VideoHiker

The sun sets on Seattle buildings

2011-09-08T23:52:00.003-07:00

Pretty flowers at the market

2011-09-08T23:52:00.001-07:00

Sent from my iPhone

The sun sets on Seattle buildings

2011-09-07T18:58:00.001-07:00

Vacation Day 1

2010-09-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today I made the drive into Utah. I'm staying at the Willard Bay State Park for the night. The photo is the view I have of the Great Salt Lake.
During my drive today I saw a pack of fox eating a dead cow, gross. I also oddly enough saw a cat cleaning himself on the shoulder of the freeway not 7 feet from 70 mph traffic! Crazy cat!
The steering in my car is squeaking pretty badly, I hope nothing bad happens to it! The right rear brake has an occasional squeak too :-( It's amazing what 900 miles or so can do to a car with amost 250K miles on it...
Anyway, looking forward to a restful night sleep under a star filled sky.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Off to Colorado!

2010-09-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

After 21 years I'm heading back to Colorado to hike some 14,000' mountains including the state highpoint of Mt Elbert. Currently I'm passing through Oregon with lots of raptors flying overhead.
The weather is good and I'm feeling great!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

2010-08-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to all of the photos from this hike.
Several weeks ago Curtis called me and asked if I’d like to hike Mt Adams with him and a few others. Having recently passed on a similar opportunity I said that I’d love to join the group.
We met up at the Trout Lake Ranger Station and I learned that our group had swelled to 9 people. We got our permits and headed to the TH.

By 1pm we were on the trail and beginning our adventure. I quickly found myself pulling away from the rest of the group and I had to try to keep that in check. I was after all hiking with a group, not solo. I eventually settled into a groove and found myself waiting up for the rest of the group several times along the trail. I felt badly for getting so far ahead, but taking shorter strides isn’t the easiest for me.
We got to a point where the snow was starting to get more consistent and we had to get up to a ridge. Heading up to the ridgeline were a set of steps kicked into the snow that were very well defined. At the top, the steps were melting out to the point where I felt that they wouldn’t last much longer. Turns out the next day they were so bad that people were detouring around them.

By this point the other 8 in our group had separated into two groups of 4. I waited on the ridge for the first four and I heckled them from above To our east some clouds were starting to form and they looked a bit dark. I decided to try and slow my pace so we could stick together a bit better in case the weather got bad. We traversed the ridge and continued to gain elevation as he headed towards Lunch Counter for the evening. At the first campsites the easterly skies were getting darker and some clouds started rolling over the snow fields and I waited for the first 2 of the group to get close enough where they could see me and where to head to. By this point Curtis had started placing some snow wands so that the others behind had a good general idea of which direction to head in.
As the first ones got close to me I headed up a bit further in hopes of find a spot to camp that would leave us with minimal elevation gain in the morning. To my delight the highest reaches of Lunch Counter had lots of available campsites and even running water! No melting snow for water.

Within an hour the whole group was together, well minus one whose legs were so sore from the gain that he opted to head back down to the trailhead. He probably turned around near 8500’ or so I think. The rest of us set up our tents, ate some dinner and explored the immediate area until finally retiring around 9pm or so.
We got up at 4am and I felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. I took a few aspirin, had a Clif bar and drank some water. Everybody else was getting up and shortly after 5am we were ready to head up to the summit. I started up in my normal pace minus my poles in exchange for an axe instead and quickly found myself above the group again. With the route being rather straight-forward and the skies rather clear I just continued up at a pace that was comfortable for me. I soon found a “trail” and it was much easier going since others had made good steps and my calves were not getting wiped out on the steep ascent.

I got up to the flanks of Piker’s Peak and the group was further down, but still in sight and were once again starting to break off into 2 groups. To the east the sun was starting to rise on the mountain and it was so beautiful. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be on the side of this awesome mountain at such an early hour and to feel like I had it all to myself. I kept pushing myself forward and finally started the last push to the summit. The snow was crusty, the skies getting lighter and there was a slight breeze in the air. Eventually the summit and a small portion of the old lookout were in sight! I got to the summit and looked at my watch, it showed 7:00am. I made the summit in just under 2 hours and it felt great. I was all alone and I loved it. I explored the summit area a bit before setting my pack down and taking a short nap on the old lookout.

After about 30 minutes on the summit a few more people arrived and I moved to they could access the summit and took a few photos for them. Shortly before 8am the first of my group showed up to join me. We bantered back and forth and over the next 45 minutes to an hour as the rest of our group trickled up. Of the 8 who left camp this morning, everybody made it to the summit. For some this is in preparation for a climb up Rainier, for others it was something to do, and for me it was a goal. It was my first volcano hike and I loved it. The only bummer part was that there were low level clouds and haze which prevented a look at all of the neighboring volcanos. After some photo ops including a group shot on the summit we started to head down.

Two others who were at the summit decided to tag along with us as we descended to the first glissade chute a few hundred feet below the summit. It was short, but a good chance for everybody to get prepared for the long on below Piker’s Peak. Curtis gave a few newbies some pointers and they were off! One by one they followed me down until we regrouped at the bottom. As I traversed the trail from there I took off for the summit of Piker’s and a view at the north side and the top of the glacier. The berschrunds were really cool. They were about 10 feet wide and about 10-15 feet deep. I kept my distance and admired them from afar.

I rejoined the group at the top of the long glissade chute in time to hear the first one down to say “Later bitches!!” and he took off down the chute. Others went down and I waited for the end because I wanted to give everybody else a chance to soften it up before I went down. Finally it was my turn, I took off my sunglasses and replaced them with my goggles. I wanted to go fast and I didn’t want to get blinded or lose my shades.
I quickly gained a lot of speed and I used my axe to help keep things under control. I was still cruising and got airborne a few times and I was having a blast! Soon I realized I was catching up with another from our group who was descending in a much slower but comfortable pace for his liking. I hollered ahead and he found a good spot and bailed off the glissade chute to let me pass (thanks Bill) I was cruising again and getting more air! At one point I launched out of the chute and onto the still firm suncups. I got back into the chute and soon found myself down with the rest of the group who were laughing and sharing about their rides down the mountain. Bill caught up and we all walked the rest of the way to camp. Everybody broke down their tents and such while Curt and I ate a quick lunch before we were ready to descend the mountain. We took advantage of short glissade opportunities along the way and were soon out of the snow and back on the dusty trail. We were back down to the car by 1:30 and we exchanged stories with Larry who’d had his own fun night in the back of the truck at the trailhead overnight.
By 2:00 Curt and I hit the road and stopped in Trout Lake for a not so quick burger and a slight detour (nice navigating Curt) and we were on the highway heading home.
It was an amazing trip and with the exception of one comment in the parking lot about my speed, nobody seemed to mind that I was ahead of the group for most of the trip.

I did learn a few things on this trip. First is that I either need to do hikes like this with people who hike at a similar pace as I do, or I need to learn to slow my pace down. I do have a comfort zone that I like to have around me when I’m on the trail and it makes it hard for me to slow down too much. I will say that had the weather gotten bad I would have most certainly stayed with the group. The safety of myself and my fellow hikers is the most important thing to me. On the way up when the other 8 split into 2 groups a person from each group did have a radio and they did keep in contact.
This was an excellent experience for me and I am eager to learn more so I can be a stronger mountaineer and to be able to try to challenge myself on bigger mountains.
To the members of our group: Curtis, Bill, Chuck, Jake, Brad, Matt, Colton and Larry, thank you for sharing this fun trip with me, I really appreciate it.

