la conner strikes again

This town is hilarious. So many awesome random things happen. Like what happened just now. I was walking back to the office after lunch when I ran across a woman walking two alpacas. Yes, you read that right. Alpacas. Just walking down the street with them like she was walking a dog. Thank goodness for cell phone cameras. Crappy video, but you get the idea.



Apparently she breeds and shows the beasts and thought downtown La Conner would be a good place to "socialize" 'Cappaccino' and 'Mocha'. They were super cute, really friendly, but defintely unexpected on a Tuesday afternoon.



This stuff only happens here, I swear. I love it.

back in the white stuff

We just celebrated our first ski day of the 2009/2010 season! We skied (well, Sean skied and I flailed around) 40 inches of new snow with what seemed like the entire Bellingham ski touring community and their associated dogs at Baker on Sunday.

Skinning up...

Sean and Bill scope lines...check out all the snow!

Crummy shot of Sean on the down...

In addition to being an awesome powder day, it was the best puppy socialization opportunity we've had in Buddy's young life. The parking lot was full of cool mountain people and their awesome dogs. Little man did great and had lots of laid-back, friendly, athletic canine role models to learn from.

Future Pow Dog of America...

We're headed back to Baker on Friday, so look for an update this weekend as well.

On another note, Sean is about to start a regular M-F 9-5 job again, a milestone for his entrance into adulthood. Also a milestone for our PACNW adventuring, as we'll be on generally the same schedule again, making it easier for me to take advantage of my favorite ski/mountain bike/hiking partner.

Hooray for winter!

puppy!

Remember our dog poll? This Guy is coming home in 8 days.

I am obsessed with his cuteness. Sean is disgusted with my obsession. We don't have a name yet, should we do another poll?

we went backpacking...finally

A couple weeks ago we dropped the dog at the dog spa and went backpacking with our friends S and P. Sean and I have been working opposite schedules, so its been tough to find mutual time to enjoy living in Washington as much as we'd like to, but we made it out to the North Cascades for three days for this trip, and it was awesome. I am a big fan of the S and P backpacking approach, which involves sleeping in, eating well and a pace that provides plenty of time to look around. I'm also a big fan of their culinary skills. They have a food dehydrator, which allows them to produce backcountry deliciousness such as Chili and Pasta with Meat Sauce for dinner. To those of you who have never been backpacking and faced the challenge of finding food that doesn't weigh very much OR perish easily but also doesn't taste like cardboard, Chili and Pasta with Meat Sauce may not sound all that impressive. But to Sean and I, who almost always just add those weird vaccuum packs of tuna to mac and cheese for dinner, the S+P meals were heaven. Anyway, here are some pics:

Emerging from the woods...


S trudging toward our campsite...


Eating Dinner Day 1...Sean is so excited he can't keep his eyes open...


The second day it rained non-stop, but the weather oh-so-conveniently broke for 30 minutes at mealtimes thanks to our deal with the rain gods. We basically stayed in our tents all day, slept, talked, and took turns being the one pestering out of boredom and the one half annoyed/half hysterical from the pestering. It might sound tortuous to spend nearly 20 hours in a tent, especially when all 20 hours are spent with your significant other, but having that much forced downtime together was actually super awesome. We couldn't believe how quickly the day passed.

We woke up on day three to this:


..and did this...


...saw this...


...on our way to eat lunch here.


After lunch we took advantage of the best outhouse EVER.


Then we walked back down to our campsite...




...ate dinner, and watched the light show.


On the last day we hiked back down through fields of wild blueberries, picking and eating them all the way. When we got to the cars we took off our boots and hightailed it to Cascadian Farms for some more fresh blueberries, this time in the form of organic ice cream, the best post-hike refreshment EVER.

We love the mountains. Thanks S+P!!!

summer review in pics!

We've been doing stuff. It's been awesome. So here's a lazy man's blog post to show you what we've been up to...

Climbing trees...


Enjoying the Skagit Valley bounty...


Riding Bikes...


Dogsitting...




Hiking to Ski...


Challenging Maya's Down-Stay...


Hiking in the Cascades...


