northwest excursions

Backpacking Torres del Paine, Patagonia

2011-08-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

I had always dreamed of backpacking the W circuit, but when it came time to actually do it, it was hard to find the information we needed. Here's a recap of our experiences - four of us went in Feb / March 2011 - starting from Punta Arenas, where we flew after a brief stop in Santiago.

A couple of notes before I start: be careful about the food you bring! The customs agents really do go through your bag (although they relied on us to point out the food), will very much fine you, and will confiscate anything that they think is suspicious. Freeze-dried packaged food was fine (we did have to open some of it, FYI) but generally nuts were not. If nothing else, please declare that you are bringing supplies into the country, as the fines are pretty hefty and someone in our party did have to pay (puppy dogs eyes and profuse apologies did not suffice.) Plan to buy supplies and fuel in either Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales.

From Santiago, the group of us flew into Punta Arenas, where we bought gas and some food supplies from the Zona Franca (Duty Free Zone; gas we found at the Baifer store which is in the mall kitty-corner from the big Sanchez y Sanchez.) Getting there can be done via cab hire (cost 3000), bus (the #8), walk (we were told about 20 min) or a cab-share program that is run. For the latter, you walk into the center of town (Magallanes Street I believe) and look for a cab with the number 15 or 20 on it. You will see people lined up at the “cab stops” for them, and just hail one down with an open seat. The cost is 350 pp. Another option is to buy supplies in Puerto Natales – I had heard that this is difficult in high season but there seemed no shortage when we visited in March.

While in Punta Arenas, we visited Isla Magallanes to see the swarms of penguins nesting there. There are multiple tours for this a day, at least one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We purchased our tickets through Comapa, a tour agency with an office right in town (cost 25,000 each). Alternatively, you can look for the Transbordadora Austral Broom tickets directly (http://www.tabsa.cl/Eng/Html/Magdalena.php#Novedades). Their boat is equal to other nice passenger ferries I’ve seen, with upholstered seats, bathrooms, and a small counter selling snacks and hot cocoa (there is no food on the island.) The two-hour (each way) boat ride is warm and boring, so bring something to do and the hour on the island can be chilly, so we were glad we had jackets and hats.

From Punta Arenas, it is simple to buy tickets to Puerto Natales (cost 4000). Go to the Bus Fernandez counter – there are multiple trips a day and you are assigned seats for the trip you want (http://busesfernandez.com/.) This is on Avenue Sanhueza near Ignacio Carrera Pinto. The bus ride to Puerto Natales is in a big passenger bus and scenic. There are no stops, so brings snacks. (There is a bathroom on board.)

In Puerto Natales, we stayed at the Keoken, where the owner was very helpful in arranging further travel, giving advice, and storing our luggage while we were gone. You can also do these things yourself; this would save cost - we know there were small markups on a couple of items - but we found it enjoyable to instead go out and see the city while he did the legwork. It was also great to have a place to store the extra baggage we had and not worry about it while we were camping.

Through him, we purchased tickets on Bus Gomez (www.busesgomez.com) to the Torres del Paine park. It’s also a big passenger bus, and takes a few hours, depending on where you are going. There are multiple stops – at the Administration office, Pudeto, and Laguna Amarga. Everyone, from multiple buses, gets off at the Administration office, where you pay your park entry fee (cost 15000.) Then for us there was a bus shuffle, with those of us going to Pudeto filing in to another bus.

Our “W” trek went as follows:
Day 1: Bus to the park, Catamaran across Lake Pehoe, and the hike from Guarderia Pehoe to Campamento Los Guardas (11km) with the quick trip to the viewpoint
Day 2: Refugio Grey to Campamento Italiano (18.6km)
Day 3: Day hike into Valle del Frances and back out, then onto Campamento Los Cuernos
Day 4:
Day 5: Pre-sunrise hike up to the Torres viewpoint, then out to Laguna Amarga for the shuttle + bus to Puerto Natales

Once you arrive at Pudeto, head down to the catamaran loading area. (There are bathrooms on the way.) You purchase tickets on the boat for the ~40 min ride, which I imagine would have been scenic had it not been raining. All bags are stored in one location so if you do want to have access to money / camera / etc, pack these in a smaller bag. The catamaran brings you to Guarderia Pehoe, where there are more bathrooms, a covered cooking area, and a ranger station. Since there’s a refugio too, there are also options to sleep there, buy food, etc. As this is a stop in/out, we found that there was extra gas there (don't count on this!) sitting in one of the covered food prep areas.

We set off pretty quickly for Campamento Los Guardas (11km hike.) Although the map lists this at about 2.5 hours, we found that to be an underestimate. We probably hiked for about 3 hours, and had stops (including a lunch) for another hour. Some of this also depends on how many photos you want to take – we didn’t stop everything for pictures but we did take a few, especially when we got high enough that you can begin to see Grey Glacier in the distance. Although we generally had great weather, it was very windy on this part of the trail. The wind isn’t bad – you’re mostly hiking on rock and solid ground, so there’s not the issue of blowing sand / dirt – but I still lost my baseball cap. This probably also depends on what size pack you are carrying; we had about 35-45 lbs on our backs, but many others (staying in the refugios) are only hiking with daypacks and blew by us.

At Refugio Grey, you pay per person to set up your tent. There is a Refugio there, and you can generally buy “snacks” – chips, cookies, whole (raw) eggs, etc. The markup is high, but not as bad as I’d expect all things considered. You can also pay for a meal plan or for individual meals, even if you’re staying in a tent. We did this day four (about $10 a person) and it was a treat to not have to set up the tent, boil water, and eat freeze-dried food.

Another option, besides hiking, (that I am not entirely sure is possible, but did hear about) is to take the Grey Glacier sightseeing boat one way to the Refugio. If this is feasible, it saves you hours of hiking. The downside is that although you’re doing the exact same trip two days in a row, I would say the way towards the glacier is generally more attractive than the reverse. And since day 2 is harder anyway (since you continue to Campamento Italiano), I would see if you could arrange to hike out to Refugio Grey and boat back. I have no idea, if even available, if the times would work for this, but it might be something worth looking into.