MRI reveals a herniated disk

2010-06-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to the doctor and ended up getting scheduled for an MRI on my lower back since I've been having problems with pain in my right leg for the last seven months. The thought was Sciatica, but I wanted to be certain since the pain was not going away.
A few days after the MRI I got a call from the doctor's office and sure enough, I have a herniated disk in my back. Today I went back into his office to review the treatment options that I have. Having gone the Cortizone shot route years back with my knee I opted to not get the Epidural that was recommended so instead I'm on an oral anti-inflamitory commonly referred to as "Mobic" and will be going to physical therapy.
In a month if I'm not feeling and relief from these two I am to schedule another appt and we will review further options at that time. He didn't mention not getting into the mountains or taking it easy, so I plan on still hiking and living my life in the way that I enjoy.
This week my trip into the mountains will be to volunteer at the forest fire lookout on the top of Red Top Mt. I try to get up here once a year and stay at the lookout for the local Forest Service Ranger District. In exchange for 2 days of "work" I get a free Northwest Forest Pass which covers the cost of of trailhead maintenance and the services that some provide (ie. restrooms, trash removal). Staying at the lookout isn't really work, it's more or less a few day getaway on top of a 5600' mountain with a few that would cost millions if it were in the city. It's kind of like my own little vacation spot for 2 nights.
I do have to keep an eye out for any sign of a forest fire and check in with the Ranger Station on a regular basis. I would say that I get more benefit from this arrangement than I give back to the Forest Service.
With that said, look for photos to come on Tuesday or Wednesday and maybe even a video if there ends up being enough good stuff to film :-)

DeRoux Peak recap and a week off

2010-06-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

I decided to take this week off from hiking and take care of stuff at home and around town.
Last Tuesday I went up to DeRoux Peak with less than perfect weather. To sum it up, the weather started out not too great with light rain. Once on the ridge the rain increased a bit and the winds started to pick up.
As I traversed the ridge the rain turned to snow and the wind speed increased. The visibility dropped drastically at the summit and I only stuck around for a few minutes before heading back down along the ridge.
Here are a few pictures and the video, enjoy. Oh, here is the full set of photos.

Thoughts on hiking solo

2010-05-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

Recently there seems to be some concern over my solo hiking, so I thought I would take a few minutes to address them.

In hiking there are a few different groups of people, but not limited to:
The Lakebagger: they seek out the lakes in the mountains, whether the easy to access or the high alpine lakes secluded from society.
The Waterfaller: they enjoy seeking out the beautiful waterfalls and strive to find one that hasn't been seen before and to be able to name it.
Then there is the Peakbagger, the group that I fall into. Aside from rock climbing, this can be one of the most dangerous group around. From the occasional off-trail route finding, cliffs to circumnavigate, ridgelines than constantly offer elevation gains and losses, there are the weather elements that can change with little or no notice.

Included in the suggested "10 Essentials" of hiking, peakbaggers like myself arm ourselves with additional tools to asssist us in reaching our goal in a safe manner including our return. Those tools are (not limited to) education, experience, instinct, and judgement.

Education: I belong to an online chat forum dedicated to hiking. On this site many folks post their hiking/climbing trips which typically include route information, current conditions (ie. snow, trail damage, etc) these are often accompanied with photos. Also on this site is the opportunity to message with fellow members to get other information (beta) that may not be posted including gear that may be needed. I use this feature quite a bit so that I know what I'm getting myself into. I also talk to folks who know my skill level and can suggest or "non-suggest" a place that I could go. I also use a good mapping software (National Geographic's TOPO!) to help me map my trips and my proposed route. Weather! I check the forecasts often before a trip so that I know what I may encounter on the trail, or if I should leave a hike for better weather conditions. I will say that weather forecasting in the Pacific Northwest is a tough science and proper clothing including extra is always suggested, and is also a part of the "10 Essentials"

Experience: Over the years I've learned where my tolerance levels are at. I stick to these tolerances like glue, especially when I'm on the trial alone. Basically that amounts to how steep of a slope am I comfortable on, terraine type, weather conditions, legnth of trip and stuff like that. When I'm with friends I may push those a bit in an effort to enhance my skill level, but I only do this with a few select friends who I've hiked with many times and whose judgements I trust.

Instinct: Some of my trips during this time of year require a lot of instinct. Many trails are still partially or completly covered with snow and route finding can be a challenge. During these times instinct plays a big role. I look for signs of where the trail might be, are there cut logs around that would indicate a trail, does a slope look might it might have characteristics of a trial beneath it? Keeping a keen eye out for signs (for areas that have them). Understanding that a trail probably won't go straight up a steep slope, rather it will switchback (zig zag) up the slope. But is the slope to steep to ascend with snow? Is there a risk of an avalanche? Sometimes I have to go off-trail to get to my intended destination in order to avoid a sketchy slope. Another part of this is when I pack my gear, do my insticts tell me to pack certain gear that I might not carry? Like an ice axe, shovel, snowshoes or rain gear. So far my insticts have served me well and I trust them completely.

Judgement: This kind of ties everything in together. Recently I went on a trip where I turned around due to the snow conditions and a steep slope that I would have to cross. My instincts told me that I should stop and head back down. I didn't have the gear for this kind of a slope and my experience told me that the light snow covering would make the slope slippery and very unsafe for me to attempt to cross. A few years ago I was on a trip with some good hiking friends and we were heading up a slabby rock slope and due to the moisture and moss growing on the rocks I decided to not continue any further, as it turned out I wasn't the only one who felt this way. The two who felt comfortable with the slope decided to turn around and keep the group together.

All the preparation, knowledge and stuff don't guarantee a safe passage, accidents do happen. About 3 years ago I was out with a friend and we had turned around before a summit due to not ahving good route info and not the right gear for the upcoming trail conditions. On our way down I slipped and started to slide down a very steep slope. I did have my ice axe with me and attempted to "self arrest" (stop myself) and I had almost come to a complete stop until my elbow hit an expose rock causing my hand to open up and I let go of the axe. I ended up sliding down more and falling over a rock pile and eventually with the help of my arm, I was able to come to a stop. I ended up with an injured shoulder that kept me out of work for a week and a scar on my elbow that I get to look at whenever I want. As soon as I had stopped I yelled up to my buddy so he knew I was ok (relatively) and he soon joined me after a 5 minute climb down to my location. This route is one that I would never try by myself! Also I did not have one key piece of equipment that could have prevented all of this in the first place, crampons. They are basically spikes that I can secure to my boots. I now own a pair and have used them once so far, but if I need them I've got them.

The listed items are by no means a complete list of what hikers/climbers use, it's just bascally a general idea of what I do to prepare for a trip.
To sum this all up, I do appreciate the concern that friends and family have when I go out on my solo hiking trips. I pick routes and destinations that are safe me me to solo and during weather conditions that will allow for a safe ascent and descent.

I want to get back home after every trip and be able to see/talk with my friends and family. Hiking is a refuge for me in my life and something that I enjoy very much and hope to continue doing for many years to come whether it's in Washington or wherever my life takes my living arrangements.

A rainy Koppen Mt summit

2010-05-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

On Monday night I headed out from Seattle for the trailhead so that I could get an early start on Tuesday morning. On my drive along the Teanaway Road many deer and elk crossed the road ahead of me and then stared at me from a distance as I passed them. They must have been wondering what lunatic would be driving into the mountains so late at night.
I found a flat spot at the trailhead parking lot and laid down in the back of my car for a nice evening’s sleep and looked up at the sky and saw the stars shining bright.
I awoke early to a breakfast of orange juice and a handful of mini blueberry muffins and by 6:30 I was on the trail.

Usually I have a tough time getting started as my legs are a bit tired and the first mile or so is typically a struggle. Well today was no different, actually it was quite a bit worse. My legs felt really weak and fatigued like I had already hiked 14 miles in wet snow. I pressed on looking forward to the first junction of the trail. After 30 minutes I was wondering where the junction was for the Jungle Creek Trail. I knew there was heavy blow down right at the junction, but I had been there recently and figured I recognize the area. With my fatigue and light rain that was starting to fall I was seriously considering heading back to my car and driving home. After crossing the creek a few more times I realized that I’d already passed Jungle Creek Trail and knowing that part was behind me I slowly started to regain my “second wind” if you will, or in this case my first.
The trail started to switchback up the side of the valley and I soon started hitting patches of snow. By the time I reached the ridgeline the snow was steady and the winds had picked up too. The rain fluctuated between light sprinkles and a steady drizzle, thank goodness I had brought some rain gear!
Once at the junction for the Koppen Mt Trail I had thought about heading back down as I was cold and a bit wet. I took a short break under a tree and had a small snack and found some Gore Tex gloves in my pack and started to warm up enough to make me decide to press onward toward the summit. The snow wasn’t soft enough for my snowshoes and some of the side hill traversing would have made them more of a hindrance then anything else anyway. Up and down the ridgeline I went until I was finally below the summit block. The winds were strong and the rain was a steady light drizzle. I dropped my pack under a tree and headed up with my poles and small camcorder.
Scrambling over loose rock and snow patches I finally reached the summit and all of her winds! The summit itself was free of snow and I quickly found the summit register. I found that I was the first person to sign it for 2010  I stayed up there for about 2 minutes then headed back down for my pack and the trip back down to the car. The snow was marginally softer but I opted to not use my snowshoes anyway.
By now my feet were rather wet, not cold, but I could feel water squishing around and I couldn’t wait to get to my car and get my feet dry once again. As I descended through the snow and to the “dry” trail, my thoughts turned to the missed intersection with the Jungle Creek Trail. I wondered what I could do to make it harder to miss this crucial junction despite not having any tools to help clear the debris. Once I got to the area I first tried to bend some branches out of the way but that effort was futile as they would always snap back into place even when I tried to hold them back with something.
I decided to try and break as many of the branches as I could even though I knew that some trail crew would be along soon to clear them. Forty five minutes later I had cleared many of the branches and made one of the signs visible from the trail and I felt good about the work that I had done. Oh, I forgot to mention that as I started to clear debris the sun started to shine and the clouds were clearing. Just my luck… oh well, I had done a good thing on the trail and it felt good.

