Chinook Pass

The way to the top of Chinook Pass (5,430 feet) is designated an All American Road. It was historically used as a trading route over the Cascade Mountains. On our drive up the temperature dropped from the high 80s to the high 40s! We hadn't felt anything that cold for months, and there was snow at the top of the pass. We came back down a bit and did a geocaching hike to a waterfall a few miles above the mouth of Menatchee Creek. It was a great hike that included having to cross the creek over a fallen log.

For more photos click here: http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/Washington/Chinook%20Pass/

Rumble on the River

For the last 41 years, Pasco, WA has hosted an annual event on the Columbia River featuring the world's fastest race boats. Several classes of hydroplanes compete for the Atomic Cup during this action-packed weekend. Civilian and military aerial performances by a Navy F-18 Super Hornet and and F-16 Viper, among other aircraft, provided additional excitement between heats. The event generates publicity, attracts visitors and focuses attention on the water, climate and recreational aspects of the Tri-Cities area. For more pictures of the day, click: http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/Washington/Tri%20Cities/

Larrabee State Park

This beautiful area is a bit over 100 miles north of Seattle, near Bellingham, WA. It includes 8,100 feet of saltwater shoreline, two freshwater lakes, tidelands and deep wooded forests from sea level to 1940 feet. There are also lots and lots of hiking trails. The one we took was supposed to lead to "Lost Lake." As far as we are concerned, it's forever lost. We walked and walked, but never found it. What we did find were lovely views of Mt. Baker, the San Juan Islands and Samish Bay; fragrant paths lined by cedars, firs and birch; moss covered rocks; curious squirrels and countless chatty birds. In case you history buffs, were wondering, the park was officially named in honor of Charles Xavier Larrabee (whose family donated the land). It became Washington's first state park in 1915. See more photos here: http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/Washington/Larrabee%20State%20Park/

A New Hobby: The Seattle Kick-Off

Two weeks in Seattle and it's already a blur. Our events were on the slow side, but we kept busy on the weekends. While we were there, Seattle was having a heatwave. (We may have brought it with us.) It was in the upper 90s for days on end, and Seattleites were suffering. Some tried to beat the heat downtown at the Seattle Center. See more pictures here:

http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/Washington/Seattle/

One of our USG reps is an avid hiker. She told us that the purpose of a recent hike was to recover a "geocache," a hidden treasure somewhere on the mountain. These geocaches are found using a GPS device after you visit a website (http://www.geocaching.com/) to find whether there are caches near you. Each cache has its coordinates listed, along with a description and sometimes clues. A typical cache contains a few small toys, stickers, keychains, etc., as well as a logbook to sign and date. Usually you take something out and leave something behind. After a find, you log it on the website and comment on the experience. Since then, we have become avid cachers. We've gone on a number of hikes we never would have known about, and explored parts of cities we wouldn't have seen otherwise. The photo below is from Cougar Mountain, site of an early find!



Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is near the community of Issaquah not far from Seattle. It covers more than 3,000 acres, and is famous for its more than 36 miles of trails for hiking, and over 12 miles for equestrians. We did a loop that covered a number of different trails. Some of them are said to have been used 8000 years ago by Native Americans as an overland route to Bend and the Cascades. Believe it or not, we started at a Nike missile site left over from the Cold War. After World War II, anti-aircraft guns were placed on Cougar Mountain to protect Seattle and Puget Sound. They were later upgraded to Nike missle and radar sites. Other points of interest on the trails included a mine shaft used starting in the late 1800s by miners who produced coal for steamships, railroads and the city of San Francisco and Anti-Aircraft Peak. From the natural world: wetlands, salmon-spawning creeks and forest. We didn't see any of the resident mammals (black bear, black-tailed deer, bobcat, and coyote) but we did see lots of birds including, we believe, a Bald Eagle. See Cougar Mountain pics at:

http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/Washington/Cougar%20Mountain%20Wildlife%20Reserve/

On the Way to Seattle: Mt. Shasta

Old Sac

Old Sac is a National Registered Landmark and 28-acre State Historic Park, on the river, in downtown Sacramento. It includes the museums, steam train excursions, the Delta Queen (which used to travel daily to San Francisco in the late 1920s), shopping, restaurants, and memories of the area in the time of the gold rush.

If you're fond of sand dunes...

The 4th of July weekend was a great escape to Old Cape Cod. We arrived in Boston only a half hour late after having lost an engine on the redeye from San Francisco and being diverted through Detroit. After a quick side trip to visit grandma, we crossed the Bourne Bridge.




It was a great weekend of nature, exploration, family and fun in real Cape style: beaches and lighthouses, kayaks, lobster rolls. On the 4th, we head to Boston for a homestyle barbecue at Sally's. Sally always has the best meals, and she should since she works hard to put things together! We feasted on tasty appetizers that could have been the whole meal, beer can chicken, amazing grilled vegetables, pasta salads, bread, and much much more. All this was followed by a great view of downtown Boston's fireworks from high in the Arboretum. Check out more pictures from the weekend at http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/Cape%20Cod/