Another option to “treat yourself” is to forgo the tent and stay at the Refugio. This would change your trekking of the W – our route involved some campsites without Refugios – but generally seemed like a pretty pleasant affair, if you are willing to spend the money. I do admit to being jealous of the hikers (carrying day packs!) that sped by us as we hauled tent, stove, food, etc up the same paths. The Refugios have showers (warm water too – I wish I had known this) that even tenters can use, so bring some soap, flip flops, and a quick-dry towel. If you do stay at the Refugio, I would pack lightly; there’s really no need for a big pack, as they’ll prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for you, and you’ll move much quicker. The meals packed also seem fairly healthy, fyi - on more than one occassion we passed people eating fresh carrots or fruit provided as their snack.

Day two takes you from Grey to Italiano, passing by Pehoe en route. There are beautiful views, especially just after Pehoe as you pass along the lakes. A great spot for a break is when you walk along Lake , where the scenery changes dramatically from earlier in the day and it’s peaceful to sit on the rocks lining the water. Campamento Italiano is tent only and was a mess when we went; with the toilets broken and people being pretty disgusting with their liberal interpretation of the rules. Please people! If you need to use the bathroom in the woods, do it away from the water and pack out your TP!

We left our tent up at Italiano while we hiked into Valle del Frances on day three. This hike was harder than we anticipated in the beginning, mostly due to the terrain on our we-haven’t-been-hiking-all-winter knees. I would suggest bringing poles. Before the viewpoint, the area clears, and you can sit and watch the avalanches on . It’s a great spot for lunch. After getting back and packing up our things, we continued on to Los Cuernos.

Day four was the roughest day because it was the hottest and sunniest and the hike is mostly exposed the entire day. Take the opportunities to rest in the shade when they come up and you are warm, because they’re not always frequent in parts. En route, there is a turnoff for a shortcut to take you around Laguna Amarga which shaves hiking time off (you’ll appreciate it) and is less busy.

More to come...

Greece

2007-07-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy, that it's only now that I'm posting pictures from May. Yikes! So, rather than wait and maybe never post about this trip, here's at least something - we'll call it the condensed version. :o)

At the very end of April, Phil and I flew back east to celebrate Patty and Chris tying the knot. After a wonderful weekend, he flew to Michigan (to work, poor thing!) while I met up with Simone, her sister Melanie, and her friend Angela in Greece for a week, before heading off to London.

I caught up with them on Mykonos, one of the popular Greek Islands. That first day, the weather was cool and damp, I was exhausted from flying almost the entire day prior, and Angela was still recovering from a bout of food poisioning (caught in their previous stop, Turkey.)

So to start, the three of us (minus Angela) walked around town a bit, checked out the shops, and generally relaxed. It's pretty - but not cheap! There also weren't a lot of people around, and even when we went out at night, we found it wasn't as busy as we expected - perhaps it was still a little off-season?

The next day, we rented a car and drove around the island - checking out the interior and (most importantly :o)) the beaches. We went to Elia, Paradise, and... Super Paradise. Gorgeous!

On our final day, we ferried over to Delos for the morning:

The beautiful harbor in Mykonos:

The same day, we took an afternoon ferry ride from Mykonos over to Santorini, a picturesque island that formed out of a volcano. Here, we stayed at a little guesthouse that had the most amazing views.

From our balconey...

The first evening, we went out to a cozy restaurant for Italian food and had a large dinner. Unfortunately, as safe as this sounds, it gave Melanie and I food posioning (all night), and we spent the next day recovering.

Her and I only had one day to really see the island, which was a shame. But, so is life.

The four of us, outside the hotel:

Our next, and final stop, was Athens.

Changing of the guard:

Around the Acropolis...

And, just for kicks, Olympic Stadium:

Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, and Temecula (visting Danielle in California)

2007-02-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

Danielle (my sister) was in southern California for January and February, so I decided to fly down and spend some quality sister-time with her. At least, that was the original reason, but by the time I was packing, it was clear that flying out of chilly Seattle and into seventy-degree weather wasn't a bad thing, either!

I arrived late Friday night, not realizing how small Long Beach airport is (hint: backage claim is outside.) That night, we slept at Kam's house and Saturday morning we drove out to Palm Springs. We were way too early to check-in at the Pepper Tree Inn, so we walked down Palm Canyon Drive a few blocks to the Blue Coyote Grill, grabbing lunch and delicious rasberry margaritas.

When we returned, it was still early for checkin, but the weather was great and the hotel property looked amazing. We changed into bikinis, soaked in the sun, and tested out the heated swimming pool and hot tub. Jealous yet?

On Sunday, we woke up early and drove out to Joshua Tree National Park.

The sky was sunny, but the morning was also cool and extremely windy, aborting our first hike attempt (up Ryan Mountain.) Instead, we drove through the park to Keys View lookout and then down Pinto Basin Road. We stopped to marvel at the ever-present and quirky Joshua trees as well as the interesting rock structures that have formed over millions of years.

Here's a close-up of a Joshua tree:

As one moves from northwest to southeast in the park, you actually cross over from the Mojave Desert to the Colorado Desert, and the incidence of Joshua trees dramatically decreases. Around this switch lies the Cholla Cactus Garden, where Bigelow (jumping) cholla cactus concentrate. We stopped to walk along the nature path and get close, but not too close, to these prickly plants.

After the Cholla garden, we continued along Pinto Basin Road towards the southern exit. At the Cottonwood Visitor Center, we detoured to the Cottonwood Springs area.

Luckily, both a decrease in wind and an increase in weather made for much better hiking, and we set out for Mastodon Peak. After climbing to the high-point, we continued on to Lost Palms Canyon, for a total of about 8 miles roundtrip!

Upon returning that evening, we were pretty tired, but managed to stumble into Hamburger Mary's, where (amusingly) neither of us actually had a hamburger. Still, the meal was enjoyable!

The next morning, we took one last walk through Palm Springs before we headed out. How I miss that weather!

To drive to Temecula, we used back roads, which ended up taking more time than expected. We were relieved when we arrived, and had fun stopping at a few wineries to try out the goods. I love wine, so obviously this was a real sacrifice for me.

Finally, we ended up at Ponte, where Danielle and Kam (newly engaged) had been thinking about having their wedding. We ate lunch on site (delicious) and toured the scenic grounds - I've included some of the photos I took below. Ultimately, after meeting with the events coordinator and reviewing dates, we put down a deposit! I'm very excited, I think it's the perfect place.

Disney World

2007-02-13T00:04:00.000-08:00

M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E.
I'll admit it: I was a little skeptical when Phil brought up the possibility of a long weekend in Florida, to be spent entirely at Disney World. Images of screaming children, long lines, and fried foods kept creeping into my head. But I went - his father had just had a birthday and, as he would be in Florida already for a conference, had decided to check out mouse headquarters. We would fly down and surprise him there to celebrate. And that sounded like fun.

