DATE: September 15, 2008
Photos:
Weddings
Yosemite
The Enchantments
Kodiak, Alaska
Ross Lake
I wanted to title this one the "Wedding Tour" but that wouldn't quite be accurate. Weddings are what sent me home, but there were definitely a few other adventures along the way. I definitely stayed longer and visited more than weddings would have required. It was a busy time which took me from Seattle to the Bay Area to Yosemite to Roseville to Portland back to Seattle up to Alaska and back again.
It all began with my friends Carrie and Pierce who tied the knot in Seattle, with a reception overlooking the Puget Sound and the city skyline on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. It was great to see friends there, and many of us made plans to meet again over Labor Day Weekend at Ross Lake, somewhat of a tradition. Then I moved south to California to take part in Adrianne and Charlie's wedding, which was also great fun. It took place in a beautiful Redwood forest with ever-flowing wine and dancing.
Adrianne on her big day
Corinne then joined me for a week of climbing in Yosemite. I had never been there before and was keen to check it out. We agree that neither of us is particularly adept at either slab or crack climbing, which is not ideal for Yosemite as that comprises most of the climbs there, but we still enjoyed ourselves. The highlights of the trip included hiking the Half Dome and climbing Cathedral Peak in the Tuolumne Meadows area.
Yosemite in all its glory
Elk in Yosemite
The Half Dome from afar
The Half Dome
Corinne climbing the Half Dome
Hanging out on top of the Half Dome
Hiking down - a refreshingly misty section
Corinne climbing Cathedral Peak - check out the shadow!
Me and my cheesy climber pose
Some lads on the cosy summit
Next, I took an Amtrak train for the first time in the US. Might I get on a little pedestal here and announce that I really wish America would figure trains out. They are great, and Amtrak was great, and there is no reason they couldn't be great all over the place. If our rail network could even get close to the way Europe's is organized, we would be a whole heck of a lot less dependent on oil. But I digress. ;) The train took me to Grandma's house, or close enough, ;) and my brother and cousin drove down to meet me there. Grandma had her hands full of dare I say large grandchildren for a few days, and we did have a ball! I think we all felt like kids again.
We drove together back up to Portland where Grandma and Cousin stayed with Aunt and Uncle, and Brother and I drove the rest of the way up to Seattle. It was good to have some one-on-one time with my brother. I never seem to get enough time with him when I visit and I miss him quite a lot.
Back home, I seized a chance to head up to one of my favourite hiking areas in Washington: The Enchantments. I did not have permits – was going for the lottery, in the summer, for one of the most popular walks in the area (and they only allow about 15 people into the park per day)… but somehow I won! And I never win anything! :) The main trail (via Snow Lakes) is a long uphill walk amongst bejeweled granite peaks with alpine lakes, friendly mountain goats, and splendid vistas, pending good weather of course. The weather did clear, the sun was out, and I made my way up into the mountains for three splendid days of walking. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
Prussik Peak, Enchantments
Prussik Peak, Enchantments
Enchantments
Happy mountain goats
Little Annapurna
Snow Lake
Snow Lake
These are just a snippet - please check out the gallery for more.
Then it was up to Kodiak, Alaska - my first time in Alaska. I had a chance to view some Kodiak bears, thankfully from afar. The Kodiak bear is the largest land-dwelling carnivore. Funny enough, each time a chance came up to get closer to them, I politely declined or found something else to do. ;) I also learned how to make jam and jelly, which was a lot of fun. I also got the chance to visit a spacecraft launch complex on the island and attempted to go fishing. I say attempted because the ocean going boat had a steering issue (so was out of commission) and the rivers were not producing the kind of fish we were looking for – I was smack in the middle of two good salmon runs. Tried my hand at fishing the non-desirable fish (obviously letting them go) and in several days of fishing I think I caught one, maybe two fish. I pretty much suck at fishing. But it was fun!
Kodiak
Kodiak's harbor
Kodiak's Women's Bay
Learning to fish
In Kodiak
Happy little bumble-bee
Near Chiniak, Kodiak
In Anchorage, I was fortunate enough to get to meet up with a wonderful couple, Sherrie and Ryan, that I met there six or seven years ago in Ton Sai. Check out Sherrie's blog for some great climbing adventures in Alaska. I also visited the Alaska State Fair, to see the famed "Giant Vegetables" which are indeed the largest I have ever seen, or even imagined. I kept waiting for the giant rabbit of The Case of the Were Rabbit to appear.
Root beer floats for sale! Kodiak State Fair
Haute couture for sheep
Giant vegetables at the Alaska State Fair
Great hats
The Log Rolling Contest, Alaska State Fair
Green fairies (or something) at the Alaska State Fair
Alaska is a fantastic place. It really makes you think about survival and living off the land. I know that sounds cliche but it is true. It is definitely a place for survival of the fittest – Paris Hilton would not do well here. The people are intelligent, hardy, and unpretentious. I'm not referring to Sarah Palin, by the way. She kinda freaks me out.
I then headed back to Seattle and back into the mountains, this time to Ross Lake for the Labor Day Weekend tradition I mentioned earlier. This was fun camping with friends, smores, and canoes. It was another beautiful weekend, kicked off by a storm. I borrowed my parents' inflatable dinghy with quite possibly the world's smallest outboard motor (think personal fan goes underwater), braving "massive" six inch waves which crashed over the bow of our trusty vessel. Just when hypothermia was threatening to set in, we rounded a corner into flat calm waters and had a relatively incident-free journey to the campsite.
Ross Lake on a calmer day
A more peaceful way to boat
My more intelligent friends hired a large motorboat
Then it was back to Seattle for one last week before heading back to Europe. It was great to hang out with the parents for a few days with no interruptions and relax a bit. Got a chance to recharge the batteries for a couple of days, enjoying mom's cooking and sleeping in, and generally just having some quiet time. My parents also hosted a lovely get together with some of their friends, so I was able to see some people that I haven't seen in years. Finally it was time to head back to the UK and then to Oktoberfest in Munich for my birthday. The time at home was great, though. It reminded me how much I miss the Pacific Northwest.