Black Butte Hike

From the Willamette valley, we drove up and over the Cascades towards Bend. Detroit, Oregon looks a little difference than Detroit, Michigan! There was still a little snow on the pass, but we dropped down towards Sisters in the sun. After a stop for roadside grilled cheese sandwiches on a nearly-empty logging road, we wound up the side of Black Butte and parked at the trailhead.

Highway 101: Oregon Coast

We drove over the towering ribbon of a bridge that links Washington and Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia river. After a brief stop to refuel at one of the old cannaries on the Astoria waterfront, we continued along 101 down the coast. 

Highway 101: WA coast

A few weeks ago, we went on a springtime road trip. You would think that I would know better than planning a road trip through several rain forests in April, but that's exactly what I did. Sunday morning, we loaded up the Toyota Adventuremobile and headed south to the Pt Townsend ferry.

First stop: LaPush. And really big driftwood logs!

Joshua Tree

One of my Swedish friend’s wishes while in LA was to visit one of our national parks. Aside from the Channel Islands, the nearest national park to LA is Joshua Tree. After sitting in traffic on Thursday, we thought that Friday would be a great day to ditch the city and head to the desert. Luckily our mustang agreed, so we hit the road.

Route planning (Thanks, Ruth, for the photo!)

Off to Los Angeles...

Some friends I hadn't seen in a few years were heading to LA for an extended weekend, so I flew south to join them. We didn't have much of a plan besides "rent a car, hike a bunch, and see at least one national park, and have fun!" I think we hit it on every count! The first day started with a leisurely breakfast near our VRBO in Pasadena, and then we headed towards Santa Monica for a hike...

Amtrak Cascades

I think it has been 15+ years since I was last on a train in the USA. A few weeks ago I took the train from Portland to Mt Vernon as an alternative to driving home. It is a little slower thanks to frequent stops, but flies at 80 mph through the segments that are slow on I-5. The route is also different, winding along the water in the South Sound and through the farms in the Green River valley. The sun set by the time the Amtrak Cascades actually neared the Cascades, but the view through the South Sound was beautiful.

Change at the Year's End

There has been so much going on in the past few weeks and months, and not many pictures to show for it. Here's the bullet list, in no particular order:

• Loki didn't work out. He had an aggressive streak that an expert rainer could have handled, but expert trainers we are not. 
• We bought a house
• Flew to Quebec and back
• Started a business
• Quit a job
• Got lasik eye surgery
• Had Thanksgiving in Canada
• Flew to Quebec and back
• Started a half-marathon training program
• ...

After the disappointment of Loki, it has been hard to pick this up again and want to post... but since so much has happened and there is another trip coming up, here are some Quebec photos to start out the new year. 

 

 And a few photos from the beginning-of-January trip...