Friday night we boarded a red-eye (a connecting flight at that!) and finally arrived in Orlando around 9:30am. Luckily, the Disney "magic" started immediately. We literally walked off the plane, out of security, and to the Disney counter. They took our baggage claim stickers, put us on a bus, and took us to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we had reservations. It was too early for check-in, but we were still given keys (which also serve as credit cards) and general information. We hopped on a bus to the Animal Kingdom, where we spent the nice few hours. On the bus return, we called to get our room number (negating the need to stand in line at checkin again) and upon arrival, our bags were patiently waiting for us, already in the room. I can't begin to describe how wonderful it was to not have to deal with baggage claim, especially after such a long flight.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge was gorgeous, with high ceilings, a huge and open great room, fire pits along one side, and beautiful decorations.

Spending Saturday at the Animal Kingdom park was perfect - Phil's parents were already there, and it's on the smaller size (great for when you're exhausted from flying all night.) We walked around, especially within Asia and Africa, checking out the Tree of Life, a tour with the Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Expedition Everest.

We also ate lunch, where I was pleased to find out that Disney serves food that's above the standard amusement park fare. Turkey wraps, carrot sticks, grapes, and tomato salad were all in that first meal - and the options we found there were indicative of the menus across Disney. Yum!

Of course, we also met up with Phil's parents and were able to surprise his father (who did not know we were going to be there.) It was wonderful.

For dinner that night, we ate at the Lodge while catching up with his parents, and then woke early on Sunday to visit Epcot. Arriving early at the park was the best way to avoid lines: between 9am and 10am, you could easily do 2-3 rides, whereas a few hours later, you'd be lucky to get one ride in. So that's what we did - the four of us walked in as the park opened and immediately raced for the popular rides in Future World.

That morning we were able to ride/see Test Track, Soarin', Mission Space, "Honey, I shrunk the audience", and even the Seas w/ Nemo and Friends! We also went on the Spaceship Earth ride, which showed just how far rides have come in the last few decades.

We spent the afternoon walking around the World Showcase, checking out the different country exhibits and rating them. We began with Norway's ride Maelstrom - where visitors board a Viking-style boat and travel along in a convulated story with trolls and fjords. Afterwards, there is a film about Norway. Perhaps if the film had been wonderful, the ride would have appeared folksy and quaint, but instead the film jerked around from one scene to the next in an "artistic" but not quite successful fashion.

China, our next stop, had an amazingly intricit building, which lead into a 360 degree movie room. Here a Circle-Vision film about the county was shown, and although the film might have been older, you would have never known it. We left wanting to visit China! This was probably one of the most successful exhibits, and later that evening we also caught Chinese acrobats performing outside.

We continued around the World Showcase Lagoon, checking out most countries as we went past, eating (and watching belly-dancing) in Morocco, and watching Canada's Circle Vision film as well. If you think Canada has a lot of birds, does not contain Quebec, and is sort of "off", then this is the movie for you! After we had been around the lagoon once, Phil's parents left for the Magic Kingdom, while Phil and I went back to see Mexico, drink wine in Italy, and stroll around Paris. We had a great time, and visiting Epcot was definately one of the highlights of my trip.

When you stay inside the Disney park, you qualify for extended magic hours; even though it was almost 9pm, we left Epcot and headed to the Magic Kingdom (against traffic - yay!) The two of us met Phil's parents there, grabbed a bite to eat, and hit up the rides we were interested in: Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, and - of course - Space Mountain and "it's a small world." We all had fond memories of riding Space Mountain years ago, although I must admit it's gotten a little less scary over time. ;o)

On Monday, we awoke early and headed to Disney / MGM studios for our last day. Although the rides in all the parks were good, especially because Disney really nails the immersive details, I liked the rides here the best. The Rock 'n' Roll roller coaster and the Tower of Terror were the most adreneline pumping (which I love), and we also had fun on the "One Man's Dream" tour, the voyage of the little mermaid, Star Tours, and Phil's favorite, Muppet Vision 3D. The only disappointments were the Narnia journey (thrown together and more of a trailer than anything else) and the Great Movie Ride, the latter only an issue because our guide had a slightly screetchy voice.

As we were leaving, a parade of characters began floating by, motivating us to stop and watch. That night, we ate dinner at the Lodge again, which was a wonderful way to end the trip. Such fun!

New camera

2007-01-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

I finally bought a digital SLR! After months of pining away (and drooling every time my coworker Eugene came in with yet another amazing photo,) I broke down after the holidays, found a good price, and plugged in my credit card number.

And now I am the proud owner of a Canon 350D (otherwise known as the digital rebel xt.)

Two initial observations:

1. It's a good thing I initially deceived myself into thinking the camera would be the big purchase, because this could be just the beginning of a love that threatens to suck every last penny out of my bank account. No, the camera isn't cheap. But that pales in comparison to the sum of the accessories I'll ultimately want: a wide-angle lens, polarizer, macro lens, extra batteries and CF cards, carrying case, cleaning kit... oh, and a new computer to digitally edit the images on.

2. My cats probably already hate this new toy. Why? Because they are the perfect models for me to practice on. "Oh, isn't Clark cute when he sleeps like that?" Click, click. Flash of light. "Wait, let me try it this way!" Another click, another flash. Don't get me wrong - I feel little guilt. The boy gets to (and does) sleep a good 80% of the day. But I'm sure they'll grow weary of having a big black box shoved in front of their face only to be blinded by the light that it emits next. In fact, Clark already is learning to close his eyes when he hears the camera auto-focus...

Maui - part 2 - relaxing on the beach

2006-12-11T19:34:00.000-08:00

After our three day trek through Haleakala, we drove across Maui island to Ka'anapali Beach in Lahaina. The weather was beautiful: sunny, clear, and warm. Our resort, the ResortQuest Ka'anapali Shores, turned out to be even better than expected, and we were given room 249, a one-bedroom, one-bath which rivaled my apartment in Seattle for square footage. It had a nice kitchen, king bed, and deck facing the "garden" (otherwise known as a pretty footbridge, trees, and pool.)

That evening we purchased some groceries and crashed early. We spent Wednesday on the beach and by the pool, resting both legs and eyes, and drove that night into Lahaina. Just south of Ka'anapali, Lahaina has a beautiful and completely fascinating banyan tree (and many stores and restaurants.)

