven't decided yet where that is going to be, but I think I've earned it. I'll keep you posted.

Tinkering

2010-01-02T02:01:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be tinkering with the colors and possibly the layout of my blog. Feel free to comment.

Additionally, I may consider trying to improve the content of the blog as well (more writing - still no rants or whining), but let's wait and see just how dedicated I am. I might even start replying to the comments people leave (I'm really not sure why I haven't ever replied to a comment before... inertia, I guess).

Goal Update: Whatever happened to March and October?

2009-12-27T00:49:00.000-08:00

As of this moment, I have 4 days left in which to complete one last camping trip if I want to claim success in my goal to go camping every month this year. The final trip is scheduled for this Monday, but like most of my trips this year, the plans - and participants - are tentative and subject to change without notice.

The most alert followers of my blog will have noticed that I've not posted anything about my March or October trips, so I would like to apologize and rectify that failing now.

March's camping trip can be summed up in four words and no pictures (which is probably why I never blogged about it in the first place): Cold, short, uneventful, token. Although, I did get a morning fire going, which means I came home smelling like smoke, which means it counts.

Oh, what the heck. Here are a few pictures anyway.

Christian and Stephanie full of excitement. Woohoo! Hot Chocolate!

Coldness.

The other most exciting part of the day: Putting out the fire so we could go home and warm up. Woohoo, again!

October's trip was a bit more of a misadventure, or at least getting there was. I'm not saying I made the best decisions, but this is how it happened.

View Larger Map

My original plan was to head up to the Alice Creek Campsite along the Iron Horse Trial, up off of I-90. Despite the dark and rain and having only one headlight, I made it to precisely the spot marked with an x on the map I had so carefully prepared where my campsite should have been... and found nothing. Those familiar with my legendary sense of direction will undoubtedly question my confidence in being at exactly the right place. To them I say, I hope you slept comfortably in your warm bedroom that night.

Had I not been alone, I would have simply suggested we find a wide spot in the road and pitch our tent and call it good, but not wanting to make things too easy on the serial killers, I decided to head back down I-90 in search of a suitable alternative. All that I found, however, was a series of signs that read "Exit 37 - No Camping" or "Olallie State Park - No Camping" or "Go home, Ken - No Camping".

Not to be deterred, I called my dad and asked him to look up the directions to what had been my alternate plan for a camping location that night (the map to which I had carefully left in my apartment). He told me the route, which I then memorized before setting out through the dark mountain highways in the rain with one headlight and growing frustration, and before too long, I arrived at the gates of Kanaskat-Palmer State Park - gates which were locked shut for the season. Never mind that I had verified online earlier in the day that the campsite would, in fact, be open for operations; apparently, pad-locks trump the interweb in disagreements such as this one.

At this point I was glad that nobody was with me and that I didn't have to feel guilty for dragging anybody but myself around on this seemingly futile attempt to find a place to sleep on the ground. I got back in my car to drive home, upset at myself for failing with just 3 months left on my goal. As I drove, I couldn't stop thinking about my gear all nicely packed and ready in the back seat. The thought kept nagging me until I remembered that my parents had just moved into a nice new house on 5 acres on Camano Island. I had been in the car for several hours already, what was a couple more up to their place? With that, I called up Mom and Dad and told them I was coming to visit.

I don't remember exactly how much time had passed since I first left my apartment that evening, but when all was said and done, I had driven over 175 miles and reached the most basic, the most primordial of all camping destinations: my parent's backyard. No monsters came to get me.

Flight

2009-12-17T00:48:00.000-08:00

After two years of delays and frustration, we finally got our new airplane off the ground. Not only did they allow us out onto the tarmac for the occasion, they suspended the usual ban on cameras so that we could take pictures of the event.

I figured I'd let the pros with the telephoto lenses get the money-shots of the airplane while I tried my best to capture the reaction of the people on the ground. These are the people that made it all happen. Of course not everybody at Boeing works directly on the 787, but there is no denying that its influence spreads throughout the entire company. The way I see it, if you work at Boeing (or at one of our suppliers, for that matter), you helped get this airplane in the air.