A short time later I found myself back at my car and relieved my feet of my wet boots and socks. It was only 12:30pm and I had summited a 6000 foot peak and did my part to help maintain a trail, it felt good and I drove back to the freeway with my sunglasses on feeling good about myself.

5/11/10 Mt Baldy, Domerie Peak and Thomas Mt

2010-05-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the complete set of photos, right HERE.
Ok, so last night I slept in the back of my Subie on a foam matress and bedding at the TH and got an early start today (6:45am) The trail started out in a nice thick forest and gained elevation rather quickly, like Tiger Mt Cable Trail quick!

The GT map shows the first section of trail gaining 1K feet in .8 miles. Well the .8 miles is a bit short of actual. After about .8 mile I reached a logging road where I followed it to the left for about 30 yards then found the trail on the left once again and proceeded up more, gaining elevation quickly again.
I had stopped along the logging road for a view of a goat across the valley, he's in the video :)

I headed further up the trail and eventually reached the junction with the Easton Ridge Trail and turned left up the Domerie Divide Trail.
Soon I got a view to the west .

I started to hit a few snow patches but nothing to get too worried about. Finally I reached the top of the ridge but couldn't find the trail jct marker, oh well. I headed south along on top of heading towards Baldy and Domerie. The snow was firm enough that I didn't need the snowshoes yet.

I stayed a bit below the ridge and soon passed over Baldy which didn't seem too significant.
I continud up to Domerie and the clouds were wisping over the ridge and plummeting down the east side towards Lake Cle Elum.
I spent a few minutes on the summit with limited views before heading back north to eyeball Thomas.

After the trail jct the route drops about 200 feet into the forest where the snow was deeper and softer.
I donned my snowshoes and made decent time through the flats then quickly the ridge got steep and narrowed as it climbs towards Thomas.
Finally I reached the summit and the views to the east were grand!

I put on a dry pair of socks and 20 minutes later I headed back down. By now the clouds were clearing and the views everywhere were getting better. The climb back up the ridge from the flats was a bugger, I was tired and the snow was even softer now too.

Finally back at the jct I soaked in more views.

Back down the trail I finally removed my snowshoes near 4600' and made my way down the steep trail to the footbridge where I stopped for a few photos of the man made waterfall.

I met a Ranger and chatted her up for a few minutes before heading to my car and heading home.
What an awesome day to be out in the mountains!

A few words and photos

2010-04-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been trying to take care of myself and do more to get settled into my new apartment. My kitties are adjusting and seem to like the new place with it's views and increased space over recent apartments we've been in.

Work has been filled with a lot of changes. For the last year different departments have gone through restructuring and some of the branch libraries are now closed on Friday and Sunday's. Well recently the changes have hit my department. Three new people are in the department along with one being our new boss. After 3 1/2 years of working at the library change is hard to adjust to.

Summer is right around the corner and I'm trying to solidify my travel plans. I have vacation time set up from July 3-14 and the library will be on furlough from August 30-Sept 6. so that gives me another week off. Previous plans of traveling with my sister and niece have fallen through so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do. I know that I want the time off to include some time in the mountains, possibly in Wyoming and Colorado, but I'd also like to visit family and friends back home in Michigan too. The tough part for Michigan is the cost of airfare and car rental while I'm home. Any travels to the Rocky Mountains would be done in my own car.

The hard part about traveling back home is when it's time to leave and come back to Seattle. I love living in Seattle and having the mountains and water so close by, but my family and friends are back home. I have a large family and I hardly know any of my niece's and nephews because I've always lived away from home since they've been born. I have friends there too who I've known since elementary school and they are some of the best people that I've ever met. I do have some great friends here in Seattle too, so sometimes I get really torn between both places.

I do know that right now I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I do have a good job that has made it possible for me to get out of debt. The mountains are less than an hours drive away and Puget Sound is literally 10 minutes away and the shipping canal is 5 minutes from home. I keep in touch with friends and family back home through the internet and phone calls and it's wonderful. As I get older though I'm going to have to decide what is more important to me, living in Michigan with friends and family, or the mountains and friends that I have here. Also I have my biological sister and niece out here too. Without them I would have never moved out here. They have both helped me out in life in more ways than I could ever dream possible. I have been able to watch my niece grow up for the last 6.5 years and it has been wonderful to watch her grow up into the great girl that she is today.
For now, I keep living my life for today and am grateful for everything that I have.

Bad at keeping up

2010-04-27T01:38:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad at keeping up with my blog the last few months. I've since moved and have gone home to Michigan for about 4 days, took some additional vacation time and have gotten back into the swing of hiking. Here are a few videos from recent trips.

Where have I been?

2010-02-23T23:22:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I hadn't posted anything in almost 2 months!! Well this one will be short as it's late in the evening and I need to get some sleep. I will say that I went for a hike today not too far from home. I took very few pictures and of those none really looked worthy enough to post. I did make another hiking video of the trip, so I'll post that instead. Enjoy!!!

What's up?

2010-01-26T21:22:00.001-08:00

So my last post was just photos and no words. So this time I'll add a few thoughts and of course some photos.

School is going pretty good. My classmates and I are having some frustration with the internet portion of the class, but that'll iron itself out over time I think. For now though I have my first draft due tomorrow for my first full essay. The topic is our experience with the education system and our thoughts on it and also our experience with reading.

The essay will be 750-1000 words. My draft is mostly done and we'll see how the editing process goes.
Otherwise, work is.....well it's work! It has it's ups and downs and extreme challenges, but it pays the bills and keeps food in my kittie's tummys, and mine too.

Haven't been hiking lately but I've kept my shutter finger busy. Yesterday I bought a new monopod and today I got the battery grip for my camera that I ordered last week. My next photographic purchase will be a while as my next item will cost me a few dollars, a 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens. Basically all of that means that it's cost me about $2,000, yikes!!!!!!! I'll stow some cash aside for it while I build my savings.

So that's life lately. I hope that you enjoy the photos!!! :-)

A few new photos

2010-01-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

New Videos

2010-01-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

The other day I ventured out in the rain and took some video with my handy little camcorder. I found that I really enjoyed getting out in the grey damp air and seeing life through a different perspective. With the animals and the music, I feel like I'm taken somewhere else. I hope that you like them.

First essay for school, oh boy.......

2010-01-07T10:20:00.001-08:00

Monday was my first day in college in over 15 years. Leading up to the first day of class I was excited, eager to learn more and meet some new people. Before class even started I was really stressed out due to things going on in my personal life and the lives of a few that I really care about. Once class started I was really feeling like I didn't belong there. I wanted to walk out the door and go back home.
Our instructor asked us to write a short essay that she would read to gauge where we were at with writing. The essay was not filled with many positive things as you'll read next.