Originally, we had planned to go snorkeling Thursday, but high winds and a small craft warning led to the cancellation of the trip. Since we were up early, we decided to drive to Hana. The Road to Hana is famous: it's over 30 miles each way, windy, and full of one-way sections and bridges. Expedia (who was all over our hotel, but not in an annoying way) had a free CD we borrowed for a "guided" tour.

Unfortunately, it rained. Now, I've heard it always rains on the way to Hana - you're practically driving through a rain forest - but when I say it rained, I mean it poured! We could not step out of the car without getting soaking wet, and puddles formed along the road.

It was also chilly, and between the rain, the mud puddles and the brrr factor, we decided to skip the side hikes you can take along the way. At the same time, it was still beautiful to drive along and take the occassional road detour.

After arriving in Hana, we had lunch and the weather cleared a little. I was hoping to continue to the Oheo Gulch (Kipahulu) section of the Haleakala National Park, but that area was closed in October due to an earthquake and heavy rains and has yet to reopen.

By the time we arrived home that night, I was sick of driving! We had a pleasant dinner at the resort restaurant and sat on the balcony drinking wine and listening to the many birds chattering away outside.

Friday, we took a long walk along the beach, down to the Black Rock area. It was still windy, but the sun was out in between the occassional cloud. Ka'anapali has a lot of nice resorts - just walking by I liked the Westin the best - but they can be very expensive. I think we hit the jackpot with our place. :o)

Saturday was our last day, and we spent it on a Pacific Whale Foundation snorkel cruise to Molokini and to another site off Maui (the Lanai' part was cancelled due to winds). This was a lot of fun, especially because the boat only was at half capacity (again, due to weather.) However, it was sunny, the water wasn't cold, and we had good visibility. We also were able to glimpse a mother and baby humpback whale pair in the distance (early for the season.) However, I liked the trumpet fish and the green turtle we saw up close the best!

Maui - part 1 - hiking in Haleakala

2006-12-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

It was snowing in Seattle a few weeks ago: some freak weather pattern left the city in an icy grip. I was freezing, cars were crashing, and no one could believe it was only November. And then Phil and I went away to Maui. The sunny, warm, tropical Hawaiian island at first had been a quick substitute for the Chile trip we lacked the time for. But with the snow and ice in Seattle, it dawned on me how wonderful it would be to get away to the sun, to the beach, and the mountains (yes, unlike normal people, we went backpacking on Maui.)

Our trip began with a lot of rain. After flying into Kahului airport, we picked up our rental car and tried to navigate to Peace of Maui in Hali'imaile (our lodging for the night) and ended up detouring around lakes of water that had formed in the streets due to heavy rains. Luckily, the puddles disappeared quickly, and we spent the night relaxing before our three day, two night camping trip in Haleakala National Park. Peace of Maui was comfortable and surprisingly pleasant for the cost ($60!), and the owner kindly allowed us to store our luggage at the house instead of leaving it in the car while we were hiking.

Sunday we drove up Crater Road and entered Haleakala National Park. Haleakala means "house of the sun" - legend has it that the demi-god Maui climbed to the 10'k summit of the dormant volcano, snared the sun with a lasso, and negotiated a longer day before releasing it. We checked in and convinced a really nice German couple to help us to the top, so that we could leave the car where we would exit the trail. The summit was chilly - luckily it wasn't raining, but it was completely overcast.

We began hiking along the Sliding Sands trail: from the Keonehe'ehe'e Trailhead we walked 9.2 miles to Paliku, our camp for the night. Because we were a little late starting out, we didn't stop much, and completed the hike in about 4 hours. It is almost completely downhill, which makes it easier, however the ground is sandy and gives your muscles a good workout. The hike begins "on the moon"... or at least it feels that way. As far as the eye can see, there is a base of grey-black sand; streaks of copper sand sometimes snake through the floor, metallic rocks catch the light, and occasionally a plant grows (from what I do not know.)

After about 3 miles, life gradually unfolds: plants appear together, hues of orange, rust, and green enter, and we see birds and a few bees. (It was about this time that we passed The Kapalaoa campground and stopped for a quick meal.) Towards Paliku, plants become more and more abundant, until we notice we're now walking through what feels best described as a prarie.

When the 9 miles were finally up, our calves were relieved. The cabin we've reserved through the National Park is situated just under a towering cliff. The cabin itself is convenient: our tent, a stove, and other misc gear stayed in Seattle; provided are both wood and gas stoves, bunk beds, "mattress" pads, an outhouse already equipped with toilet paper, and even soap. Paliku was a bit dirty, but the ease and comfort of staying in a cabin greatly outweighed any negatives.

We awoke early, made granola for breakfast, and packed and cleaned up. Nene were hovering just outside the door, but we were already aware not to feed the nene! Nene are endangered birds that sound a lot like calfs. I swear!

The next day, we had a 6.3 mile hike to Holua cabin. Unlike most of our hiking trips, our quad muscles weren't sore, but our calves were. This was Monday: it was sunny and warm (I finally felt like I was in Hawaii!) We backtracked the first mile, and then veered off onto the Halemau'u Trail. As we bore west, we gradually gained altitude (a few hundred feet) and lost the lush green flora. By halfway, the trail was beginning to resemble the rock and cinder of the crater once more. Check out the photo of Phil (to the left) and compare it with the photo of the trail about two hours later (below right.)

We continued hiking, past Kawilinau, a 65' deep fissure. Once known as the Bottomless Pit and believed to only end at the ocean, the park service has since measured the hole and now uses its original Hawaiian name. Unfortunately, the drop itself is fenced off.

Just afterwards is Pele's Paint Pot, where a mix of reds, oranges, and golds color the slope of a cinder cone.

Only a mile from Holua is the silversword loop. With almost no appreciable gain in distance, it's a no-brainer to take the loop. Silversword are beautiful plants with narrow, silvery leaves; now protected, they are endemic to Hawaii and appear throughout the park. They flower only once in their lifetimes and then die: we saw only a few actually in this state, but many post-flowering.

After completing the loop, we easily trekked the rest of the way to the cabin at Holua. About a dozen German tourists were lunching there, the most people we had seen in the park so far. (We barely saw anyone else unless we were very close to a trailhead.)