...and generally being dorks. Here's to summer! Until next year!

faceballs

So, I'm starting labor day weekend by resting on the couch. My dad won't like this, but I took a pretty solid soccer ball to the face in the weekly La Conner community soccer match last night. A 180lb dude tried to send the ball down the field while I, unfortunately, was standing in the way. I've taken many a ball to the noggin in my time, which probably explains a few things, but this one was particularly memorable. The thing blasted me square in the face like it was shot out of a firehouse. If you're a guy, picture ten angry ex-girlfriends coordinating their smacks across your face in an attempt to ensure perfect distribution of angry ex-girlfriend force to every inch of your kisser. Now pretend they've all been working out with Blaze from American Gladiators for a year. Or maybe the crazy intense fitness trainer lady from Biggest Loser. You know how that would sting? That's sort of how it felt.

Anyway, I didn't black out or anything but I definitely saw stars for the first time in my life and felt pretty woozy and spacey afterward. Brain wasn't firing quite right either. I remember saying something like "Yep, I are got the accident prone," to one of my buddies. Yep, probably a mild concussion.

But not to worry Dad, I'm constructing sentences so I'm fine today. And in a weird way grateful for the fantastic excuse to veg out on a rainy Saturday.

Vegging means doing nothing but trying to figure out how I can get my friends to come ski with us this winter and occasionally playing with my dog. Sean has to work this weekend so we're delaying our Labor Day plans 'till after Monday, but we'll be spending 3 days backpacking in the North Cascades starting on Tuesday. If the weather cooperates it should be a gorgeous trip...stay tuned for pictures. We're going with a couple who prides themselves on cooking gourmet backcountry meals. They outright volunteered to do all the dinner cooking. I don't really know why. I just know that Sean and I, who are only responsible for bringing Jack Daniel's and chocolate, are darn lucky to have friends like this.

So Happy Labor Day Weekend! Here's hoping you don't get a soccer ball to your face!

gratitude

I just had one of those Wow moments. Realized that I am regularly engaging in activities that just a year ago seemed like things I might like to try someday, but still exotic and out of reach. For me, these things involve climbing and skiing big gnarly mountains and pedaling (and sometimes sort of jumping...a little...a tiny bit...okay, more like hopping) my bike over scary wooden contraptions in the woods. Climbing big mountains and jumping my bike used to seem awesome but intimidating, reserved for people who have skill and/or knowledge. Of which I have neither.

It's still intimidating and I still don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it. I've got scratches and bruises and moments of being scared out of my wits- but I'm doing it. A year ago, all this stuff was merely an idea, an idea typically pondered while enviously studying pictures of other people's lives on various internet forums. (hey, I've never claimed to be cool...) But I'm learning. And I'm doing it.

Living my own version of those pictures, actually experiencing what I didn't fully realize was an absolutely passionate vision of a life lived near big mountains and organic farms; shared with bikes, skis, dogs and a husband who enjoys it all as much as I do; has been incredible so far. You know, the whole dreams-really-do-come-true thing. You know what else is cool? Knowing that what seems exotic and far-reaching today might someday, if I'm lucky enough to become enamored with it, become "normal" and morph into a beautiful everyday existence. And so it goes.

Thank you, benevolent universe.

Whaddaya think?

As Nikki and I dream about being in the NW for another winter (and about me having a job outside the foodservice industry) we often discuss what would be the ideal Baker-mobile. As you know from previous posts, Mt Baker ski area allows overnight parking in their lots, which we did a couple of times last winter. But our Subaru is just a little too cramped for the two of us, Maya the Dog and our gear. We discuss this issue often, well more like I try to convince Nikki that we should get a van often. So our newest poll let's you get involved once again. What do you think would be the best vehicle for ski area parking lot camping? Below are our top two choices. Thanks for voting.

I say the best bet is the VW EuroVan with a pop-top, aka Westfalia or Vanagon. It has all the room we need and a separate sleeping area so we don't have to snuggle up with steamy boot liners and stinky long underwear at night. And it's all one vehicle, nothing to tow, which means nothing for me to destroy while backing up......or going forward. Here's a video highlighting the awesomeness of the VW van.


Nikki likes the idea of a mini trailer. I admit these are pretty sweet. They're made of aluminum so we could tow it with the Suby. It has a double bed that converts to benches and a table; a small sink and a few cabinets. Nikki likes that we could store all our gear in the car, keeping the trailer uncluttered and stink free. Sorry I couldn't find a video hightlighting the T@B's features, here's a picture.

Well hello everyone. It's been a long time since I actually made an entry here. Nikki is usually the one who writes and I support with editing and photos. Katie just visited and I thought it appropriate that I be the one to write the entry, since she is my sister. So here goes. Katie's trip started with a wild cab ride to the airport to catch an early flight to avoid missing her connection at JFK. Her cool head prevailed and she was able to finagle her way to the head of the line not only at the ticket counter, but also skipped the ENTIRE security line. Who does that? Nice work sister.

