Rafting and Stuff in Central Washington

Chris and I went to the dry, hot central Washington region this Fri ans Sat. It was his first free weekend in a while, so when everything I had planned got canceled due to rain in Seattle (work and volleyball) we left for a raft trip! So, off we went, with the intent of rafting to an island in potholes resevoir. But once we got there, it didn't look as appealing. Plus we really wanted a campfire. So we went to Pothole State Park and luckily got ourselves a spot (since the whole place is all reserved in the summer - someone had just canceled though). The next day we foudn oursleves on Windmill Lake, using the raft for the first time together. It was great. I love paddling. Apparently Chris got is canoeing merit badge, so he thought that gave him the license to steer the whole time. But I got certified in white water canoeing and love steering as well. So, we had to share the fun :) It was super hot and sunny, so the umbrella worked nicely.

After being in the heat for so long, we loved the drive home through the wet forests of I 90. I wwanted to keep the windows open so I could smell the trees. Ahhhh. We even debated on camping another night in the rain jsut because. But I had to be back in Seattle by 8:30 AM the next day for a class... so we settled on the ole Asahel Curtis Interpretive 3/4 mile trail. Awesome. I love the forest!

Lake Dorothy

Evan, Ginger and I went backpacking to Lake Dorothy this weekend. It was oh so relaxing and fun. Very buggy though.

We backpacked to the end of Lake Dorothy, about 4 miles. The next day we went up to Bear and Deer Lakes for a 2 or so mile morning jaunt. To mid Dorothy Lake it is a elevation gain of 950 feet. Then up to Bear Lake is another 800 feet, much steeper. Overall, 12 miles-ish. They say Dorothy attracts lots of people, since it is such a short trek... there were a few as we thought we may have to go all the way to Bear Lake for a camp spot. We lucked out though. The only unfortunate thing was the amount of bugs we had to deal with. But once we finished dinner, a game or hearts in my palace of a tent (yeah, i had to drag Chris' 3-man tent up all for me) kept us bug free for a while! Fun FUn FUN!

Lake Dorothy is pretty. It would be awesome to hike up a raft for a day trip and explore all the islands and nooks and crannies. There were some people swimming in the lake. We never got around to it ourselves. But we did spend a good amount of tiem taking turns playing songs on Evan's backpacking guitar. Awesome! It was such a good trip.

Camping with Sam near Mt Adams

This weekend Sam and I went on an adventure exploring an area neither of us had ever been. We looked through the camping book and thought Takhlakh Lake campground sounded nice. So we drove a million miles, with a pit stop in downtown Olympia (which we both liked a lot, even looked at soem cheaper-than-seattle houses for sale!).

We reached Takhlakh Lake and tought we shoudl keep exploring as it wasn't as remarkable as the book said it would be. We ended up at Horseshoe Lake campground, which was not as nice as Takhlakh, but the camp hosts were super! The next day, after much debate, decided to go on a hike near Walupt Lake. After missing the trail we weren't meant to go, we hiked for an hour or so until Sam said - "Aren't we supposed to be going up?!" Turns out neither of us has thoroughly read the trail description, thinking the other had read more... oh well.

So then we thought we would go swimming, but just as we were preparing, someone, George, came out of the forest with a hurt man, Donny, on a horse. Turns out they were watering the horses when one of the horses sunk into the sand, eventually drowning in the lake, in the meantime kicking Donny a few times, in the chest and the head. George's horse. So so very sad.

Well, Sam and I were there to help in any way we could. We didn't have cell ophone recpetion ot there, which to me flet like in the middle of nowhere. The closest hosiptal was like 45 miles away and some of that way was along gravle backroads! Well, we ended up driving Donny to meet the ambulance that the camp host radioed in from another campground. The drive was intense with George wiht his deisel truck and horse trailer barrelling along right behind me. Driving quickly, but safely on gravel roads with curves and narrowness, and a hurt man in the back getting a little car sick. Yeah, intense. Luckly Donny was able to walk and talk and seemed very aware and minimally hurt!

Well, I got a call the other day that Donny is okay, some ear damage, but no more. Which is pretty remarkable considering what had happened! Donny and George were so grateful to Sam and I, I am just glad we could help in some way. So often you feel helpless in situations like this, wishing there was something you could do. Sam and I were happy to do what we could.

Oh - and the area around here was gorgeous. I want to go back and actually go on a real hike sometimes!! ;)

Happy Fourth of July!!

I took these pics with my phone from a balcony near Gas Works Park. THE best place to watch from! It was awesome! You could feel the booms & hear the music being played from the park!

the flowers and veggies are growing!