Anticipation. This is approximately when we first heard the engines fire up.

Catching a glimpse as the plane taxis in across the front of the crowd.

Take off.

Watching it go. This may not be be the best composed shot, but I like the expressions on people's faces. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see the people in the background.

Holiday Cheer in Seattle

2009-12-14T23:18:00.001-08:00

Just a couple pictures from the Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition, 2009.

Cassie, Kaylene, thanks for the doughnuts.

November Camping: Ft. Casey

2009-11-29T22:34:00.001-08:00

"The Forts", as we referred to them, were standard camping destinations back in the Boy Scouts days. Fort Casey, Fort Flagler, Fort Worden, and Fort Ebey were built back pre-WWI, but were never used in combat. They are, however, excellent locations for capture the flag, and hiding dead bodies.

Ft. Casey had been the only one of The Forts where I hadn't actually camped, so I was a little disappointed when I got to the camping area. It was basically an RV park. Not basically. It is an RV park. I was the only person in a tent; a tent which, by the way, just barely stayed 3-dimensional in the midnight windstorm that kicked up.

There are a ton of cool dark hallways and rooms to explore. It really is a fun place to play.

Bonus coverage: Here are a few pictures I took at Fort Flagler a couple years ago when Lance and Haley came to visit.

2009-11-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

...and the black and white roll.

Pictures From my Old New Camera

2009-11-26T01:27:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago, I decided I wanted to be more like my cool friends who shoot cool pictures with cool cameras, so I went out and bought myself a Holga. Maybe it took me longer than I care to admit to get the film developed, but I finally got around to it. Here are a couple that I liked from the color roll.

Fremont, from the Aurora Bridge.

Moped in Queen Anne.

Happy Birthday, Stephanie!

2009-11-20T01:18:00.000-08:00

Or rather, grattis på födelsedagen, Stephanie!

Stephanie, being the stylish, creative, and generally awesome person she is, wanted to celebrate her birthday this year by putting that style, creativity, and general awesomeness to use. To that end, she spent the better part of a week gathering supplies for, and becoming an expert in the process of silk-screening. It was super fun. I tried to take more pictures, but my camera was on the wrong setting for most of the evening, so here are a few that turned out.

Stephanie made the screens from old thrift-store frames, staples and a screeny-type curtain material (they worked great) and we each made our own stencils, mostly out of waxed paper.

This (skyline) was the second attempt at my first design. I think it turned out well. The green pieces are the beginnings of cards Stephanie made for her family. I didn't get a picture of Christian's final product, but it was a cool, stylized picture of a (wait for it...) BMW 2002.

The finished product. I even happened to have a frame lying around that was the right size.

Thanks, Stephanie, for the awesome birthday party. You rock.

At Long Last

2009-10-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

From as early as I can remember, my parents have talked and dreamed about having a house on a few acres out in the countryside. There would be room for the dogs to run, for a few animals, and of course a garden.

They talked romantically about us kids waking up early in the morning to get the chores done before going to school. I also remember us kids not being upset that we didn't live on a farm so that we didn't have to wake up at 4 in the morning to milk cows.

Well, it only took them a few decades, but they're finally in their place and I couldn't be happier for them.

Congratulations, Mom and Dad.

2009-10-19T01:38:00.000-07:00

Nothing that you eat or drink here is good for you.

See?

September Camping: Lost Lake

2009-10-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Some camping trips require more extensive planning than others. This month's trip went something like this.

[Wednesday]

"Hey Christian, I invited a few other people to come camping with us on Friday, but I still don't know where we should go. Any suggestions?"

"We could go to Lost Lake"

"OK"

[Friday afternoon]

"Hey Christian, where is Lost Lake anyway?"

Our perfect campsite. My car suffered only superficial damage getting to where we parked.

Christian chilling out in the hammock.

There was a perfect breeze coming across the lake for Mikey's kite.

Hope and Laney chilling out on the bridge...

while Christian dangles helplessly. He would survive.