Holua cabin was similarly equipped as Paliku, but much cleaner. We arrived about 1pm, allowing a lot of time to unpack, relax, and play cards before the sun went down. It also allowed the Nene a lot of time to (unsuccessfully) beg for food from us. That night, there was a bright, full moon that we could see from the bunks.

Tuesday morning, we woke up just before sunrise, and watched the sky change while drinking hot cocoa (warm inside the cabin.) Although it was cold, as soon as the sun hit, everything (including us - yay) heated up. We cleaned up, packed up, and headed out. This was our final day: we had a 3.7 mile hike to the Halemau'u trailhead, mostly uphill, but not too bad.

We started out flat, but about a mile from the cabin the trail passes through a ranch gate and begins to climb. A series of switchbacks works its way to the rim of the crater, a thousand feet above.

Although it was hot, it didn't take too long, and we finished with tired, but happy feet.

Chicago

2006-11-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

Phil and I flew to Chicago for a long weekend to attend his good friend's wedding. Since I had never been to Chicago before, this was pretty exciting.

Although we skipped the architectural tour due to rain, we had fun walking around the city, checking out the waterfront, Millennium Park, and walking the Magnificent Mile. One evening we went up to the Signature Room, atop the John Hancock Center, for drinks and dessert (and of course to check out the view from the 96th floor!)

NJ (Emilie's wedding)

2006-10-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

My little sister got married! Can you believe it? The whole family is so happy for her. Plus, she was probably the easiest-to-accomodate bride in the world: so laid-back and generally happy. Emilie truly is a sweetheart. Not to imply that we're not fond of Kendrick! :)

On Friday, we had the rehearsal and dinner, where both families and all the friends were finally introduced. Unfortunately, I was feeling awful, as I had caught a cold on the way in. Lucky for me (but maybe not Phil), I was able to sit right next to the fireplace at dinner.

Saturday, with our hair and nails done, we all began getting ready in my parents house. I'd like to call this organized chaos, but I doubt the guys thought of it that way. Somehow it all worked out (despite the fact that the bride, mother of the bride, and five bridesmaids were all trying to get ready). Makeup was applied, dresses were donned, and the flowers arrived fragrant and beautiful.

Some pictures were taken at the house, and when we got to the Church, we posed quickly for additional pictures. However, it was both windy and cold (albeit with a clear sky) and us girls, all in sleeveless gowns, nearly froze! Luckily, things quickly improved with a classic ceremony, an unbeatable toast by my sister Danielle, and lots of dancing at the reception.

Paragliding at Tiger

2006-08-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, Phil took me paragliding at Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. This was a complete surprise - he arranged with my boss to have me tied up in fake meetings all afternoon and then came and stole me away.

We drove over to Tiger, met the guys we were going with, and started up the mountain. Our jumps were tandem, so there wasn't much to learn or worry about.

And although fate didn't hand us long rides, the weather was beautiful and we had a lot of fun. One thing I particularly liked was how smooth the transition from being on the ground to being in the air was. (It's not like skydiving where you feel a rush jumping and a yank when the chute opens!)

I would recommend this to anyone.

Glacier National Park

2006-08-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

This was one of the bigger trips I've arranged this year: eight people, five days, two cars, twenty-plus hours of driving, three campsites, and over thirty miles of backpacking. We left around 2pm on Thursday afternoon (8/10): Phil, Chris, Alex (Chris's younger brother visiting from Minnesota) and me in one car and Simone, George, Katy, and Mike in another. Our car stopped in Spokane for a dinner break, where we discovered a city that (unlike the preconceived notions we had) was not stuck in the 60s, but rather was well-manicured and bigger than expected, with more than one university to its name. From there, we drove into Idaho and then an hour later into Montana. It had begun to rain, which slowed us down, and we didn't make it to the motel we had reserved until 1am.

We woke up early the next morning, quickly got ready, and headed over to the park to pick up our permits by the 10am get-them-or-loose-them cutoff time. After reviewing our itinerary and making sure everyone had watched the safety video on bears and the backcountry, we drove to Packers Roost - parking lot and start of our adventure.

Here's a summary of our backcountry days:
Friday: Packer's Roost to the Flattop campground (5.8 miles, 2640' elevation gain)
Saturday: Flattop to the Fifty Mtn campground (6.4 miles, 945' gain, 565' loss)
Sunday: Fifty Mtn to the Granite Park campground (11.9 miles, 1780' gain, 1910' loss)
Monday: Granite Park to the Logan Pass trailhead (7.6 miles, 1026' gain, 830' loss).

We left Packers Roost around noon on Friday, which was an amazingly on-time start and hiked fairly leisurely to the Flattop campground. Since this was a first trip backpacking for some, we wanted to begin slowly and not kill anyone's feet or leg muscles. Most of the packs were in the 30-40 lb range, although Chris and Alex wanted to flex their powers of wilderness cooking and in doing so ended up with heavier bags. And tastier meals, though I'm not sure it was worth it.

Flattop Mountain sustained a lot of fire damage in 2003, so the first two days were mostly filled with erie scenes of lush, carpeting flowers and ground cover surrounded by burnt, bristly trees. What a contrast! The Flattop Mtn campgrounds were vacant, except for our group, and they were clean and pleasant. Each campground we stayed at had a few campsites, a pit toilet, and an area to prepare and hang food. Because of the number of bears in the park, the rangers insist that all food is kept away from campsites and appropriately stored in the designated area. Sometimes this meant hanging the food, and sometimes shutting it in a heavy-duty bear box. We were more than happy to take these precautions, however, to avoid the dangerous possibility of having a bear in camp.

When we woke up Saturday morning, it was cool and raining. Since our day Saturday was rather light, we waited for the weather to clear a bit before making breakfast and closing up. We then headed out, unfortunately walking through additional rain on-and-off. Luckily, Phil remembered a fun game of counting to play. You start at one and count up, with each number being said by a random person. If two people say the same number at the same time, you start over. Simone and Katy also kept us entertained with some fantastic singing. However, by the time we reached Fifty Mountain camp, we were wet and happy to be there. Chris and Alex had gone up ahead, and were already hanging out clothes to dry.

Fifty Mountain is a medium-sized campground, surrounded by mountains. When the sun decided to finally peek out, we could see mountain goats in the distance. And that night we met more wildlife, a bit closer to home: the deer in the park, salt-starved, began licking everything we had with sweat on it. Luckily, Phil and I had put most of our gear under the rain fly, and the deer only got to nibble on our hiking pole handles. I even snapped a picture in the middle of the night of one little sucker. However, when we woke up the next morning, we found that deer had nabbed Chris's fleece and Mike's tee-shirt (both were hung to dry.) Sneaky little devils! It surely taught us a lesson.

