Some More Random Pictures

Anna Writes:

Well, I had a couple of other posts planned, but my jump drive isn't working correctly, so not all of the pictures that I wanted to include are available right now. So here's a smattering of pictures from various things over the last few weeks. Consider them a preview of blogs to come!

My friend Emily, Riley (the dog) and I climbed Mt. Ellinore and almost got eaten by Mountain Goats! It was exciting.... Here's one of the goats that had it out for us:

I bought a dresser at a garage sale and re-finished it. It was a simple piece of furniture for my first attempt at stripping, staining, etc., but it turned out well and I had so much fun. I especially loved using the power sander!
We went to the Chittenden Locks to see the salmon running, and also to the botanical gardens...So...more to come on all of these adventures when we solve our technical difficulties!

It's been a Long Time....

Anna Writes:

Not having internet service at home significantly limits our ability to post on our blog regularly. But we are still here! Here are a few pictures from our more recent adventures:

Several weeks ago I was able to climb Tolmie Peak with a few friends. It's a climb that I have wanted to do since last year, but the trail is only open from late July until late September/early October due to snow. It was worth the wait!!! It was a GREAT climb with spectacular views. We started at the trailhead at Mowich Lake, in Mt. Rainier National Park. From there we hiked on trails, gaining elevation as we enjoyed the forest views....
Then we came to a meadow that was full of beautiful mountain wildflowers:
Then we came to Eunice Lake....If you look closely at the top of the ridge you can see the fire lookout tower at the top of the ridge, just a little square-ish speck. That is where we were headed; a long way up!
As we climbed the ridge and gained more elevation, Mt Rainier came into view. It was SPECTACULAR:

The higher we went, the better the view. This is Lake Eunice with Mt Rainier in the background. The picture doesn't do it justice; the water of the lake is glacial run off and it was an incredible blue, and so clear that even when we got to the fire lookout tower you could see logs and rock at the bottom of the lake. Unfortunately, with the sun I couldn't get a picture that depicted it.
Finally, the fire lookout tower!
We enjoyed lunch on the tower, and as we relaxed fog rolled in. It was fun to watch it swirl and move, but it obstructed our view of the mountain!

Great Hike!

Midwest Night: Dinner, Games, & a Movie

Hal writes:

We recently hosted a theme party of "Midwest Night" at our house. We had representatives from MN, WI, MI, and IL. (The people from CA and WA me made into honorary IA and NE residents.)


I made name tags for everyone with their home state. Boys were given the middle name of "Bob" and girls had either "Jo" or "Sue" for a middle name.

The evening featured two games. The first one was a Midwest Quiz that Hal put together. Tyler, who has lived in WA all his life, won the quiz. Things were pretty even, but he pulled away when it came to the "match the senator to the state they represent" part of the quiz. (For future reference, Chuck Grassley is from Iowa.) The second game was called "Tip the Cow". Everyone had a circle with a cow print out. After naming their cow, they were blindfolded (and for my own personal amusement, made to wear a cow vest and cowboy hat) and stuck their cow on the "farm" in the style of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Whoever had the cow that was the most upside down won. (We had a level and a PT angle measuring tools to settle disputes.)

Nils celebrates his victory in "Tip the Cow".

Here is the food. Drinks included beer from WI (Leine's), wine from IL (Galena Cellars), Kool-aid, and "Mississippi River" water (really, just from my tap, I lied about that one), and Minnesota Milk (really from WA, but hey, I lied again.) Food included sloppy joes, brats, ceddarwursts, beer bread, cheese dip, jello pretzel salad, potato salad, cheesy potatoes, and tater tot hot dish. For dessert, there was an assortment of bars.

After dinner and games, we watched Drop Dead Gorgeous. The fun part was, only three of us had seen it before. It was fun watching it with people who were hearing the jokes for the first time. Gladys, we need more bars!

Bonus picture. Here is Riley (left) and our neighbor's Yorkie named Fido. We tried for a cute picture, but they wouldn't sit still.