"I let myself get defeated easily. I give up and don't like to try at thins that challenge me. Take school for instance, as I sit here I really want to drop the class and get my money back.
Most of my life things have comes easily for me. In high school I gave up. I slept in class or didn't show up at all. Finally I dropped out during my senior year because an addiction had become more important. Feeding my addiction was hard too, but I knew what the payoff would be and that to me was worth it.
I don't know if I'm in the right class right now or not because I've never written an essay . I lack the understanding of how to build one.
I work a job that requires more physical than mental efforts.
Bottom line , I may drop this class and school because I just want to give up. Maybe things in my personal life these last few days are pre-occupying my mind too much. I'd rather be there for my hurting friends more than to help myself"

So that's what I wrote, feeling down on myself and sad for my friend's pain. My instructor wrote a few notes on my essay.

"I love the oxygen analogy on airplanes, they instruct us to put on our own masks on before trying to assist the person next to us"
"Bryan, it sounds like dropping may be old behavior, I am very familiar with that, it took me a few times to get going in college, I hope you stay. You don't need to know how to write an essay; that's what we're here to learn :-) Welcome"

I read her comments after a better class last night and am glad that I didn't drop the class.
I happy to have an instructor who is understanding and supportive

2009 year in review

2009-12-26T16:23:00.000-08:00

What a year this has been!!!! So many ups and downs in my life since 2009 began, if it weren't for a calendar I wouldn't know where to begin.
The year started out with me having to make a tough decision that affected my heart greatly. Having a hard time recovering from that prompted some friends and family to say/write some things that were hard to, but neccesary to hear/read. Thank you.

In Feb I went to San Francisco with my sister and niece and we had a wonderful time despite mostly damp weather.

We went all over the city soaking in the moisture and the sights/sounds that SF has to offer. A return trip with more time is certainly in my future.

In March I moved from the suburbs into the city. I now live in a neighborhood called "Capitol Hill" It is a rather diverse neighborhood that is rather close to downtown and my job with the city.

As the months wore on I spent a lot of time in and around Capitol Hill with my camera at the ready. I got to watch a fundraiser game of softball between the "Dykes" and the "Drag Queens". It was most certainly the most colorful game of softball that I have ever seen.

In June my sister and niece flew back home to Michigan to visit with friends and family.

During the rest of the summer I spent most weeks in the mountains with friends. Up to this year most of my hikes were contained to established trails. This year I decided to challenge myself a bit more and dabble in "scrambling". Talk about a rush!! I found myself in situations that really forced me to stay in the moment and make some very precise decisions. There were a few moments in there that made me ask myself what the heck I was doing. Persistance paid off and we usually got to our intended summit, unless safety would be compromised, then we forwent a summit or two.

November found me celebrating my birthday back home in Michigan as I drove back to help a dear friend with some things. For the first time I took 2.5 weeks off from work and I relaxed and enjoyed life and the chance to be there for somebody who's been there for me a lot in the past year.

In December I re-took the placement test for college and I've enrolled in my first college class in almost 15 years. I'm a bit nervous, but also excited about the challenge of furthering my education and one day earning a college degree.

This is of course just a rough skimming of the surface from this year, but I've learned so much this year and am so grateful to those who have stuck by me and have been there when I needed them the most. Your continued friendships and love has helped me in ways that I can not fully describe.

I look forward to an exciting year in 2010 and the chance to continue to stregnthen the friendships that I have and make some more as I continue on in my life.

New Blog called "3 Scenes From Today"

2009-12-07T01:31:00.001-08:00

I've decided that I wanted to start another blog that just includes 3 photos from the day. I had thought about doing it on this blog but decided that I've kept this one more for things about me and in my life. Also I have this blog set up to send automatic updates to some email boxes I didn't want to clog people's inboxes with a possible daily blog update.
I am going to keep the other blog rather simple and with minimal words, mainly just a focus on the 3 photos. I hope that you all enjoy it and take a look at it when you can. Here's a link to the new blog: "3 Scenes From Today"
I will continue to update this blog with hopefully more regularity than I have the past month plus.
Here's to good health and the start to a wonderful holiday season for everybody!!!

3 scenes from today

2009-12-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

I don't plan on doing this everyday, but I thought it'd be cool to share some random images from my day with all of you. I don't plan on having any sort of theme to these shots, just if something catches my eye.
So with that in mind......

Bus ride to work

Crowds in the street for the Christmas Carol Contest.

Participants in the contest.

Have a good day!!!

Long time no update.......

2009-12-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a month since my last blog posting and it's been a busy time with a lot going on.
My trip to Michigan went great! I had a lot of fun visiting friends and family. I was able to help a friend out around their house and that made me feel really good. Being able to utilize my skills and talents in a way that can help a friend is one of the best things that I could ever do, especially when it's for someone who is such a dear friend to me. On November 13 I was able to celebrate my birthday at a great restaurant with this same friend. It was a wonderful evening and one that I won't soon forget.
I made the drive back to Seattle in about 48 hours with some severe leg pain, which I'm still dealing with today.
On Thanksgiving my sister and I had some turkey and other turkey day foods and relaxed at my place while her daughter spent the day with her father. Lisa and I had had other plans for Thanksgiving, but the day before they changed so we figured things out and enjoyed the day together.
Lately things at work have been going pretty good. I adjusted well after being away on vacation and got right back in there and do the best that I can everyday.
While I was home my dad gave me an old bicycle that he doesn't ride anymore. Even though the frame is a bit small for me, I've managed to make it fit for the time being and I've been riding around town and to and from work. It's been fun to be able to ride again, but I've found that I have to be even more aware of what's going on around me as cars take less time to look out for cyclists these days, some don't even look for us at all. I've had a few close calls with cars and buses, but I do the best I can to keep my eyes out for them.
Last night my niece had a choir concert at school. My boss let me leave work a few hours early so that I could attend. She did great and I had a nice time at the event which also included vocal jazz, jazz band, concert and symphonic bands. It was fun to be able to watch my niece interact with her friends and to be able to meet a few of them myself.
So that about wraps things up for the most part. I've taken lots of photos but none that I really care to post as they don't seem to be as good as others that I've taken. Maybe I'll get some decent ones soon and I'll post those, we'll see.

Drive to Michigan

2009-11-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

As usual, I have a handful of photos at Flickr which can be found here.
On Halloween night after work I jumped into my car and began the 2300 mile drive back home to Michigan.With some vacation time to burn and a few furlough days yet to take I decided that I would head back home and help a dear friend out around her house.
I left Seattle at 6pm and headed east on I-90. Once in the mountains I hit some rain which offered up some good hydroplaning opportunities... The trip through Washington was mild if not boring with daylight fading and rain falling.
My goal for the night was to make Butte or Bozeman MT. Well I didn't make either as I was rather tired and made it just short of Missoula instead. After 4 restless hours in the backseat of the car in a rest area I got up and saw the beauty that is Montana all around me.

I talked with a couple of guys who were walking their dogs and they told me that I would pass by a Prairie Dog area a few hours down the road as I made my way to Devil's Tower in WY. At many point along the highway I stuck my camera out the window and snapped away. I end up taking over 200 shots, even though most did not turn out too good, but a few did pass the test.

I eventually made it to the Greycliff Prairie Dog Town State Park. These little guys are so darn cute, and small too.

I spent about 30 minutes watching and photographing the Prairie Dogs before I decided I should keep going so that I had some daylight left when I got to Devil's Tower. I drove into Wyoming and saw some storm clouds off to the south and hoped that it would be dry at the tower. As I neared the tower the clouds were not present, but neither was an abundance of daylight.
Having only seen this national monument in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" I was excited to finally see it in person. Of course it did impress me too!!

I hiked around the tower until it was dark and still had half of the trail left to hike, in the dark. I made it back to the parking lot and headed off back onto the dark highway.
I am a firm believer that South Dakota is best traveled through in the dark, and that's exactly what I did. I stopped for another 4 hour nap before heading into Minnesota where I stopped for another hour long nap.
I needed to make a brief stop in Minneapolis and took a smaller state highway diagonally through the state which offered some views of what Minnesota is really like. I also got the chance to sit in some construction traffic........

Upon completion of my 1.5 hour visit to Minneapolis I was off to Waseca MN to stay with an old friend and his family for the night. By 9am the next day I was off for my last section of the drive that would bring me back home to friends and family.

By 9pm I had already visited a dear friend of mine and was back home at my parents place ready for a good night's sleep after a great drive.

Using my new camera around town

2009-10-27T10:37:00.001-07:00

Recently I got a new camera body as my old one had a short on a circuit board. I shopped around for different cameras and finally decided on the Canon XSi. With it's 12mp capabilities this camera can produce larger images than my last one. An improvement over my last camera is the 3" LCD screen. My last one had a 1.8" screen, so this one feels like sitting in front of a movie theater screen!!

