4th of July

I know it's been a month, but here are some of my favorite pictures from the Fourth of July. (We always do a big barbecue at our church to reach out to the community.)

I hope everyone's having a great summer!

Pastor Bob getting dunked by Donitta!

Joel getting dunked by Pastor Bob

Yep, that's a whole roasted pig. Yum!

Go, Megan, Go!

Here's the worship band from backstage. That's me on the left and furthest back.

SO MUCH FUN!!!

Well, I'm planning a hike down Mt. Rainier way tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. Pray the rain stays away!

Cedar Creek - Landsburg

June 27th, 2008

Well the weekend was forcasted to be hot, so I made sure to get out early before it warmed up too much. The book said that this hike followed several little foot path's along the river and then came back along an old rail bed trail. The thought of just meandering alongside a river sounded like an adventure to me so I headed off.

It was a lot harder to find than I thought it would be, but once I got there the sound of the river (the Cedar River) was calming and I headed down the trail. It actually started out along the old rail bed as well, so the trail was wide and paved with gravel.


The high school down the road had brought their track team and the trail was packed. Before too long, you would start to see these little trails head off into the trees and brush. So, I got brave, and a little tired of the traffic, and took one. It went back to this large pond.


Oh, and did I mention that the "trail" was completely overgrown? I was ducking and pushing aside branches the whole way back. Here is the trail heading back to the main trail. Do you see it?


(hint: it starts in the bottom left corner and goes to the middle right before swinging back off to the left again.)

Pretty soon I found another small trail off on the river side, and thus began the real adventure of the trip. The trail varied between the above and a little more clear.



I walked through more spider webs than I could count, and there were very few moments where I was not touching some plant except where the trail broke out along the river.



Honestly, I was a little frustrated with it. It wasn't a nice little walk out in God's green Earth, it was work! I was so glad to get to the turning point of the hike, an old rail bridge. The little side trail I was on came out underneath it.


I went around to where the main trail goes across the bridge and took lots of pictures.


Old bridges just open up all kinds of opportunity for creativity. This is my "dreamy" pic.

I just took the main trail back out, and 2/3 of the way back the older guy and his dog caught up with me. He chatted the whole way back about all the different animals out on this trail and the one's he'd seen and the one's he hadn't. Eventually, he finished and walked on ahead. How cute!

This hike was about 3 - 3 1/2 miles but it really did go by pretty quickly. It only felt like maybe two miles. I guess all that pushing through the brush makes time fly!

I just need to make a few shout outs here. Thanks to Devo for putting me on her top ten! And Dana, these italics are for you!

Next to come, pictures from the Fourth of July - I haven't gotten them downloaded yet, but there should be some good ones in there!

First Hike of the Year! - Seward Park

May 3rd, 2008

Yes, it is officially time again to get back to the original purpose of this blog. Yea! (clap hands) On the very first weekend that it was nice enough to go for a hike I already had other plans, but on the second one, I was determined to let nothing stop me. Seward Park is the one I tried to do last summer but due to Sea Fair they had it all blocked off and I couldn't get in. This year, it was practically deserted, but a very nice first hike.

Seward Park is on the Lake side of Seattle. It is actually a penninsula that sticks out into the lake, and is the last remaining stand of old growth forest in the city. The hike was right about 2 miles and the paths I chose (there were quite a few options) took me out along the east shore to the end of the penninsula and then back through the middle. The trail along the outside is paved and very nice. It's lined with all kinds of trees and bushes and even some education. For example, how do you know if there is poison oak alongside your trail?

Because the sign will tell you so!

The first part of the trail gives you a nice view of the houses on Mercer Island. I didn't know whether to be jealous of those huge, beautiful houses, or to pity them for having their front lawn (and windows to anyone with powerful enough binoculars) in view of a public park. Well, I don't pity them anyway.

At one point there was this little "window" in the folliage with what looks like a garden of something growing behind it. The plants are huge, at least 3 feet tall. So strange! Anyone know what this is?

There also was this stone bridge out near the tip. Apparently it was built in 1932 because a group of fishermen wanted Seward Park to be know as a "fisherman's paradise." Well, that never happened, but the bridge certainly is lovely.

I also learned from my guide book about something I had been wondering about for a long time. Along the freeways where there are a lot of trees, you can sometimes see these trees that have bright red, twisted wood. They also would be missing large patches of their bark. No one I asked could tell me what they were or if they were diseased. Well, aparantly, there are a lot of them in Seward Park and they are called Madrona's here in the Northwest. (Depending on where in the world you find them, they have different names.) I do think they are beautiful and would be fun to draw. . . if I knew how to draw.

Just before I split off the main trail for the one back through the middle there was a nice view of downtown Seattle. With the water and the cherry trees (those are cherry trees, right?) it made for a nice picture.

Well, the trail back through the center was like your typical trails around here, and it was just what I needed; a nice easy mile of deep breathing. There are a lot of trails that criss-cross through the middle so I just wandered around a little. It really was the perfect length for a first hike, and highly recommended by me!

I know this took me several weeks to get up, but my camera has stopped talking to my computer and I have had to rely on the grace and kindness of a good friend to get my pictures. I am hoping to get a lot more hiking in this summer, but am worried that with gas prices the way they are, I may be very limited. You may end up seeing pictures of my "hike" up and down the street. I am setting a goal for myself to get back to the top of Wallace Falls before the end of the year though. Pray about that one. It will take some serious work to get ready for that.

Well, enjoy the pictures, and hopefully I'll get another hike in within the next few weeks. Let me know if there's anything in particular you want to see! Love you guys!