Yes, the water is really that blue. North Cascades National Park is an amazing place.
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Starting from the Johnston Ridge Observatory, we hiked down to the valley and through the blast zone of Mt St. Helen's 1980 eruption on our way to Loowit Falls. The ever-changing landscape and volcanic activity gave way to sights unlike any other. 17.5 miles and a few thousand feet of elevation gain made for some very sore bodies at the end of the day.
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A record-breaking heat set in over Seattle during the 2017 Seattle Pride Parade, but the Garrison Titan of the Star Wars 501st Legion wasn't fazed. Dawning their dark robes and sweltering armor, dozens of members took part in the parade to a huge turnout of over 200,000 onlookers. With the help of dedicated spotters, including one who was delighted to go by "waterboy," everyone stayed happy and hydrated during the 3 mile walk to Seattle Center.
By the end of the parade, most of the Garrison was speechless at the overwhelming enthusiasm emanating from the crowd. The excitement continued with a surprise stream of confetti in celebration of Matthew Brown, the Garrison Commanding Officer's 150th troop. Even better: the Garrison's presence was so well received that they were asked to return for next year's parade just the day after.
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Last week I met up with Sander Rodenhuis who was exploring the United States for the first time, beginning in New York and moving westward over a couple of months. Born and living in The Netherlands, he was certainly amazed at the contrast in cultures, as evidenced by our visiting of a Walmart in Aberdeen and his excitement when seeing a wall of Budweiser branded socks. He purchased a quite a few pairs and a grip of 4th of July beer koozies that proudly displayed a bald eagle, US flag, and the slogan "BEER ME!" (OK — I'll admit I purchased a pair of socks, too.)
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The Nisqually National Wildlife Preserve is Washington's largest relatively undisturbed estuary. This unique feature brings a lot of different wildlife together in one area, and provides a very interesting contrast to the mountains and forests commonly thought of when referring to the Pacific Northwest. We even saw a bald eagle.
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A quick and easy hike off of route 410 to an amazing waterfall.
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Breanne and I took a trip back down to California this month to spend some time with our friends and family. One of the off days led us to a hike in Malibu Canyon that featured an awesome natural grotto. The mix of bright sun and passing rain made for some great light at points, as well as the befriending of a couple different amphibians.
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Fueled by binge watching Breaking Bad over the rainy winter, Breanne and I took a trip out to the much dryer Central Washington where we found some tall desert sand dunes overlooking the Columbia River. The place was called White Bluffs and was adjacent to the Hanford Nuclear site, where research was conducted that led to the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. This was the first time we checked out the other side of the Cascades and we were impressed by the dramatic difference in scenery.
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