fire on the mountain / september snow

fall has begun. the warm sunny days have been replaced with cool crisp evenings, smelling of damp leaves and a warm fire. the rain has finally set in here in the pacific northwest. we will embrace it, and continue our adventures.

there has been a weather advisory out the past few days, saying there will be a few inches of snow (and yes, i said snow) above 4000 feet. snow in september?...we've got to check this out.
so we loaded up the car with coats, hats and gloves to go see this winter wonderland atop mt. rainier. we came upon many beautiful fall landscapes along the way. take a look:

we spotted a sign for a historical church and just had to turn off to see it.
how has life gotten so complicated?

waiting for brooke to finish taking photos of the kirche.
'kirche' is german for church.

the nisqually river...hidden somewhere between the rocks.
just wait 'til spring... then you'll see it!

'happy to be so.'

looking up the nisqually river to where a glacier used to reside.
winter is quickly wrapping us with it's fluffy white blanket.

brooke couldn't get over how the mountain side
seemed to look like it was on fire. we couldn't help but sing dave wolfenberger's version of 'fire on the mountain'

a minute after these photos were taken a group of people can walking down
the path with packs and skis strapped to their backs.

they had taken the opportunity of snow to hike up rainier
to enjoy some early season back country skiing.
it's september people!

just like going to the festival of lights...except there was snow!
...and i guess no lights.

it's september!

so tempting.

this little guy jumped out from the brush, onto the road in
front of us, to say hello.

we saw this little haunt on the way in and quickly determined we'd stop
for dinner on the way out. about a mile from the entrance of
mt. rainier np, the copper creek inn won our hearts over as one of our
favorite local eateries. they use local ingredients for their food,
serve local wines, and don't forget about the blackberry vinaigrette
salad dressing!

copper creek inn

least we forget, mt. rainier is a volcano.

snoqualmie river valley farm tour: last weekend

we know that this is a little late, but last weekend we took some time to partake in the festivities of the snoqualmie river valley farm tour. washington state university and a bunch of farms partner together to open the farms to the public for tours, demonstrations, edibles, music, and good-old-fashioned-family fun. we hit up about a half dozen farms and had a blast!

full circle farm is a certified organic farm that supplies a lot of the
seattle-area high-end restaurants with amazing fresh produce.

here you can read more about the historic hjertoos farm. the barn is
currently being restored and was opened for tours.

jubilee farm: nothing says fall like a wagon full of pumkins.

we looked out to the clouds, surveying the fields that surrounded us,
and quietly dreamed about how nice it would be to have this
area to wander at our leisure.

Mt Rainier - Glacier Basin

After a wonderful weekend spent at Mowich Lake in Mt Rainier NP a couple of weeks ago, we thought it would be good to explore another area of our backyard playground.

We drove in the east side of the park, checked out Sunrise visitor center, then back down to hike out of White River campground up to Glacier Basin...a backcountry site. The trail looks a little different this year than in years past...

Last November, a huge storm hit this place hard, and it is still recovering. A huge 'thank you' goes out to the countless number of volunteers and donors who have helped get the park back in 'order.'

But the hours these men and women spent on the trails, are incomparable to the way God created nature to revitalize itself after complete destruction.

the mountain in our backyard.

"our mountain" in the background.

reading about mt rainier's one hundred year storm in the newspaper
does not do the damage justice.


she loves this stuff.


brooke-size.


the glacier basin trail...or what's left of it. this trail was hit pretty hard.
at times we would find ourselves hiking up boulder-strewn fields where
the trail once was, and a stream now flows.


the trail? follow the yellow caution tape.
start in the lower right and zig-zag to the upper right.


after 1.5 miles of climbing, dodging, jumping, and somersaulting about boulders,
we made it back to the original trail.


after a bit of the original trail, we found ourselves back in an area of decimation
[as ranger dave spoke of his land.] we needed a trail break.


imagine if you will, this river bed did not exist before november of 2006.
the tree line to the upper right was where the trail was. when the fully saturated ground could hold no more water, 17 inches of rain fell in 48 hours. massive flood damage and demolished roads caused the park to close. click here for supplemental reading.


happy...as usual.


with beauty like this, it's easy to forget a torrent of water moving
vw westfalia-sized boulders down stream.


fresh mountain goodness. have a sip.


base camp.



a normal daily routine involves a paradigm shift. instead of hopping up and
trotting to the pantry for a snack; you scamper down the trail to the bear pole,
remove stuff sack filled with energy bars and then put the sack and empty
wrappers back up.


ready for the brisk morning hike down.


i love this woman!



one small step for man, one huge leap for a pika!


testing the waters.


now that's a slug! could be a banana slug...what do you think 'naturalist joe?'


glacier basin - 2007


glacier basin - 1900


click here for more pictures from our trip

over the rhine @ the triple door

andrea and i 'like' a lot of music. i say 'like' because i think that there is only one band we really love. there is no other band that moves deep inside our souls, or fills the void of music, like over the rhine does. i clearly remember the first time i heard over the rhine. it was during high school; some friends and i were driving around one night with the windows down in my old vw. there was an enormous harvest moon out. it had a haunting orange glow. i popped in this tape that a friend gave me. he took guitar lessons from ric hordinski and was given some music to 'study.' the tape consisted of the first three songs from the yet to be released 'eve.' my friends and i were silent as we continued to replay and replay this three song tape as we drove through the crisp night air. over the rhine has always been there for me since that night.

fast foward a few years...
i met this guy in college. we studied scripture together and played music together. he tried to teach me things that i never learned until later. i always liked his tattered over the rhine shirt. i haven't heard from him in a few years, but i read his name in a email a few months back. he and his wife designed the cover for over the rhine's latest record 'the trumpet child.' both great artists. rob and amy seiffert, you guys did an amazing job!

at any rate, going to see over the rhine play is one of the best ways to spend and evening. last night andrea and i got the chance to go see our favorite band...from cincinnati...in seattle. we grabbed coffee at the met and hopped the bus to seattle. it's no moonlight gardens, but the triple door still holds it's own.

the triple door sees it's share of talent. next weekend: shawn mullins,
next month: the preservation hall jazz band, the following month: johnny a.

waiting for the music for the evening to start.

if you've never heard of him...check out griffin house.
amazing!

front row seats. unforgettable!

karin & jake.

linford. while waiting at the bus stop later in the evening we saw him
drive by in a van looking rather lost...andrea giggled.

for those that don't know, people always bring karin flowers.
we thought being so far away from 'home' nobody would bother, so
we swung by pike place market and grabbed some fresh star-gazer lillies and dahlias.
they are on the floor to the right; our card is on the table.
karin read it on-stage and thanked us.

don't wait for tom. karin's banging on a cookie sheet!

while eating dinner and waiting for the music to start we couldn't
help but notice the screen around linford's piano.
i made the claim that i knew exactly who made it. after confirming it with
brandon [otr's tour manager] i smile... rob seiffert.


we even scored a setlist after the show!

since we had a thirty minute wait for our bus, we decided to
scamper down to pike place market. no people and beautiful neon signs!

vintage.

my love.

no rain. though you might expect it.