August Camping 2: South Whidbey State Park

2009-10-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'm not very good at posting pictures in a timely manner. Here are some pictures from our ward camp-out back in August (for those of you who may not be familiar, I am the co-chair of the Activities Committee for my church group. We do awesome stuff.).

It was a fairly low-key affair, but tons of fun. Something less than 30 people showed up and there weren't really any planned activities, so we spent most the time sitting around the campfire, chatting, telling stories, roasting things on sticks, trying to achieve the perfect s'more... things like that. Too bad for the people that skipped out because the weather man called for rain; we had approximately 3 drops the entire trip. It was gorgeous.

Lacey contemplating the mysteries of the universe in an open flame.

Somewhere, away from the main crowd, a medieval fair apparently broke out, complete with minstrels.

Theresa, bracing for the elements on a gray Northwest morning.

Christian, bracing for the elements in his own way.

There should be some more pictures posted in another venue sometime soon. I'll let you know.

A few more

2009-09-20T02:59:00.001-07:00

Kind of redundant, but I can't help myself. They're just such photogenic mountains.

August Camping 1: A Gravel Parking Lot by the Side of the Road

2009-09-20T01:50:00.000-07:00

First of all, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, what happened to July's camping trip?" The answer is food poisoning is what happened to July's camping trip. My friends and I had planned a big 5 day backpacking trip out in the Cascades, but when the morning we were supposed leaved finally came, I got the sudden impression that it would be far more prudent for me to spend the day lying on my couch with a bucket in arm's reach, than setting out on a grand adventure.

The problem was that since it was already the last weekend of July, I only had a couple days to rationalize how my goal was still in tact. Here is what I came up with. A.) This was completely beyond my control. I didn't just slack off and not go. I had something planned, but was unexpectedly incapacitated. B.) I had just spent the previous weekend on a road-trip to Yellowstone and on that trip, I spent the first night sleeping in my car in the mountains of Montana. And, C.) I would go twice in August to doubly make up for it.

So, here it is, the first of my two camping trips in August.

No, that isn't a gravel parking lot by the side of the road. It's Mt. Shuksan from the Chain Lakes trail at the top of the Mt. Baker Hwy. But, just so you all know, there are no campsites available at Douglas Fir or Silver Fir Campgrounds when you show up after dusk on a sunny Friday.

One of the Galena Chain Lakes. We had lunch here. We toyed around with the idea of going swimming, but you're up at a pretty high elevation here, so it was a tad chilly for swimming.

Mt. Baker peeking out from behind a cloud.

2009-08-17T00:43:00.000-07:00

No Big Town Hero Parking

Name that doughnut shop. Anybody?

Yellowstone Inn

2009-08-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

Just a few last pics from my Yellowstone trip. These are from inside the Old Faithful Inn.

2009-07-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

More pictures.

I promise I don't tuck in my t-shirts. It just got scrunched up.

See.

An unexpected rain shower caught Brenden, Julianne and Emmie off guard. Good thing I'm a Boy Scout and came prepared with extra clothing (see, Bill, I learned my lesson from when we were there).

2009-07-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Rebekah also came up and hung out, which was awesome. The three of us woke up early on Saturday to head into the Park before the big crowds arrived. The idea was that we'd be more likely to see wild animals, but it didn't quite work out that way. Although, later in the afternoon, we did see a mama black bear with two cubs playing down in a ravine.

Kyle at one of the geyser basins.

We also saw plenty of bison.

Old faithful.

I had been to Yellowstone a couple times before, but for some reason never made it to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It is absolutely amazing. Mind blowing. The pictures I took don't come close to doing it justice. You have to go see it yourself.

4 States, 1850 miles, 3 and a Half Days

2009-07-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of road trips, especially the last-minute variety. Brenden's in-laws have a cabin in Island Park, Idaho, just outside of Yellowstone, where they congregate every summer. Every year, Brenden and Julianne tell me how awesome it is and that I should come visit and every year, I tell them that would be sweet. This year, I finally went.

A gas station somewhere in the Idaho panhandle. I made it to Western Montana before needing to pull of at a rest stop and sleep in my car.

Playing cards with the Clawson Clan at the cabin.

Rope-swinging on Henry's Fork.