As my abilities with photography improve (slowly) I'm trying to expand my photographic prowess into other areas aside from landscapes. Utilizing black and white can really express an emotion if done right. It is my hope to be able to convey that emotion in my shots. Enjoy.

I will never turn my back on color photography though....

Kendall Peak & Alaska Mt

2009-10-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

I was once again joined by my friend Adam for a beautiful day hiking in the mountains. We decided to stay a bit closer to home this time and head to Snoqualmie Pass and hike to Kendall and Alaska.
We left the trailhead at 7:10am with skies still a bit dark. We followed the old Cascade Crest Trail, which is now abandoned, for about 2.5 miles until we connected with the Pacific Crest Trail, or the PCT. It wasn't long before the views opened up and we enjoyed clear skies too.

We found the cutoff for the faint route up to Kendall Peak and were at the summit by 9:25am.

We didn't spend too much time up here as we still had more miles and one more peak to summit. Back on the PCT we made it to the "Kendall Katwalk". This section isn't for the faint of heart as it was literally blasted from the side of a steep mountainside.

Once past the Katwalk we passed a few lakes, Gravel, Ridge and Alaska. They were all very pretty and we stopped for a few moments at Gravel and passed by the others. With virtually no breeze, the reflections on the water were wonderful.

We followed along the trail as it flanks the lower section of Alaska Mt until we reached the eastern ridge. With direction from another hiker we headed up this ridge and encountered some really "fun" spots as we maneuvered around some rocks which reminded us of our ridge traverse from Mt Daniel a few weeks ago.
At last we made it to the summit where I rewarded myself with a great snack.

Oh, did I mention the views!!!!!!!

After enjoying the summit for a while we made our way back down the ridge and onto the PCT for our return voyage.

As usual I have a full set of pictures on Flickr with a link here.
I also created a video which unfortunately has a few small editing glitches due to my Windows Movie Maker software..... that video can be found on YouTube, or at the link here, or below.

Mixed weather on Scorpion Mt

2009-10-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Adam and I went for a short hike up to Scorpion Mt. The route is 8 miles round trip with about 1800' elevation gain.
The forecast was for rain below 4000' and snow above. Our trailhead sits at 4100' which put us where I wanted to be, above the rain!! The views were abundant even at the trailhead.

We were lucky enough to be in a hole in the weather and enjoy a few sun breaks!

As we neared the summit the land opened up and the colors of fall became more apparent.

We finally reached the windy and cold summit and we had fun taking in the disappearing views as the clouds rolled in and snow started falling.

A link to a full but small set of photos can be found here.
A link to a video with a few shenanigans in it can be found here.

Mt Clifty hike on a snowy day

2009-10-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

For this hike I drove east on I-90 to exit 62 and headed west on the Stampede Pass Road #54. Drive towards Stampede Pass for 3 miles and turn left (south) on Road 41. Proceed 10 miles and turn right (south) on Road 4110 and drive 10 more miles to the trailhead on the left for the Blazed Ridge Trail #1333.

The trail is "mixed" use and is shared with dirtbikes. It is very easy to see the wear that a trail used by dirtbikes as it was more like a deep "V" than a trail. The first mile or so was up this "great" trail before it levels out more and the trail condition improves.

The trail runs the top of the ridge for another 2 miles or so before connecting with the junction of Manastash Ridge, trail #1388.

The views along the ridge were great!! I could look across the Greek Creek Basin and see North Ridge.

The winds were picking up and a few snowflakes started to fall from the sky.

I made my way up to the summit and climbed the 10 foot summit block.

Winds and snow continued on my entire way back down to the trailhead where I found about 1/2 inch of snow covering my car.

A full set of photos can be found here.
I also made a video from this trip too, that can be found here.

Mt Daniel attempt Oct 5-6

2009-10-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

My friend Adam called me to go on an overnighter and said that his friend Craig had wanted to try for Mt Daniel. I said sure and Monday afternoon we left Seattle and headed east. After a long forest road drive we were at the trailhead and took to the trail at 5:00pm.

It didn't take too long before we were hiking in the dark with the assistance of our headlamps. Our goal for the night was Peggy's Pond and we got there and set up camp near some other nice people. After a quick dinner is was time to get cozy in the sleeping bags and get rested for our try at the summit in the morning.
We awoke and there was breeze in the air but the skies were clear and we saw patches of snow on the mountains high above.

I ate some nice warm oatmeal and we got ready for a great day. We left the pond basin and started up the southeast ridge and the winds gradually got stronger as we gained more elevation. Luckily the air wasn't too cold as I was in short sleeves. We hopped to and from boulder trying to keep off the snow as much as possible.
By this point Craig's stomach was giving him some problems and he was lagging behind a bit. We'd stop and let him catch and then give him a chance to rest before heading further up.
We finally made it to the top of the ridge and could see for miles in almost any direction. The views we spectacular and the winds were howling!!

At about 7500' Craig decided to stop and head back to camp. Adam and I decided to push further on and see how far we could get. At this point we decided to don our helmets as the route was getting more rocky.
Very quickly the route got pretty sketchy and the snow and ice didn't make things any easier. The winds were racing up the side of the mountain and blasting us with loose snow and ice pellets from below making our faces feel like they were getting sandblasted. There was one very tricky manuveur that I hope to never encounter the likes of again. We basically had to hug this big rock with a hand on either side of it and shift our body around it with no footholds at all. A slip of a hand would have meant a certain fall with some painful consequences. Had we not both felt comfortable with this situation we certainly would not have tackled it. I was very surprised though that even with the danger I was calm and my adrenaline was not pumping and my anxiety was low. Now don't think that I wasn't a bit scared, I was scared and very cautious!! I must say that it is indeed a very intense feeling to be holding onto a rock for dear life with no footholds and all the while getting blasted by upwards of probably 50 mph wind gusts!!!! WOW!!!!
Finally we were through the tough stuff and at a saddle below the east peak. We decided to press onward towards the true summit, the west peak. Traversing under the east peak was no easy feet either. there was loose talus on top of hard dirt on a very steep slope and didn't offer too many good footholds to enable a safe passage. There was one section that I really did not like. Adam helped me navigate my way through until I got up to a better section of "trail". Wrapping our way around the east peak we finally got a view of the middle peak and the smokestack to the north.

At this point we decided to throw in the towel for the day as we still had to get back to camp, pack up and make 6 more miles back to the car. We headed back to the saddle and from there we dropped below the ridge and traversed a snow slope back to a lower part on the ridge before heading back down.

We rejoined Craig on the ridge as he was taking his time getting down while enjoying the views and such. Got to the pond in good time and took down our camp and continued on our way back to the car.

Oh, and can I say how much I love the colors out here this time of year!!!

To watch the video that I made on this trip click here.
A full but small set of pictures can be found here.

Iron Goat Trail

2009-10-01T22:52:00.001-07:00

East of Seattle is an old section of railroad grade that was abandoned in 1929 after the new Cascade Tunnel was completed, making for an easier passage below Stevens Pass. This old section of railroad was converted into a trail years later and is now a popular trail for short dayhikers.

The trail has many snow walls that were erected to help hold back the mountainside from collapsing onto the tracks.

In 1910 just (50 Feet) outside of the rail town of Wellington there was a nasty tragedy. A terrible snowstorm essentially closed down the tracks and two passenger trains were trapped on the western side of the original Cascade Tunnel until the snow stopped and the tracks could be cleared. With passengers hearing avalanches off in the distance they feared that one would come down onto them and was their train into the valley below. The train folks said not to worry since there had never been an avalanche on this section of track before. Well the train folk were wrong and an avalanche came down and swept the two trains off the tracks. I think it was 96 people that died because of it. Quickly the rail company erected a concrete snowshed in the very spot those poor folks perished.

I have many pictures that I took of this section of trail and the signs along the way that tell the story much better than I ever could. The photographs can be found here.

I hope that you all enjoy the photos and the beauty that I was able to enjoy on a nice and sunny day.