We woke up early on Sunday, since we had a big day ahead of us, and were on the trail by 9am (which is impressive for a group of eight!) The weather had cleared for Sunday, and the forecasts were for a mostly sunny, gorgeous day. Luckily, Mother Nature delivered! The weather was fantastic and we were really lucky, since most of the hike featured beautiful views. Even though it was twelve miles long, I loved it, and felt it was really worth every step. Chris and Alex went ahead again, but the rest of us all hiked together, and I loved how so many type-A personalities could be so mellow and non-competitive.

There were a few areas where I was nervous, being that I do have a fear of heights, but the hike was so exhilerating that I didn't think too much about them. And the panoramas that unfolded around us were amazing!

The trail had us hiking along a string of mountains, and we could often see both the at-times-daunting path in front of us and the amazing distance we had already hiked that day. As time went on, it was almost impossible to see where we had started, even though we didn't feel like it was possible to have begun so far away.

At one point, we reached the top of an incline and took a break, snapping a group photo of the six of us. I've included it below - it's one of my favorite photos of the trip.

By the time we reached the Granite Park, we were pretty tired, but it was only about 4pm and the sun was shining. This was the first time we got to sit around camp in shorts and tee-shirts and not be cold!

The next morning, Katy, Mike, Phil and I had decided to take the "long way" out to Logan Pass (7.6 miles), while Simone, George, Chris and Alex took a quicker route to Packer's Roost and were to meet us with the cars. We started off early, up at 5:45am and out of camp by 7:30am at the latest (it's hard to remember now!) The day was cool and dry, perfect for hiking and we sped along the trail. As we inched closer to Logan Pass, we began to see people. Up to this point, we had maybe seen a dozen others on the trail, but as we began to enter day-hiking territory, those numbers went way up. We also looked down upon some big horn sheep, and, just as we were exiting the trail, found some more mountain goats.

Hiking out this way was great, and I would definately recommend it. The only annoyance was the sheer number of people we had to walk around on the trail (I'm talking about groups of 20-30 people all touring in the same group) and the quantity of them who asked us "did you spend the night at the chalet?" :o)

We got into Logan Pass around 11am, actually beating the car-bearing folk by a few minutes (without them, it would have been a much longer day.) We got in, forgot about not having showered for four days straight, and drove back to Seattle. It was a long day, but the trip was well worth it.

LA (Danielle's wedding)

2006-08-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

My best friend from high school, Danielle, got married in LA. I flew down for the wedding, which turned out beautifully. Friday night was the rehearsal and subsequent dinner, Saturday the wedding, and Sunday I saw my sister Danielle (different person :)) and her boyfriend Kam, who were living about an hour south of LA.

I've included some photos of both the Chinese ceremony and the wedding itself. In both dresses, Danielle looked amazing, and we had sunny (maybe too sunny!) weather for the outside vows.

LA (Danielle's bachelorette party)

2006-07-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

Over the fourth of July, I flew down to LA for Danielle's bachelorette party.

Besides partying, we also went to a Hollywood Bowl concert featuring Kenny Loggins and having fourth of July fireworks. Oh, and the beach! Being from Seattle, the Cali beaches are unlike anything I ever go to here, so that was a treat. ;)

Mt. Rainier (Danielle and Kam's visit)

2006-06-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Danielle and Kam flew in to Seattle for a visit (Kam's first time here!) and for part of their stay, the four of us (including Phil) headed down to the big mountain. We rented a cozy cabin right outside the Mt. Rainier National Park for two nights - with the days to be spent relaxing, hiking, and soaking in the hot tub.

Although the weather was nice and sunny, Paradise doesn't fully thaw until after the fourth of July, so we encountered many feet of packed snow when we drove there (along with construction being done on the lodge and visitors center). So instead of hiking the flower trails so famous once all the white is gone, we drove down past reflection lake to do a lower-altitude option. Even still, this had lots of snow!

SIFF

2006-05-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

Every year I try to catch at least a few movies at the Seattle International Film Festival, mainly because it exposes you to a variety of both insanely good and horrifyingly awful movies, which bring with them their own cultures, people, and stories.

The festival runs for about three weeks every year, during that time in the spring where it could either be beautiful outside (in which case why are choosing to spend time inside?) or downpouring (which makes the average half hour wait outside miserable.) I usually buy my tickets up front, after carefully cross-checking times with my interest in the movie blurbs. Most films are too small to have reviews written on them, so in general... you're own your own. Good luck!

Before each movie, get to the venue early - about a half hour before the show starts. There will be a line already formed, so jump in. And stay after the movie, as there are often interesting question and answer sessions with someone from the film.

By the way, sitting on the end is never such an awful thing - at least if you hit a three-hour dud, you can leave.

Victoria

2006-04-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what took me so long, but whatever it was, I'm glad I got over it. Victoria was both easy to get to and fun to visit. We (me, Phil, and 3 other couples) took the Clipper up, which went pretty smoothly. They booked us at the Grand Pacific Hotel, which had both a sweet location and inside gym (bonus for my training.) Since I had picked up our tickets ahead of time, boarding on Saturday morning was cake, and we even had champagne with breakfast on the ride up (although the rest of breakfast is very cookie cutter and you shouldn't expect a lot.)

Unfortunately, our weather Saturday left much to be desired. Both cold and rainy, we checked in to the hotel upon arriving and four of us headed to the Victoria Bug Zoo, which my coworker Nick highly recommended. We loved it! Seriously, I can't gush enough about the place. The bugs weren't of the Janine-thinks-they're-disgusting type, but rather of the Darwin-in-progress cool variety. I got to hold a mantis, a scorpion, and a bug that looks like a leaf. The guides know their stuff and cater to children, which works especially well for holding our "adult" attentions. Plus, the place has only two rooms, so it doesn't overwhelm you. (And you don't have to hold the bugs. In fact, most are always behind glass.)

The eight of us met up for high tea at the Empress Hotel. What a treat when the weather is awful. I've never done high tea before (and may never again, based on the price :o).) We started with strawberries and cream, and then moved on to the tiered foods (sandwiches, scone, eclair, chocolate, an amazing miniature lemon tart, you get the point...) Delicious! Of course, there was plenty of tea. I would highly recommend this, it's so relaxing. Just be prepared to shell out more than you're used to for lunch (~$40 pp.)