We started the visit off with a couple a beers at The Pub. CHEERS!


For the most part we hung around La Conner, but we did manage to get up to Vancouver and out to the San Juan Islands. My mind was blown when Katie told us it was her first time to Canada. I don't know why that was so surprising but it was.

Katie and Maya stop to smell the roses in Stanley Park.


Katie and I deciphering a map of the park . We like maps.


After the park we headed over to Grainville Island for some fish and chips at Go Fish. If you're ever in Vancouver and you're into fish and chips, go here. It's a little shack on the fishing wharf. Soooo greasy and goooood.


The next day we headed over to Orcas Island in the San Juans. While having lunch Katie and I reverted to our childhood and fought over a sandwich. An epic battle followed:





Thanks sister for coming all this way to hang out. We had fun and can't wait to see you and Ronan soon.

its the cheesiest

I thought I'd let all the readers who think we're "crunchy weirdos" know that we're eating our fourth consecutive dinner of boxed Mac and Cheese tonight. Although maybe that only eliminates the "crunchy" and not the "weirdo".

Not sure, but being so cheap, easy and delicious, Mac and Cheese satisfies all our requirements for weeknight dining. Our favorite is Annie's Homegrown, but we generally just buy whatever is cheapest or on sale with reckless disregard for sodium content or other health considerations. We've found Mac and Cheese to be a most chameleon-like food. It pretty much adapts to whatever we throw in it, and we definitely like to throw stuff in. Tonight's M+C is spiked with spinach from our CSA share, tuna, and a fair amount of Cholula. Sean tipped me off on the Cholula thing...Cholula is God's gift to Mac+Cheese. Last night we added some pesto, which Sean has been making from scratch- pesto is the best way we've found to use up the truckload of basil we get each week from the CSA.

But pesto, schmesto. This post is a tribute to carbs and powdered cheese! Let me resume: the night before last we added chicken, black beans, and hot sauce. The night before that its simple side shined as a side to some skirt steak.

It never complains about the frequent changes, just goes down easy. It's awesome when we're tired and lazy. It's pretty much awesome whenever.

Thank you powdered cheese pouch.

We love you.

shatastic

I just realized that I never posted the pics from our Shasta trip. The next week or so isn't looking like it will provide time to write a comprehensive report, so I'm gonna shirk my blog duties and just provide you with a brief pictorial review...

Our first intimidating glance at the mountain from the highway.


Day 1. Starting the trudge upward. That's me in the back...


Base camp at 10,000 feet.

My friend had her golden 30th birthday and skied her 100th day this season, all in one weekend. Pretty rad birthday party, too.

Sean and Dave on Day 2, probably 5 hours into hiking...we started at 3am and just kept climbing and climbing and climbing.

Sean taking a break from the slog and smiling for the first time in 2 hours.

SUMMIT ROCKS!!!

And then we skied down 7,000 vertical feet to the cars, which are way in the distance where the trees start. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the actual skiing...I was too tired to even think about the camera anymore.

You can check out the rest of our pics here:

Sean and Nikki's Adventures on Shasta

This was definitely the most difficult thing I've ever done in terms of mental stamina. Can't tell you how many times I wanted to just stop and ski down from wherever I was. Then, at about 9:00am on summit day, these bionic humanoids that started from about 6,000 feet after we started from 10,000 feet started PASSING our group. Amazing. But Sean and I both soldiered on and I'm so glad we did. I had to ski down right away to keep myself from puking...the air is pretty thin at 14,000 feet...but it was still awesome finally getting to the top of something you've struggled for over 10 hours to reach.

One of my best weekends ever, for sure. Thanks Megs!

magic skagit

I hate grocery shopping.

The sentiment is probably a remnant of childhood shopping with my amazing yet frugal mom, who effectively stretched our budget but taxed my short attention span with hours of exhaustive price analysis in search of the best deals on tuna, yogurt and canned green beans while holding me hostage in a metal jail on wheels. To be fair to Mom, we probably didn't shop for an overly unreasonable amount of time. I mean, four hours is unreasonable, but not overly so. Plus, I was a kid, so I probably have a skewed memory of the whole thing- any time comparing price per poundage is torturous when there's a whole sunny world of dirt to be eaten outside!