Granite Mountain

2009-07-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

If you're ever looking for a hike somewhere off of I-90 that offers spectacular views and isn't Mt. Si, I highly recommend Granite Mountain. I had done this hike once before as a post-Thanksgiving hike, but at that time, it there was 2 ft of snow at the top and the lookout station was closed.

My friend Chris, who is even more of an outdoors enthusiast than I am, had never been up there, so we decided to make it a quick trip.

The lookout is manned by volunteers during the summer. I think talking to this lady was the best part of the trip. She's 65 years old, summited Mt. Baker 3 years ago, spends two weekends a month on top of this mountain, and always packs cookie dough with her to bake fresh cookies for the hikers that come visit. She's awesome.

Essential Gear: Binoculars, radio, log book, sunglasses, amazing view. What more do you need?

2009-07-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

June Camping: Lizard and Lily Lakes

2009-06-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

When I made the commitment to go camping every month this year, I knew there would be a few times that I would end up going by myself. In January, for example, I went by myself and it was no problem. My June camping trip, however was a slightly different experience. Maybe it was the fact that this time I hiked in, whereas in January I pitched my tent all of 11 feet from my car. Or, maybe it was that the blackberries are turning ripe and any bears in the area have long since woken up from their winter nap. Or, perhaps my experience from April was still a little too fresh in my mind. I don't know. But, whatever it was, let's just say I was pretty much hyper-aware of every bird, beaver and squirrel within earshot of my tent. Not the most relaxing trip.

In spite of my over active imagination, though, it was a pretty spot. Lizard and Lily Lakes are up in the Chuckanuts, a few miles South of Pine and Cedar Lakes.

I camped at Lizard Lake and had planned on heading over to Lily Lake in the morning, then up to Oyster Dome, but I had gotten a pretty painful blister on my heal on the hike in, so I decided to just go straight back to my car and head out.* Yes, the decision was based purely on the blister and had nothing whatsoever to do with me being a total pansy and wanting to get out of there as soon as I could.

I wish I had been able to make it to Oyster Dome. The view from up there is pretty amazing. In fact, here are a couple pictures Brenden sent me from a hike we did up there back in the day.

Sun reflecting in front of the San Juan Islands.

Brenden's feet high above the Bat Caves. Nice socks.

So, the moral of the story is that I talk like I'm all hard-core, but when it comes down to it, I'm a complete sissy. I may end up camping by myself again before the year is out, but rest assured, my car will be just a few steps away.

*Getting down the mountain turned out to be a little more adventurous than I had anticipated. Without getting into too much detail, let me just say that it wasn't my fault, but huge thanks anyway to Brenden, cell-phones, the lady on a horse, and Google Maps satellite images.

Pinhole Mode

2009-06-02T00:35:00.000-07:00

My camera has a pinhole mode setting, but I hadn't played around with it much until this weekend. I kind of like it.

May Camping: Deception Pass

2009-06-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

I realized a little while ago that if you just read my blog and didn't hang out with me all that much, you might think that I just play outside all day every day. Just so you know, it's not true. I promise.

So, with that out of the way, here are some pictures from my camping trip of the month.

I think it's just that I tend not to take pictures of my indoor activities, or, possibly, that even if I did, they would be very boring.

I mean, you probably don't care to see pictures of me sitting around watching the History channel.

I'm sure I have something worthwhile to share that doesn't involve camping, hiking or biking. That's chocolate chip cookie dough, roasted over the fire on a piece of orange peel, by the way.

I just can't think of anything right this instant.

Anyway I'm sure I'll figure out some way to prove I am actually a well rounded individual. In the mean time, don't worry, I'll still be posting pictures of my camping trips. I hope you like them.

April Camping: Hama Hama

2009-04-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

As is becoming a theme, we got off to a late start. So far this year, I've gone camping in four straight months, never with the same people twice, and I've been late every time. I'm beginning to think I can't blame my friends for this pattern. And, while I'm getting used to hiking in the dark, one crank-powered emergency flashlight shared between two people for three miles isn't the easiest way to go. Despite the dark, though, we made it to our campsite just fine.