Maybe it's just me

2009-09-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm waiting at the bus stop under a shelter while it's raining and this girl walks under the shelter and fires up a smoke. Being a former smoker I realize the desire to not get soaked while "enjoying" that nicotine infuzement.
Even though there are signs stating there is not smoking within 25 feet of the shelter I say nothing. No sooner than she flicks here butt away signifying that she's done puffing away (would she just toss a coffee cup or soda can on the sidewalk in the same fashion?) She then proceeds to leave the shelter and walk to the apartment building next door and go inside!!! So she pollutes the air I'm breathing, litters and isn't even getting on the bus.
I was raised to be considerate of others and to think of them when I act in life (I'm pretty good at doing that) but this girl does not appear to have been raised with that ideal.
I'm not mad, just a bit disgruntled. Why can't more people think of others in the course of their day and in the actions they take in life.....

On the bright side, I'm going to enjoy a Mariners baseball game under the cover of our retractable roof :-)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Great views!!!

2009-09-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

In addition to the plethora of reasons why I really like my job, every now and then I take a moment to go to the roof and take in the views.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

My life compared to a squirrel's

2009-09-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

As I am sitting in a park reading a book a squirrel ran past me and ran to some plants in search of some food. It's amazing how simple their lives are as compared to ours. We search for people, money, things and stature, just to name a few. A squirrel just wants food and shelter. Sometime I wish my life could be that simple.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Not much new lately

2009-09-19T16:26:00.001-07:00

Life as of late has calmed down which is always a good thing. I've taken a few photos around town but not as much as usual.
On a recent walk to work with fog rolling in from the Sound I caught this shot of the Space Needle.

Last week I went to a favorite spot of mine, the Ballard Locks. Salmon running season is coming up fast and I managed to get a shot of a few jumping in the large lock. It's not the greatest shot, but you can see one in mid air right in the center of the frame as two splashed back in the water on either side of Mr. Airborne

I then proceeded to drive down the road to Golden Gardens, a beachfront park on Puget Sound.

Thank you for continued reading and support of my blog.

Helping a friend and some great music

2009-09-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

For those who read my blog or are close to me then you know about Cathy. Well yesterday she moved into a new apartment and I was able to help her with that. I wondered if it would be a good idea for me and if it would bring up some feelings for her. The day ended up going really good and I enjoyed spending the day with she and her friends.
At one point when we were talking about her old place and the security problems there she mentioned to me that she's in a safer place now and that I didn't need to worry about her anymore. That hit me really hard and I'm glad that she said that to me. Hearing that was another step in the right direction for me with letting go and moving on with my life.
In a strange twist, back in January after we broke up I bought a Blackberry as a sort of retail/new toy therapy. Of course it didn't work but it was a fun gadget. Well during the day of moving the keypad stopped working and eventually deemed useless to me. I found it ironice that I bought it during a tough time in my life and it dies when I was able to let go of her even more. Interesting how things happen in life sometimes.

Later in the day after activating an old phone I called a buddy whose phone call I couldn't answer earlier in the day and he invited me to join him to Bumbershoot for the evening. For those who don't know, Bumbershoot is an annual arts and music festival at the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located. Tickets this year were very high and out of my price range right now. Well Eric had an extra free ticket and we met up down there for the last few hours of the day.
We ended up catching the last show of the night on the Broad Street stage. The band was "The Long Winters" and I've been listening to them for years but have never seen them live. This was a real treat for me after such a long day. Eric couldn't stay for the whole show but I did. It was so much fun to be able to see them and enjoy their unique sound live and in person.
So yesterday was a really good day that gave me the chance to let go a bit more and engage in some great live music with a great local band.

Library's closed and my car gets relocated

2009-09-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year Mayor Nickels asked city departments to find a way to cut their budgets by 3% for the remainder of the year. He gave the departments a bit of time to have the proposals on his desk then he would decide what to do. In April he announced that the library would shut down for 1 week and the staff would be on a furlough. The library decided which week of the year that would be and this is that week.
Word about the closure has been spread in the last several months, as we prepared for this week. Some projects that had been scheduled are being done during this closure. I am currently at the library and will be for this week but I am not exempt from a week with no pay. I will take my unpaid days later this year when I travel home to Michigan in the first half of November.
I must say that it's really strange to be in such a large building with so few people inside. It kind of feels like an end of the world scene with books filling the shelves and computers waiting for patrons to come back and use them. At the same time it's nice to be able enjoy the peace and quiet in an otherwise rather loud building(for a library that is). With the ventilation system off, the book sorting machine sitting idle and no hussle and bussle in the staff hallways I'm really getting a chance to really realize the life that this building has.
Seeing people walk up to the front door and read the signs stating our closure has really helped me to see how important the library is to all of the members of the community.

This morning while conducting some repairs I get a call from a Seattle Parking Enforement Officer. She asked me where I parked my car last night. I had to think about it for a second because I park on the street and sometimes have to hunt for a spot. I informed her of where I had parked and asked if there was a problem. She informed me that my car was in somebody's driveway and was blocking their way out. I was perplexed and got up there as quickly as I could. The resident was upset and told me that her driveway was not my parking spot. I informed her that I hadn't parked in her driveway nor would I ever consider doing such a thing. I found my driver side door open and I was afraid that my ignition would have been torn out. Well I got lucky and that wasn't the case, but how the heck did somebody drive my car and not break in or anything?
The lady asked if anybody had my key? Did I have any friends who would borrow my car and leave it there? I told her no to both questions but she kept insisting that somebody parked my car in her driveway, NO KIDDING LADY!!!!! but it wasn't me or anybody I know. She wouldn't let up on this. I then moved my car out onto the street and she kept on. The Officer was still there but did not interject, of course she did not have to as things were still calm and remained so. I apologized that my car ended up in her driveway and thanked her for not towing it away, which she could have.
I thanked the Officer for her help and went back to work. Now I'm going to have to buy a "Club" since somebody has the ability to take my car out for a drive without me or my key. I'm just glad though that it's not damaged or stolen and chopped, I've been through that one already.
It's only 12:30pm now, I wonder what the rest of the day will hold for me.........

Compline and a pipe organ

2009-08-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm not a religous person, I don't frequent churches for services. Last night though I found myself laying on the floor near the alter of St Mark's Cathedral with hundreds of others for Compline. I went because I heard about the choir and the beautiful sound in this old cathedral. Started in the 1960's this has become a very popular weekly event. The church allows attendees to sit or lay anywhere they would like. Only a few chairs near the alter have signs asking people to not sit on.

Most people use this as an opportunity for meditation and I was no exception. I had also taken a moment to say a prayer for my sister's friend and her two young sons who were killed by their father/her husband. I prayed that their souls are at rest and in heaven in peace. A moment later as the choir sang I heard the words "Rest In Peace". I couldn't help but to take a moment and be touched by the timing of this.

After the Compline there was an organ recital by a guy named Chris Kollar. I believe that he is college aged and was absolutely amazing on this beautiful and large pipe organ. The organ is old and has 3944 pipes.
We were allowed to sit up in the balcony and I took a spot on the floor only feet from this organ. Behind me were some smaller pipes and in front of me was this tower of pipes.

I cannot describe the sound that was created by Chris and this organ!! Talk about surround sound!! I was amazed as I sat on the floor surrounded by pipes ranging from 8 inches to 20 feet tall. I guess I can say it was a religious experience.
Here is a link to part 1 of the recital. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
Also a set of photographs that I took after the compline and recital.

Lightning

2009-08-08T16:08:00.001-07:00

Lightning, originally uploaded by bkraai2003.

I took this photo last month when some storms were blowing through the area. No rain fell where I live but I did get a good vantage point of the clouds and such since I'm on the top floor of my building. I spent about 30 minutes of shooting hoping to get a shot of a bolt of lightning.
I was finally able to captuer one solitary lightning strike.

Long day of hiking up Rock, Howard and Mt Mastiff

2009-08-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

The plan for the day was simple, hike up Rock Mt. During the drive up though we decided to add in Mt Howard and Mt Mastiff. Of course with so much trail I was sure to take many photographs along the way.
We left the car at 8:15 and started our journey. After about a mile the brush had started covering the trail, but have no fear, we made our way through with ease. Another mile later in a meadow we encountered avalanche debris.

We made our way through that and not much further up the trail it opened up and we were rewarded with great views of the area.

About 30 minutes later we were on the summit of Rock Mt, over 6800' up.

