This past weekend I went to Whistler for some skiing. The weather was pretty fabulous on the glacier, as you can see:





This is Jack. Jack is 12. I've known him since he started coming to camp three years ago. When I first met him, he had black Sharpie ink all over his face. Every day of camp since, he's had Sharpie on his face. Which he applied himself, repeatedly during the week to make sure it stayed "fresh." When I arrived on the glacier this weekend, however, Jack didn't have Sharpie anywhere. I told him that I didn't recognize him without Sharpie, that this was entirely unacceptable and I fully expected him to rectify this by the next day. The next thing I know, the little stinker heads to his boot bag in the camp tent, gets out a Sharpie and starts to fill in a beard using his friend's goggles as a mirror. I immediately apologized to his father for the poor influence. The next day, on the lift, Jack dutifully "reapplied." A little scary that I have such influence on a 12 year old.

The coast of the Olympic Peninsula is absolutely stunning. Rock stacks, enormous dead trees, tide pools all make for some gorgeous scenery. I was lucky enough to see the coast in the clear (Rialto Beach) and in the fog (Ruby Beach). Sorry for posting so many pics, but I was having a great day. BTW, the purpose of the seagull picture is that he's got a starfish in his mouth. Watched him for a while - during which he made absolutely NO progress in getting it down.

The Dungenous Spit on the Olympic Peninsula is essentially a really long sand bar (5 miles) that is home to a lot of shore birds. It is an attractive sight, but even after walking it, I still don't understand why it is a "spit." It does kind of have the shape of spit on the ground, but I like to think that it is because it looks as it is where the ocean has decided to "spit out" drift wood.




Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park provides some really great views of the peaks in the range. Best to get there on a clear day:

Over the weekend, I visited the Olympic Peninsula. Specifically, I went CAMPING on the peninsula. I am not the biggest of camping fans - it often seems like a lot of energy expended just to pretend to be homeless. But I've learned that when you can camp in a beautiful rainforest, the effort doesn't seem quite so taxing. In addition to this, over the weekend I learned:

1. It is possible for tupperware in a hot car climbing to high elevations to "pop," as in, lose their tops and tip over. This can be annoying and messy when carrying small containers of dish soap and maple syrup in the same bag.

2. It may be a good idea to verify what poison oak looks like before hunting for effective marshmallow cooking sticks. I didn't run into any poison oak, but it only takes somebody asking you once if you saw any to give you pause before using the sapling you just cut.

3. Nalgene water bottles can be used to shake pancake batter to perfection when you don't have any alternative. I now plan on using mine even when making pancakes at home.

4. When you really need to clean your pots/pans/dishes while camping, you will use what ever water source is available - even if it is a giant toilet. That's right, I said, toilet. I guess this is the only way to be sure that food waste is removed enough to make sure that animals won't be tempted. It has to be flushed away. Needless to say, I was not the only person who stood paralized with confusion in front of this contraption.

Me: Um.... does anybody else have a problem with this?
Guy: I dunno, man. I'm waiting for my wife.

This weekend was a busy one... so to fully illustrate that, this will be a long post - my apologies.

Friday night had glorious weather, so I went to a city park for a little Shakespeare and picnic. Under the setting sun, at the top of a hill, a group of friends and I had a 12th Night. It was probably the best theater I've seen so far since I've been here.

Saturday I climbed Mt. Si, a local mountain that is used as a training ground for those who plan to take on Mt. Rainier. I got to the top of it in 2 hours. I was pretty impressed with myself. And with the view:





Saturday evening was spent at the Seattle Symphony. I had never been to the hall where they play - it is a beautiful space. The orchestra itself was impressive as well. In addition to the circus performers who joined them on stage. Yes, I said circus performers. Their routines were choreographed to the pieces the orchestra were performing live. It was very effective. I was surprised that the orchestra members didn't get completely distracted by what else was going on on stage.

Sunday I decided to get a closer view of the Olympics, which were very clear. Started off on a ferry to Bainbridge Island - on which I could see the Cascades behind the city as well as Mt. Baker, which is almost in Canada. From there, it was to the Kitsap Peninsula which provided a perfect view of the Olympics, in fact, the exact part of the range I see from my apartment. As it turns out, I can see Mt. Olympus from my apartment. I can't believe i didn't know that until yesterday.








On the way back from Kitsap, the ferry ride was eventful as well - after about 10 mins of being underway, we had to turn back because a woman's water broke!

Last night was my third week of sailing. It was a spectacular evening. See for yourself. Yeah, living here SUCKS.

Sunday I went to Tacoma for the Tallships Festival. This was a great photo op. My apologies if these are a little too artsy fartsy.

From the moment I signed the lease on my apartment, I had been told by a variety of sources that from my building, I had the most amazing view of the fireworks set from the harbor. I can now confirm this. I hope everybody had a great 4th!!

This week I went on a bike ride during which I did the following for the first in my life while on a bike:

1. Had to wait at not one, but two train crossings. Waved at the kids in the passenger cars.

2. Had to wait for a drawbridge to close. An not just an up/down bridge.. but a swivel one. This was entirely too cool. I had no idea such a thing even existed.

3. Passed a car (that was driving, ha ha). No, it wasn't snaking along in traffic either. It was going the speed limit. Neat.

Sunday was my first trip ever to Mt. St. Helens. It is something I've been looking forward to seeing since I moved here. I remember hearing about the volcano blast as a child - seeing the photos in my father's National Geographics. It turned out to be well worth the wait. It is quite a spectacular sight. The various visitor centers are fabulously educational as well. Seeing how much has stayed the same since the blast, as well as what has managed to grow in is very interesting stuff indeed. For anyone coming to western WA, this is a must stop.



There is a "Boundary Trail" that you can take from the crater's observatory center that heads north and allows you great views of Mt. Adams (obviously I was lucky enough to have a clear day) as well as Spirit Lake, where there are a LOT of dead trees. Apparently a lot of trees got dumped here by the blast's avalanche.





At the end of the hike - but not the end of the trail (snow has wrecked havoc on the many trails in the monument, much has been eroded away), there is a great vantage of one of the "holes" in the crater - if you look closely, you can see a waterfall that is gray from all the soot still covering the mountain.