Hope and Catherine built a perfect tepee fire before I even got up. When you get to your campsite in the dark, it's always a little exciting to wake up and see where you are. This is Lower Lena Lake, just outside the Olympic National Park Boundary, near the Hama Hama river (say it out loud... it's fun).

I had a strange dream early in the morning that there were people walking around our campsite and shaking my tent. I didn't think much of it until I finally got out of bed and Hope asked me if I had heard her yelling at me. "I heard something walking around your tent and brushing up against it. I tried to yell at you to wake you up, but you just slept through it, so I figured whatever it was couldn't be that bad."

That's kind of one of my worst fears every time I go camping, but the whole thing seems so surreal to me that it hasn't really fazed me yet. I'm sure it will set in next month when I'm lying in my tent freaking out at every chipmunk or bird that rustles the leaves.

By the way, I checked. There were no bear or cougar tracks near my tent. I'm sure it was a raccoon or something. Yes, a raccoon... I'm sure of it...

2009-04-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Go to a soccer game.

Riding the Ferry

2009-04-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

So far, I'm pleased with my camera.

New Toy

2009-04-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hooray for no more white spots in the middle of the picture.

2009-03-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

I think the temperature got into the low 50s today...

...which obviously means it's time for bonfires at the beach.

February Camping: Pine and Cedar Lakes

2009-03-09T01:17:00.000-07:00

This month's camping trip wasn't quite as last-minute as January's, but it was not without some craziness of its own. That craziness mostly took the form of not getting on the road until 9:55 pm, arriving at the trailhead at 11:45 pm, and hiking 2.5 miles straight uphill in the dark to a snow covered campsite.

Nonetheless, it was awesome.

More pictures to come.

Birthday Trip to CA

2009-03-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

The weekend before my birthday, I took advantage of Southwest's fare sale to go visit my sister and brother in law in Irvine and also hang out with my friend Charlotte. I'd like to say that I mostly hung out at the beach, but technically, I went to the mall three times, and the beach only twice (Can I help it if Fashion Island* just happens to be so centrally located?).

I've always wanted to be a nature photographer.

Just some random girl, but I like this shot because it was one of those stealthy-pretend you're not doing anything-from the hip-shots that I learned from Jill and it happened to turn out OK.

Hmm... purple fires. I wonder what they're burning. I need a new camera.

*Interesting bit of trivia for you: Most the stores at the Fashion Island mall close at 7:00 on Saturdays. But, if you happen to walk in to Urban Outfitters at five minutes 'till and then decide to kill time there looking at overpriced, 80's-retro clothing and novelty cameras for 45 minutes while you're waiting for your movie to start, not realizing that they've already closed even though there is no music playing and all the workers are being especially attentive, they won't kick you out.

Larrabee State Park

2009-02-08T01:54:00.000-08:00

2009-02-08T01:52:00.000-08:00

2009-02-08T01:41:00.000-08:00

Camping... Resolutely

2009-02-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

I made a New Year's resolution this year to go camping every month. I used to go that often back when I was in Scouts, so I didn't think it would be too difficult, but as late January rolled around and I hadn't made any plans, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stick with my goal. Then, at precisely 7:04 pm on January 23rd, with the weather cold, but clear, I said to myself, "Yes, I do want to go camping tonight." At 7:37 pm, I walked out the door.

OK, maybe I forgot to pack one or two things, and I had to stop at a grocery store for some provisions, and I had dinner at Taco Bell, but I made it to this gate at Larrabee State Park by about 9:45 pm.

In all the years that I have been camping, I had never gone by myself before last month. I wondered whether I would get bored, or whether I would get paranoid about every little noise outside my tent, but it was fine. I read a book, had some hot chocolate, and slept relatively peacefully. Not that I plan on doing the rest of my camping trips solo, but it was kind of nice to get away from everything and have some time on my own and just kind of relax and meditate (which is strange, considering I live by myself, but hey, whatever...). Anyway, enough rambling. The Northwest is a beautiful place. Enjoy some pictures.

2009-01-11T23:39:00.000-08:00

Just a few random pictures that never got blogged.