Although it no longer keeps me from my dirt, grocery shopping still seems a mechanical and unromantic task, anticipated about as much as I anticipate sweeping dog hair. Or cleaning the toilet.

Luckily, these days I get to avoid the grocery store (and my own apparently inherited version of price analysis compulsion, which my mom, like so many of her quirks, has sneakily passed directly to me) most of the time. Why am I able to do this, you ask? Because Sean and I joined a CSA! CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and its a great way to get uber fresh produce and reduce our carbon footprint without ever having to endure dairy aisle goosebumps.

Instead of goosebumps, we get a box of fresh veggies every week. We pick it up at a local farmstand. We pay in advance. No opportunity for price comparing! Glory, hallelujah!

Here's what was in our box today:

1 huge bunch of spinach
1/2 lb lettuce mix
1 bunch arugula
1.5 lbs shallots
2 beautiful beefsteak tomatoes
1 bell pepper
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch italian basil

It doesn't sound like much, but pounding it all down in a week (before the next box comes) is actually rather daunting. Soooooo....we welcome any recipes you have that involve the ingredients above, especially radishes, since we still have to use the ones from last week as well.

We're loving the convenience and freshness of the CSA program so far. And I'm loving avoiding the grocery store. Although I do miss picking out ice cream. And I miss the free cookie too. And, of course, the hours (and hours) of quality time with Mom.

olympic national park

So, today is the first slightly cloudy day we've seen in over two weeks of touring the Pacific Northwest. A perfect day for some dorking out on the computer.

In case you haven't already figured it out from previous posts, our good friends were in town last week. One of the highlights of their visit (besides seeing them, of course) was checking out Olympic National Park. Olympic is a HUGE park and we only had a couple days, so we toured it the good old American way: lots of driving, lots of beer, lots of interpretive signs. And oh yeah, a couple short hikes as well. Driving, which is not my favorite thing to do, has its benefits...we got to see Rialto Beach, the Hoh Rainforest and Hurricane Ridge in less than 3 days. The diversity of landscape in Olympic is absolutely amazing. I'm not sure where else you can tool around with tide pools on the beach, nuzzle nurse logs in a rainforest and watch mule deer in a high alpine environment in under 3 hours. Incredible.

Unfortunately I only have pictures of Rialto Beach...at least they're pretty cool.

Walking toward the cool spiky beach things

Sean checking out anemones next to the creatively named "Hole in the Wall"

For scale, Kel and Dave on the other side of "Hole in the Wall"

These babies were everywhere...

Group shot!
Kelly and Dave have the rest of the pics from this trip, including those from the Hoh Rainforest (just picture a forest with a thick bed of green ferns, huge cedar trees and creepy yellowish moss covering everything) and Hurricane Ridge (just picture beautiful snowy mountains), so here's the last important one I have from our two days in Olympic...

Sean eating S'mores at camp! Mmmmmmmm...
We had a great time, Sean mostly because he got to go 3 days without showering or shaving, a luxury for him. After dropping Kelly off at the airport on Friday we drove directly south to Mt. Shasta. That report is coming next, stay tuned!

the ice cream worked!

Quick update from the library: after spending a few days in Olympic National Park, Sean and I drove 9 hours south to celebrate my friend Megan's 30 birthday by climbing Mt. Shasta with her and 12 of her friends. We have tons of pictures, which we'll post later, but after over 10 hours of climbing spread over two days, Sean and I both summited. I guess all that spoon to mouth training really paid off.

Highlights included weathering a thunderstorm at 10,000 feet hunkered down in our tent, both of us huddled in the lightning position and protected only by two thin sheets of nylon; waking at 3:00am to start our summit bid under the most beautiful starry sky I've ever seen and then subsequently watching an amazing sunrise from 11,000 feet; and, of course, finally making it to the top of a 14,179 foot mountain after climbing nearly 8,000 feet of vertical.

Stay tuned for pics of Olympic and Shasta later this week.

quick update

My best friend and her husband (also a friend, just not a best one) are visiting this week.

We went on a hike with a great view of the San Juan islands:


It was awesome leading my best friend on her first ski tour near Baker.



Now we're headed to Olympic National Park. We'll spend two days there before heading 10 hours south for the big Mt. Shasta effort. I will be wheezing. Stay tuned for a report...I'm hoping all my ice cream eating has prepared my lungs adequately for a summit attempt.

If I do summit, it will be in honor of Sydney Banks, who passed away early yesterday morning. RIP Syd. Thanks for everything.