A week and a half later... let's see how much the flowers, veggies and herbs have grown! :)

The toms have grown the most I think.


It's fun to look at them everyday and notice their growth.

I hope we will have some veggies to eat someday.

Squirrels, stay away!

Two of my songs!!!

Well friends, as some of you may know, I have written a few songs - some of which I wrote WITH some of YOU! I have a very awesome friend, Evan, who not only spent days with me to record many of the songs in his house, but who is also still hosting mp3s of two of the songs on his own website. So, here are the links!!

Showdown For Love was written in April 2006 with my friend Steph Ross when she came to visit me here in Seattle. She called out E and F and I strummed a rhythm to those cords, one that felt rather westerny. We went with it and wrote a song that tells the story of a man desperate for a woman's love, a woman who wants to get the hell out of her dusty old town, and a stranger who just wanted to drink his whiskey.

http://home.comcast.net/~jazzman70/music/Showdown_for_Love.mp3

This next song is an old classic, The Ice Cream Song. Written on a warm summer day in a park with my friend Josh Thissell, this song speaks to the inner child in all of us who just wants to yell out "I Want Ice Cream". This was written quite a few years ago, the same year I brought it with me to Camp Birch Hill, the same summer I met JT Bock. JT added his own personality to the song, making it a duet. JT and I made a recording of it that summer, but before mp3 techonolgy was here, and so that version remains on a cassett tape somewhere. This version is just me singing and playing the guitar, with my friend Evan adding a beat that has a Sebastian the Crabbian flare.

http://home.comcast.net/~jazzman70/music/The_Ice_Cream_Song.mp3



Oh - and here's a picture of my new ICE CREAM MAKER that Chris got me for my birthday... YUMMY chocolate ice cream. :)





I hope you enjoy these two songs... someday the album will be out and you can enjoy more!

Upon request, I could send you an mp3 of The Sock Song and the rock and roll hit, I Just Need You to Change, both rockin-out and acoustic versions! Let me know.

Comments are appreciated :)

Rialto Beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check him OUT! This is the biggest sea anemone ever. Isn't he insane?!

Chris and I went back to Hole in the Wall, after a little over a year since our last trip there. This time for My birthday weekend! And what a glorious weekend it was! We got there Friday night, so we got Two nights of beach campfire and the longest day ever to spend on the beach! We hiked maybe a mile north (FYI - just cross the creek, don't try to find a route through the logs - sketchy!). We found the perfect spot for our campsite just south of Hole in the Wall. THe next morning we got up at 5:30 AM to take advantage of the very low tide - for 4 hours we walked around, finding neater and neater things every minute. Then we headed back adn took a nap. Then we still had so much day left to finally try out the kite Chris has taken with him on every trip since I have known him (which turns out is broken). It still worked enough for us to play around. We even built a sand castle. I got to read... it was so relaxing and so fun. And then we got another full night of a bif campfire and some sparklers and what-not. The next day we left and got back to the car by noon. There were lots of people on the beach, overnight or just for the day, but you still have a spot all to yourself. For a weekend, I felt like I went away on a vacation for sure! It was awesome.

The drive there requires a ferry ride and hours of driving, but it is well worth it. We even broke a record for our drive home -"only" 4 and a half hours with the ferry ride!

I am telling you, it is one thing to go here for the day - which is quite nice as you get to see the seastacks and all that... but to be able to sleep there for two nights, enjoy the sunsets and just totally relax on the beach is something entirely different. The rewards for such a short backpack are just untouchable.

So, yeah, I had a good time this weekend!

flowers veggies and herbs. oh my

chris and i spent 2 hours in Home Depot picking out decoration for our front porch. we ended up getting lots of colorful flowers, herbs and even some veggies to try.

this is chris telling his precious baby peppers to grow.

it was fun to do together. i got nice and dirty!

a good day! let's hope it doesn't all die. we got a tomato plant anda cucumber plant too... but are trying to grow them in pots. i doubt it will work, but we shall see. twe even have a garden box in the backyard... but we never go back there, the front proch is way more convenient!

click on chris and his peppers to see the other things we got!

Solstice Parade and Rattlesnake Ledge

This weekend I checked out the Fremont Solstice Parade and fair. Chris couldn't come because his ack was still hurting :(. Sam picked me up on here way. We missed the bicyclists, but caught half of the parade. The fair was cool, and I managed to NOT buy anything, not even a neckace, if you can believe that.