Schneeschuh Wandern

2009-01-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to try snowshoeing for a long time, but I had this idyllic image in my mind of how the experience should be. I even had a chance to go a couple times last year, but I didn't want to go unless everything was perfect - cold and still, lightly snowing, rolling hills, spectacular views, fresh powder. That's pretty close to what we got last weekend. Maybe it wasn't the driest powder ever, but powder by Northwest standards. It was gorgeous.

2009-01-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

Lovely Day for a Hike

2008-12-08T02:02:00.001-08:00

I haven't had the best luck with weather on hikes this year. These pictures are from our 2nd annual Post-Thanksgiving Hike (expertly organized by Catherine this year).

Always stretch it out.

The weather report, which was a lie, had said there would be a few showers early, followed by clearing and partial sunshine.

On the Trail

2008-12-08T01:45:00.000-08:00

Did I mention it was wet?

2008-12-08T01:41:00.000-08:00

Christine... or Those We Do Not Speak Of?

Jenna's Blog

2008-11-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to let Jenna borrow my camera and see what she found. I was pretty impressed.

Cora in Motion

Jack-o-Lantern with Hairy Arm

Birthday Decorations

The Goods

Candid Moment

Sisters

Self Portrait

Hmm... Good composition, steady hand, artistic vision - I think she has a future.

More from Bellingham

2008-11-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

The actual reason for my trip up to Bellingham the other week was to go meet a girl. OK, so she's only 5 months old, but I think she liked me...

...assuming spitting up on me is a sign of affection. (Brenden put a some pictures up on his blog, but he stole them from Lorinda, so I don't mind stealing this one.)

Despite the baby vomit, it was a super fun evening. I got to hang out with 4 generations of Reid/Rensinks (also starring the Burleys and Thompsons!), who are basically like my second family.

Maybe we looked segregated, but trust me, we were having fun.

It was also a combined birthday celebration for Jenna and Linda.

Ken: Smile, Cora!
Cora: Excuse me. This cupcake is way more important.

She makes a good point.

Whatcom Falls Park

2008-11-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places in the world.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T23:55:00.000-07:00

Don't go into the woods.

The Second Best Way to Spend a Beautiful September Evening

2008-09-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

2008-09-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

2008-09-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

A few more from the hike.

2008-09-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

It turns out I wasn't in a very good photographic groove on this hike, but here are a few pictures that show a good contrast.

Here is a picture of people generally happy and having fun on Thursday... the first day of actual hiking.

And, here is a picture, taken just one day later, of everybody hating my guts. On the previous day, we ended up hiking just under 15 miles before we found a place to camp. If that didn't beat us up enough, Friday's route started with an easy 2500 ft climb and ended with a steep, mostly shadeless, 2300 ft descent. Needless to say, I was a little over-ambitious in my trail planning (I promise I wasn't trying to kill you, friends!). Luckily we were able to take a short cut around what would have been an even harder day on Saturday. Thanks Hope and Chris.

Despite the injuries (blistered feet, painful knees, pulled muscles, bruised everythings) I think we had a good time. Or, alternately, if anybody had been plotting to take revenge on me, they were too tired to actually carry it out by the time we got to our campsite each night. So, we crammed 5 people into a 3 man tent and just hung out and told stories instead. It was fun.

In case anybody is curious, our route took us along the Pacific Crest trail from Cathedral Rock to about Lemah Creek. We even met up with at least one thru-hiker who had started in Mexico back in April. He was an older guy with a sweet external frame pack and a good beard. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture with him.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness

2008-09-22T23:03:00.001-07:00

More to come. These are just a few of my favorites.

Street Photography

2008-08-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

Get it?!

2008-08-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

2008-08-31T22:44:00.000-07:00

Mt. St. Helens

2008-08-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

I've been to Mt. St. Helens twice in my life and haven't actually seen it yet. The latest trip was this last weekend when Christian, Sean, Ryan, Logan and I had permits to attempt a climb up to the crater. The weather could have been better, but I'll get to that in a second. Let me preface this by saying that it was an awesome trip. It may not have seemed like it at the time, but it was awesome.This is the store in Kalama (I think it's also the biggest business in Kalama) where we stopped to pick up some marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey bars for s'mores, all of which are now sitting unopened on my bedroom floor.