(I'm the one on the right, for those who don't know me)

Down the scree slope and off to Rock Lake we went. We re-joined the main trail and flanked a ridge and soon came to Crescent Lake.

We headed to the back of the lake and ascended a steep slope and found another gully to head up and soon we found ourselves below Mt Howard. With a bit more effort and snacks, we were at the high summit for the day, just over 7000'!!

We took a short break then eyeballed our last summit for the day, Mt Mastiff to our east.

We headed down the ridgeline from Howard and headed up the ridge to Mastiff.

There were a few tricky spots along the ridge but in due time we were sitting high atop Mt Mastiff.

We spent about 20 minutes or so on the summit before starting our trek back to the car. We modified our route back in a few spots to make the return a bit easier. As the sun got lower the perspective on things changed and the grass below Rock Mt turned to a nice golden color, even though my photos don't quite do it justice.

We returned to the car by 8:15pm and we were very tired. I retrieved my celebratory Pepsi from the creek and we hit the road.
Our stats for the trip were surprising: 12 hours, 16 miles and over 7700' elevation gain!!

Bainbridge Island for a cup of coffee

2009-08-03T15:26:00.001-07:00

My buddy Rich and I were walking around the waterfront and decided to take a ferry across the Sound to Bainbridge Island to get a cup of coffee. Yes I've done stranger things before, but this was also a trip to get some good photographs.
We paid our $6.70 and boarded the ferry for the 25 minute ride. We were able to get a few shots of Mt Rainier and of the smoke billowing from a forest fire burning on the Olympic Peninsula.

We found a local coffee shop and hung out for about 30 minutes until they started to close down for the evening. So we were off the the waterfront to scope out the scene.

They have these weird rock statues near the docks, they are creative and rather photogenic in the fading light with a longer shutter length.

Back on the ferry I had my tripod but didn't think that with the vibrations in the boat that I'd get any decent shots and didn't want to take the time to set it up. Rich started taking a few shots and how we was shooting them made me to try it too. Basically we ended up holding our cameras in place on a large railing while we took some 20-25 second exposure shots. The result is pretty cool I think.

Got a decent shot of the moon using the same technique.

With a high ISO I took this shot which turned out to be my favorite one of the evening.

Painted Peak July 28, 2009

2009-07-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Adam and I headed north on the Mtn Loop Hwy and went to the trail head for the N Fork Sauk River. The weather was forecast to be hot and we were crazy to do this particular hike since there was so much elevation gain involved. Strapped with my backpack and camera, I was ready for a great day with many opportunities to take some photographs.
We hit the trail by 7:20 and the air was warm and there were a few bugs flying around. 1/4 mile later we turned left at the trail junction and we were on our way to Painted Peak, or as some call it, Red Mountain. The trail was steep and got more buggy pretty fast. At the location of a former lookout we got a good view of Sloan Peak.

For the next hour or so we had no views again but the heat was on the rise as we rose along the side of the mountain. Finally we broke out of the trees and were rewarded with some beautiful scenery.

We busted through some low brush as the trail by this point was non-existent. Some spots were steep and the Heather made it challenging to ascend. Finally after some really hard work and a lot of water consumed, we made it to the summit ridge and were offered our first glimpse of Glacier Peak, a volcano rising over 10,000 feet.

Our journey had started at 2100' and soon I was standing at 6975' and basking in the heat and the glory of reaching the summit.

Here's a picture that Adam took from the other ridge below the summit, My attempt of being "creative" with a summit pose.

Glacier Peak

Full 360 pano from the summit

After spending 30 minutes or so on the summit we headed down to Ruby Lake for a well deserved swim in the very chilly water.

We returned to the car by 4:20 and we were very warm and ready to head into town for an ice cold soda.

A day with my niece

2009-07-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

I have many nieces and nephews back home in Michigan, but I have only one niece here in Seattle. She is Summer and recently she celebrated her 15th birthday. This summer she has been working at a day camp but happen to have this week off.
On Monday we spent the day together and went around the Arboretum lake area in a canoe. I of course took a lot of photographs.

We rented the canoe from the UW Waterfront Activities Center and we were off. Having never done this before we were both very excited. There were many girl ducks and even more ducklings of verying ages.

Summer is going to give me a hard time about posting this picture I bet :-)

The rest of the day we spent in Ballard checking out the locks and my stopping at 7-11 for a very tasty chili and cheese hotdog, mmmmmmmmm.

Helping an injured dog

2009-07-28T20:43:00.001-07:00

After a long and hot day on the trails, all I wanted was a nice cold Pepsi.
Driving back on the Mountain Loop Hwy we rounded a curve to find 3 cars parked on the hwy and people helping an animal in the other lane. My first thought was that a small deer had been hit and that it needed to be put down. I got out of my car and saw the animal's legs flailing in the air and others were asking if i had a gun, apparently they had the same thought I did. I told them I didn't and got close enough and realized that it was a beautiful Weimereiner. She was foaming at the mouth and bleeding from a few spots. The owner was not around and neither was the driver that hit the dog. The dog was being held by a lady as i walked up to see if i could help. I was afraid that I was seeing this dog's last moments.
Her(the dog) owner showed up from the river and the dog was finally so spooked and in shock that she started running down the road. Her owner with no footwear took off after her. My only thought was to run too and try to help him if i could. I told Adam to move my car off the hwy if need be and i took off on foot. After 1/4 mile her owner was exhausted but i kept on. The dog was hurt, scared and on a busy roadway.
Another person at the original scene pulled up in his truck and picked up the owner as i continued on foot. If they could pass the dog maybe we could get her in the middle. She turned and started back toward me. I slowed down and started calling her name in a somewhat quiet tone to help calm her down. She easliy got past me and i turned around. Running back, others on foot were coming in my direction and hoping to put the squeeze on her again. This time she ran down to the river. I hopped the guardrail and ran down the river. She ran along the river's edge and I ran from boulder to boulder hoping that I wouldn't slip and get hurt myself. She was starting to slow and saw another person coming toward us. As I jumped onto another boulder (i was running as quiet as I could to not scare the dog) I slipped and fell into the river.
The dog saw that she was in the middle again and darted up the river bank. She fell on her first attempt up the bank but tried again. By now we had alerted those on the roadway (now we're right back below where she had been hit) and they were ready for her. When I got back to the roadway she was exhausted and standing in the grass and her owner was running toward her. When he got to her he gave her a big hug and started to cry.
I knew that she needed to get to a vet and I mentioned that I had a station wagon and could transport her to a clinic. I cleared out the back and she was quickly put into my car. The owner's brother rode in the back with her and the owner drove his car since his brother couldn't drive.
As soon as i got cell service i called my friend in Seattle and asked him to find a Vet's office along our route. Within 20 minutes we were at a Vet and the dog was being looked at.
She luckily didn't have any broken bones or internal bleeding! I was so happy to hear that I almost cried. She was going to make it! The owner told us how his dog, Deb, had been with him through a lot of hard stuff in his life and he was so happy that she was not seriously injured.
With some time she will heal and he has hopefully learned that even while playing in the river, dogs should be on a leash.
I am grateful that I was in a position to be able to help. Nothing brings me more happiness in my life than my pets. I'm glad that this guy was able to bring his best friend back home with him tonight.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Light Link Rail

2009-07-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Seattle launched it new light rail train system. When the voters first approved the money for the project they were assured 100K ridership per day, over 30 miles of track with 25 or so stations. What we got is an estimated 21K daily riders, 14 miles of track with 10 of 12 new stations.
Service to the airport is expected to start in December with a shuttle currently running from the southern-most station, Tukwilla, to the airport. Construction wil begin soon on the "U-Link" which will run from downtown through Capitol Hill to the UW campus.
I'm not ungrateful for the light rail, it's just too bad that the voters did not get what they were promised when they approved the funding for this project years ago.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Goat Island Mt, Mt Rainier National Park

2009-07-15T19:41:00.001-07:00

Full set of photos can be found here.

For my first trip this year to MRNP it was a lot of bang for my buck! Lex and I started on the trail at about 8:20am and headed down a wide densely forested trail with minimal elevation gain for the first few miles. The trail generally follows near the Fryingpan Creek to our south. At different points along the way views of the creek are afforded. About 2.5 miles up we get a view of a nice waterfall. To get the best view involved a bit of off-trail adventuring.