We walked around, headed back to the hotel, and I was able to get a quick run in before dinner at Tapas. Tapas places often don't work well for me for lack of veggie / chicken options, but this one had a ton of choices. Between passing around tons of food and ordering pitchers and pitchers of sangria, I was surprised that the bill came to only $35pp. Good deal! Plus, the waitstaff was amazing. Really on top of things. I'm including a nice shot of all of us just because I have to. (Come on - you know how difficult it can be to get a photo of eight people with everyone smiling and no one looking funky...)

Sunday, unbeknownst to us, was the Victoria 10K, so the blocks downtown were a bit crowded. We grabbed breakfast to go and headed out to the Butchart gardens, which was proportionally empty. To get there, we took the Greyhound bus (super-easy, $30pp inc entrance, leaves right behind the Empress.) The gardens themselves were gorgeous and took about two hours to walk through. And luckily, it was sunny!

Muir

2006-04-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

If you've never been to Camp Muir, get in shape. Then go. Because sometimes it can really hurt. Especially the next day.

Muir is located at about the 10'K mark on Rainier. It's approximately 4.5 miles (one way) from Paradise (with an elevation gain of about 5'K feet.) Lots of people use Camp Muir as a staging point for a peak ascent. Others use it to train for climbing Rainier. A bunch of people go up so they can ski / snowboard down. And then there are people like me: I go just because it's a fun hike. With amazing views.

Muir in April is entirely in the snow. Paradise was under at least twelve feet, and there's only more snow as you climb. This was my first time up for the year, and I went prepared because the weather can change quickly and drastically. I wore plastic mountaineering boots, thermals, shell pants and a jacket, hat, and gaiters on the way down. Oh, and socks. Socks are nice. Underwear, too.

Let's move on.

The hike was beautiful, but chilly. I went with my friend Mike and his friend Forbes. This being our first time this year, we went up in about five hours and down in about half that. It's a long day! To the right is a photo of how Muir looked when we went up. Not much there, huh? The best part is down (of course) because all the snow allows for glissading.

Glissading sounds like a complicated, technical term, but really it just means sliding down on your bum. You get to go fast and it's a great time. And it gets you down quickly. :o)

Carmel by the Sea

2006-04-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

To get away for a long weekend, Phil and I caught a plane on Friday afternoon and met his parents at the San Jose airport. Together, we drove down to Carmel by the Sea, and checked into a quaint hotel his parents had discovered. Our room had a fireplace, which qualifies it for the designation "amazing" in my book, especially with the weather still crisp out.

On Saturday, the four of us enjoyed the famous 17 mile drive, seeing rich golfers and beautiful scenery alike. We also went to Point Lobos and absorbed sun and surf while walking around the park. I'd highly recommend checking out the park if you ever go... it's relaxing and not as crowded as I expected.

The next afternoon, we took a chance on the Ewoldsen Trail in Big Sur State Park. The hike was mainly through the woods, but completed with a sweeping view of the coastline. I loved it, and Phil's parents were total troupers. (It ended up being a little more difficult than the ranger made it out to be.)

We went to a fantastic restaurant Sunday night, where not only did I adore my meal, but I even tried some of Phil's steak. Shocking, I know! But I will admit, it was delicious. The waiter explained to us that many of the million-dollar plus homes in the neighborhood were third and fourth vacation homes. Wow!

Monday we drove into Monterrey and stopped at the aquarium. If you've never been, you should go. It's huge. And amazing. We also took our time walking around, checking out the waterfront and some of the stores along the way.

We lucked out in terms of the weather the entire trip, which made the time away that much more pleasant.

Willamette Valley

2006-02-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

About an hour outside of Portland, the Willamette Valley is home to hundreds of wineries. Since I adore wine, especially red wine, it was a great place to go for a night. There is enough to do in the area that we could have gone for at least another day, but being as it was late February and a little rainy, an overnight trip was perfect.

Day one we drove down to the Wine Country Farm. I had a difficult time picking a place to stay, because I wanted it to be romantic, but not too far away from many of the wineries I had mapped out. This place fit the bill, and while not the cheapest, did have a great breakfast, a gas fireplace in our room, and a complimentary wine tasting. The main building also had a hot tub. The biggest downside was that it was very quiet. Almost too quiet. And while the owner obviously wasn't used to six twenty-somethings staying there, she was friendly and mellow about it. (We met up with Charles / Erica and Frank / Ann.)

After settling it at the B&B, we drove right across the street and tasted at Domaine Drouhin (spendy and stuffy). We then went to Argyle and had sparkling wines and Pinots. I liked Argyle for the most part - they had good wines for decent prices, and a bustling atmosphere. For dinner, we ate at a little French cafe in town. The food was delicious, although on the expensive side for a group. And then we all hung out in the hot tub!

Day two we slept in (at least somewhat) and then had a family-style breakfast in the main house (our room was over the tasting room in a secondary structure.) We packed up, checked out, and headed out to visit the WillaKenzie Estate. I loved these wines. Not only did they smell *fantastic*, but they tasted pretty nice too. ;o) The tasting room here was the best we went to: it had both a casual-yet-upscale ambience and educational information sprinkled around the room.

After WillaKenzie, we went to Ponzi, which had a fantastic Pinot (the Tavola) but in general was a bit more expensive. Who knew Pinots cost so much! It's still a fun experience, even if you don't buy much. Or you can be like Erica and Charles and just go nuts - at least you'll enjoy the wine later!

We headed home, stopping in Olympia for dinner, as neither Phil nor I had ever been there. I'd go back to the Willamette Valley again, but would love to go when the weather is nicer and take advantage of some of the trails and horseback riding in the area.

Deception Pass

2006-02-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

A little over an hour north of Seattle, Deception Pass is a sweet spot to grab a picnic or play around when the sun peeks out. Since it was an uncommonly nice day, and since Phil had never been there before, I packed up some food and dragged him to the pass with me. There's a short but pretty bridge (connecting Whibdey Island to the mainland) that we walked across (of course, I love bridges) and we hiked up one of the quick trails on the island for a beautiful sunset.

San Juan Island

2005-08-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Phil, in a stroke of utter genius, took me to the San Juans for a weekend. Saturday we woke up early, drove to the ferry in Anacortes, parked the car, and hopped on the ferry. It was chilly and overcast, typical of a Seattle morning. But by the time we pulled into Friday Harbor, the day was brightening up. As we stepped off the boat, I couldn't help but notice a gaggle of teenagers all wearing "Ask me - I live here" buttons. Little welcome ambassadors. Cute.