The next day Sam, Ginger, Evan and I climbed to Rattle Snake Ledge in the rain. The view was amazing - not! I was codl and wet, but it was fun to be out with friends! And we went to XXX Rootbeer after, so all is good. Sadly I was too cold for a milkshake. Very sad. They make the BEST ever!

Click on this pic for a few pics of the weekends events. :)

Hoh Rainforest!

Chris and I went to the Hoh Rainforest this past weekend. Chris thought it would be really cool to go when it was gauranteed to rain. Which it did. It was awesome... but by the third day we were ready to get out of the wet forest, so we headed to Dungeness Spit for a little walk. Neat driftwood there! THe campground at the Hoh is really nice, we camped right near the Hoh River. We saw tons of elk, deer, banana slugs, a mountain beaver, and tons and tons of moss! We thougth about backpacking in, but decided the tarp and fire at ou campsite were too nice to leave behind. There are lots of campsites every 1/2 mile or so as you walk along the trail, though. Nice relaxing weekend!

Ancient Lakes - first backpack of 2007

Chris and I went on our first backpacking trip of the year! We headed East to check out Ancient Lakes. It was awesome to be out there with a big backpack on again. So much fun. Click on this pic for the album! We saw cowboys, a rattle snake, waterfalls, basalt cliffsm, and lakes galore. Awesome!

Mt Rainier Opening Day

Chris and I didn't waste time getting to Mt Rainier on the day it opened back up from being fixed after the Nov 2006 floods. It was awesome to go and be some of the firsts to break snow at Paradise. Unfortunately we were tricked by the clouds and didn't wear sunblock (yeah, nasty sunburns!), but fun! We also checked out a short trail in the forest and found this cute log! Love it. Sunrise Campground's road was washed away, too. We were able to check out the damage.

NorEaster

Home in NH for a few days. We explored the coast and found some of the destruction from the recent Nor' Easter. Also went to Odiorne Point, which was completely unfamiliar to me, though I am told I have been there before :) There was a very well hidden geocache there too that my mom found. Go mom! And my mom took me on some trails by her house. Her pond was flooded again from the storm. Oh, and I got to show off the game I am making to Tim and Steph. (thanks guys!)

Nicole got married!

My cousin, Nicole, is now MRS Villafane! So wonderful. I am so glad I was able to go home for this beautiful day! Here are some pics from the event. My Pepere got Memere on the dance floor again too! He also danced with me, Chelsea and Nicole. Fun fun fun.

The Art of Handmade Paper

I took a paper making class this weekend. Something I have wanted to do for years! It is so much fun. I am totollay having a paper making party this summer! The woman teaching the class brought in pulp with all sorts of fun things, like curry, nutmeg, peppermint tea, dill, kelp... and lots of things to put in for decoration. It was really fun. I can't wait for my party to make more!

Josh's visit to Seattle

This is Josh. He came to visit me this week and wanted to go camping and hiking! Yay! So, I took this Boston boy out. Here he is toasting a bagel over a fire he started! Go Josh. :) We had lots of fun this week! We went to the Sculpture Garden, downtown, to Deception Pass state park (this is the park's campground), a quick drive through North Cascades National Park (the road is closed so we coudln't go all the way), plus some nightlife in Capital Hill. It was awesome. I am sooo happy Josh coudl come for a visit. Hopefully he will be moving here someday! He liked it a lot, so we shall see :) :) :)

Happy Easter

I grew up celebrating Easter with chocolate, baskets, family photos and scavener hunts. Lucky Chris got his own scavenger hunt this morning! Complete with lots of chocolate, a WHITE chocolate bunny (picky), a Nascar egg, a gift certificate for a new monitor (well to help get one - and it is pretty sweet - now that Chris is back in school I thought he should have something better!), more candy, and of course "Oopsie Daisy" - a cow that poops brown jelly beans. Never had time to decorate eggs. But Chris also got me a nice chocolate egg with a peep inside. Very cool.

Skyline Lake

My snow angel at Skyline Lake. This is a steep 1 1/2 miles up. The lake is totally snow covered. It was really nice. It started snowing!!! That's the best! 

Heather Lake

My first time to Heather Lake. the beginning of the trail goes through newer forest, with big ass tree stumps. the second part of the trail is in old growth. the lake is pretty sweet! 4 miles round trip; half hike, half snowshoe. 

Central Washington Rocks!

Chris and I discovered a whole new world in Central Washington. It was amazing! I had no idea how diverse this state's geography is. This is Dry Falls. CLick on this picture to see more!

I love Washington!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!