We probably would have made it to the campsite before the rain started, if it weren't for a little detour. I know what you're all thinking, but no, I didn't get us lost. I wasn't the lead car.

Christian, Sean and Ryan consulting a map, two GPS units, and driving directions to determine just exactly where the intersection of Forest Road 8100 and Forest Road 8123 is.

I wish I had pictures of the washed out road we took to get here. It was awesome; the best off-roading I've done in my Lancer, yet. Even Christian was impressed at my car handling skills. I don't think Ryan enjoyed it as much. His car is a lot more expensive than mine.

2008-08-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast said there was a chance of morning showers. It started raining about 5 minutes before we got to the campsite and this is how things looked in the morning.

I'm proud to say that my little tent kept Christian and I completely dry through the night, despite the puddle that developed underneath us.

The other guys woke up to an even bigger puddle. Sorry for the finger in the picture, I was trying to shield my camera from the rain.

2008-08-02T20:13:00.001-07:00

Christian and I, not yet soaked to the bone. At this point, we thought the weather was pretty nasty. We had been passing a steady stream of people on their way back down the mountain, so after a while we started asking people if they made it to the top. Nobody had. They all had the same story. "We made it a little passed the weather equipment, but after that the wind really kicks up and we had to turn around."

Ryan, Christian and Logan on some other planet.

This is not the summit. This is the weather monitoring station where everybody else turned back. We tried to go farther, but not 200 yards past this point, we found ourselves on a super exposed ridge with gale force winds whipping freezing rain into our faces. I hate to sound like I'm exaggerating, but if I've experienced stronger wind, I can't remember it. We had to yell just to hear ourselves talk. To me, it was the most fun part of the hike, but it didn't take us long to realize that we were not properly equipped to endure another hour and a half of this. So we bailed out. Better safe than sorry, I guess. Making it over the 7000 ft mark on a day like this was good enough for us.

2008-07-16T21:34:00.001-07:00

A 4:45 am start meant waking up at 3:30 and packing up the car at 4:15. Huge thanks to Stephanie for waking up early to drive us down. And, while we're at it, huge thanks to Jenni and Stephanie for coming down to Portland to pick us up.

In what would become a theme for the day, we made it to the starting line just barely in time to be off in the first wave.

This is how we all felt by mile 148.

I couldn't resist putting this one in. I don't think Catherine reads my blog, anyway.

It was close, but we made it. The finish line closed at 9:00 pm and I think we crossed at about 8:58-ish. We wouldn't have made it at all if Catherine hadn't initiated an all-out sprint over the last 18 miles that took us into downtown. She's hard core. I think we surprised a lot of people on very expensive bicycles as we blew past them after 15 and a half long hours in the saddle.

I don't usually get worked up about doing something big and then feeling some great sense of accomplishment, but it felt really good to cross the finish line, hear the announcer welcome us to Portland and have all those people cheering us on. It was nice... and then I wanted to sleep.

16 Hours, 204 Miles, way too many Cliff Bars

2008-07-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, 9500 people rode the 204 miles from Seattle to Portland, most of them, wisely, over the course of two days. We were among the 2000 or so foolhardy riders that signed up to ride the whole thing in one day. Of course, it took some preparation.

Packing.

Carb-Loading.

Umm... increasing aerodynamic efficiency.

OK, we needed some help. I have a new respect for girls. It take some serious skills to shave your own legs.

Grilled Cheese and Pop Art

2008-06-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

More Woodworking

2008-06-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

My homemade jig wasn't foolproof enough. There was a little spring-back when I took everything out of the clamps, so one of the legs won't be exactly vertical. It's probably not noticable, but when you're OCD, these things bother you.

Only the sides are glued together so far, but here is a little sneak preview.

2008-06-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Some people have a tool box. I prefer the silk-screened canvas tool bag, myself.

More woodworking pictures to come tomorrow.