We walked the half mile or so to our B&B, which was a converted 1907 craftsman home, to drop our bags off. I love the old craftsmans around Seattle, so Phil really hit a home run picking this place. (Plus, the breakfast the next morning was to die for.) We then walked back into town, and caught a shuttle to take us kayaking for the day.

Kayaking was a blast. Because it was a bit windy, paddling out was really tough. The fact that it was chilly didn't help either. But that made the return trip, which was calm and quick by comparison, a pleasure. Even though we didn't see any whales, we did catch a deer and an eagle. ;o)

We had dinner out that night at a cute restaurant, and I learned that people there don't really dress up. Which didn't stop us, but is something to consider when I go back.

Sunday we rented mopeds and drove around the island. This was my first time driving a moped, and I was really nervous when we started. In fact, I changed from a skirt/flip flops into shorts/sneakers because I was so paranoid. But you know what? After I got the hang of it and once we figured out that we could leave them around and people really wouldn't steal them, it was a LOT of fun. We went past an air strip, to the other side of the island, to English Camp, and the lavendar farms, and to see llamas. Yes, llamas.

We got back just in time to grab some pizza and take the return ferry.

Olympic Peninsula

2005-06-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

The Olympic Peninsula is one of those places that you're never really done with, because there's simply too much to do there. From the beaches to the mountains to the only North American rainforest, it's a outdoors dream come true.

Excited about the approaching nice weather, I rented a pair of side-by-side houses and drove out with a bunch of friends. The houses are casual - maybe even well-loved and a bit worn-in - but comfortable and perfect for our group. They're on a lake (with rentable kayaks and canoes) and have a ton of games (pool, ping pong, darts, etc) already waiting, along with a fantastically huge hot tub, a fire pit, and a BBQ... of course.

Friday afternoon, we left early from work. In order to get to the peninsula, you can either drive down around the sound, or take the ferry across. We opted for the latter approach - it's easier and pretty, although the traffic at the ferry can pile up on a sunny Friday. Phil and I drove together and arrived at the house first. Everyone else trickled in, and we made dinner and played games.

Saturday we went hiking near Shi Shi Beach. After driving out and paying for a parking permit (you actually park on an Indian Reservation) we got out and started off. The hike begins through a forest that, with it being still spring, was a bit more muddy than expected. Most of us handled this well, not too worried about the dirt. When we finally made it out to the beach, the views are dramatic. Shi Shi is located near the northwestern most point of the continental US, and the ocean is gorgeous.

We walked down the beach a few miles, stopping to check out tide pools and play on the rock formations. Our pace was slow, but we had a great time. Very few people were on the beach, which was shocking for such a nice Saturday, so we only passed a few surfers who had camped out for the night. There were more than a few birds, including a couple of bald eagles which nest safely in the protected area. By the time we turned around and walked back to the cars, the sun was setting.

That evening, we chilled out at the house again, and the guys cooked a fantastic meal (really) while the girls lazily hung out in the hot tub (with wine and appetizers!) Sunday morning we woke up, cleaned, and began disbanding. Many of us drove up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park on our way back, and took a quick hike around the base of the ridge trail. If you've never been to Hurricane Ridge, go. It's a great hike for views, and it isn't very strenuous.

Phil and I also drove up to Port Townsend, stopping for ice cream and a walk before finding our way back.

Whistler

2005-01-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

As a Christmas gift for Phil, I planned a trip to Whistler, mainly because neither of us had ever been there and we both enjoy skiing / snowboarding at least occassionally. We drove up in early January (it's about five hours from Seattle), arriving late one Friday night. It is COLD there. Mind-numbingly cold. It's the first thing I noticed.

We spent Saturday snowboarding (Phil brought his skiis but rented a snowboard.) Although there was some snow and the machines were going full blast, it was also a bit icy. I hate icy. I'm scared of icy, of going too fast, of taking myself out or even worse - of taking someone else out. So I went slower than Phil, but he was a good sport about it. At some point, I finally got too tired to keep going, and Phil did as well, and we called it a day. We went back to the hotel room, passed out for a little, and then managed to get up to find food.

It's hard to dress up and look cute when it's so cold (I think I was wearing my ski jacket the whole time) but we still managed to have a nice Italian (yum) dinner. And then crashed back at our hotel room.

Sunday we got up and went back out on the slopes to take advantage of the day before we left to drive home. And although we were exhausted by the time we got home, it was a fun weekend.

Artist Point

2004-08-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

Artist Point is a magical place that you can actually drive up to. It's located where the Mt. Baker highway ends (about three hours northeast of Seattle), elevation 5140 feet, and has beautiful panorama views of the North Cascades. It also happens to be where Phil, Dan and I decided to go one sunny afternoon before Dan moved away from Seattle.

Once you drive to the end of the highway and park, there are a number of well-groomed trails that you can use to walk around with almost no elevation gain / loss. It's a great place to take someone who can't move around much and still see fantastic views and photos. I just wish there had been fewer clouds in the sky when we went.

Tulip Festival

2004-04-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Every year in April there's at least one nice weekend. One where the rain stops, the clouds disappear, and the sun comes out for a few days. Timely enough, there's also the tulip festival, an annual flowers-everywhere event an hour north of Seattle in the Skagit Valley. I've been a few times, and went again when my sister came out to visit me. (We were on our way up to Vancouver and stopped along the way.)

The tulip festival is hard to plan ahead of time, because no one knows exactly when the tulips will bloom. Smart event organizers have planted daffodils and irises (the former which bloom before the tulips and the latter which bloom after) to minimize the chances that you won't see any flowers in bloom if you're coming from out of the area. Still, the main attraction is the tulips, and there are by far more fields of them than anything else.

When Danielle visited, we were graced with both the tulip-blooming and the nice weather on the same weekend. So we quickly walked around the fields and took some photos. If you have more time to spend, I've heard that bicycling around is a joy, but if you decide to go this route, leave early. When the tulips are in full bloom, traffic becomes an issue (and people often look a little too much at the flowers and not enough at the roads.)

One year, I did stop by the sidewalk-sale-esque fair they have there, but I was unimpressed and wouldn't recommend this. Instead, grab some food in town and head up to Deception Pass, which is only a little further away.