About a mile later we get to a crossing of the Fryingpan Creek on a large log with a railing. We stopped for a break and I ventured around with my camera for some shots of the creek and Rainier. I found a perk beyond some trees and found a slot waterfall just below the footbridge. Talk about a hard rush of water!!

Two guys had caught up woth us and we resumed not far behind them. Not too much further up the older guy yells back to us that there's a bear ahead of them on the trail. We tried to get him to quiet down as we really wanted to see the bear. We caught up and passed them in an attempt to get a few photos. By the time we got up ahead the bear had gone into the bush. Being brown he was hard to spot until I heard some movement. Much to our surprise he was about 20 feet from us behind a bush and he could have cared less about us. I really wanted a photo but was not about to go into the bush and attempt one. I love wildlife a lot, but i'm smart enough to know when to let it go. I tried to get a shot but it didn't turn out to good. Last time we let a group pass us by!!!

We found ourselves nearing Summerland and we checked our elevation and our map. We found that we missed our cutoff where our off-trail route would lead us. We decided to improvise our route and followed the trail for about another 1/10th mile and then proceeded towards the moraine.

We crossed a few small creeks and at one point when Lex stopped for a photo op I spotted a Hoary Marmot not too far away. I walked over towards him and he eyeballed me before running into his hole. We took pics of the mountain and soaked in the scenery. I went back to check on Mr Marmot and found him foraging for food. He noticed me and hauled butt accross the creek and towards his home again. This time I was ready with some video rolling. It was really cute to see him cruising and "jump" over the creek.

We crossed the morraine and the Fryingpan Creek and soon found ourselves in the trees heading up to the ridge that eventually leads up to Goat Island Mt. The first part of the ridge was tricky to travel as it had some heavy brush and trees. With our elevation gradually increasing we were looking forward to hitting the summit.

Out of the trees and onto the exposed ridge we traversed past small snow patches on a moonscape type terraine. We knew there was a false summit so we kept that in mind as we approached a high point. We continued along and saw our summit about 20 minutes away. As we approached the summit we realized that there was another high point about another 20 minutes away. We consulted our maps and realized that because of our need to summit the high point and summit fever that we had to continue along as the true summit was 70 feet higher than our current location, argh!!!

20 minutes later there was no more up and we enjoyed the views including Mt Adams to our south. With a 40 minute break we decided on our route of descent and started on our way. The first part was straight forward and we made good time. But then we got into the trees and really steep slopes. We put our trekking poles away opting instead to keep our hands free to grab onto to trees and such, or as we hikers would call it, "veggie belaying". We donned our helmets for safety's sake and continued on down. A few times we slipped but no injuries were accompanied, thank goodness. Finally after a real adventurist time we were back down at the Fryingpan Creek and left trying to find a safe place to cross. Back on the trail we kept our eye out for Mr Bear as we were close to where we had seen him earlier in the day.

With other plans in mind we made good time getting back to the car and arrived at 5:20pm. We gained almost 4000 feet of gain, about 10 miles over a 9 hour period. This was the simplest summit I've had in a few weeks and I look forward to getting another summit under my belt next Tuesday.

New Computer

2009-07-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

Friday I tried to turn my laptop on and it wouldn't do a thing. I pulled the battery and re-inserted it and still nothing. I unplugged and plugged the power cord in and still I nothing from it. Well bummer, my laptop dies on me and I didn't have a backup plan. Recently I had been having a minor issue with the monitor and I credited it to a dying video card. Well whatever the problem with the monitor was, I had a new problem on my hands.
I started looking online at new laptops and also brainstormed where the money would come from to cover a new one. Lately I've had some good financial goals which included having a long term debt paid off in another few months and being virtually debt free (do student loans count against me? haha) Fortunately I was able to figure something out which will make the next few months a bit harder than originally planned, but I can still achieve my goal by the end of the summer.
Sunday was off to Best Buy to look at a few machines in person. My first laptop was a Dell and it worked out pretty good for me. My last on was a Toshiba and that one hadn't given me any problems either, until the end that is. My sister and niece both have Toshiba's and they've liked theirs a lot.
Within my price range were a lot of machines with some including a built-in web cam. I opted for a Toshiba which allows me to upgrade the RAM to 8gb versus most others offering expansion to only 4gb. With the photo and video editing that I like to do I opted for the Toshiba and to forgo the web cam.
This new laptop runs Vista Premium which so far I'm not a big fan of. I miss XP and can't wait for Windows 7 to be released in the fall when I'll get a free upgrade, woohoo!!!!!
Though this purchase came about 6 months before I planned, I'm glad to be able to get a new one and to continue to be able to share my photos and hiking adventures which I'll soon have another one to share!!

Teanway and Iron Peaks July 7, 2009

2009-07-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Full set of photos can be found here.

Adam, Dane and I headed east to find some dry weather and we found ourselves driving up the N Fork Teanaway Road and parking at the Iron Peak TH. Dane led our way up at a blistering pace and I chose to go at a slower pace, I was still tired from our recent trip to Bedal.

In 90 minutes we made it to the pass between Iron and Teanaway. We looked at both mountains and decided to head up Teanaway first. This was not an original part of the trip but Adam and I had our helmets and we all wanted to head up.
Dane headed up first with his exposed skull and Adam and I were shortly behind. I tried to follow Dane's route as Adam headed up another one to my left. I lost Dane's route and soon found myself in a spot where I was left asking myself "How the heck did I get into this spot?" Dane happened to be just above me on a decent rest spot and looked down to me and gave me a tip on how to get the rest of the way up safely. Reasons like this are why I don't scramble by myself but rather with people who know me and are more experienced.

Regrouped we took a short break before heading to the last tricky spot before the last bit of ridge to the summit.

A look down from Teanaway Peak.

We headed down the east side of the mountain and after a small boot glissade on a snow patch we were soon back at the pass.

Looking south with Iron Peak on the right.

In 20 minutes we were on the summit of Iron looking back at what we just did on Teanaway.

On the summit of Iron Peak.

Looking back at Teanaway Peak.

Thank you Adam and Dane for a great day with the opportunity for me to learn a bit more and to continue to mold a couple of friendships.

4th of July on Bedal Peak

2009-07-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Full set of photos can be found here.

Most holidays I'm able to join my buddys in the mountains for a hike of epic proportions. This holiday was no exception! Alexie's idea was Bedal Peak, located northeast of Seattle about 2 hours away.
Our hiking group consisted of Alexie, Greg, Adam, Brent and myself. We started on the trail at 8:50 am and quickly were dealing with some very thick forest that covered the sun filled sky. The trail is not "maintained" and is what we would call a "boot path".
Our route meandered through the woods and greadually led up into the snow.

Soon we found ourselves in a snowy wonderland with the summit of Bedal Peak far above.

We crossed some exposed granite slabs and made our way up the the eastern ridge.

Adam at this point was leading as we crossed a steep snowfield. We had our ice axes at the ready as we were prepared for a possible slip on the snow and needed to self arrest. We carefully crossed and found a few chunks of rock top scramble up. He and I donned our helmets and headed up the rock. The other guys opted to take the slightly longer and snow covered route. We approached the snow free summit block and we carefully made our way up to the top.

Once on the summit the views were spectacular!!!!!

We headed back down from the summit and took advantage of some good snow conditions and got in some really good glissades.

Was a fabulous day this was. A wonderful holiday with great friends. This is a summit that I would like to visit again and soak in the views again. Oh, from this summit there were a few volcanoes in view including the below shot of Glacier Peak.

A visit to Michigan

2009-07-02T11:04:00.001-07:00

Recently I joined my sister and niece on a visit to our hometown of Holland, Michigan. We caught the red-eye out of Seattle and arrived in Grand Rapids at 9:00am local time. After getting the rental car we headed to our parents house. On the way I called my friend Emily and found out that during a really bad storm the night before her sump pump in her home was not running correctly. So after dropping off my sister and niece I was headed to Emily's to play a weary-eyed handyman.
Later I visited another friend before heading back to my parent's house having been awake for the last 36 hours.
For dinner we were joined by our sister Kristin and her family which was really nice.
Father's Day came and my Dad's sisters and parents came over for the afternoon. It was nice to see them all. I hadn't seen my Aunt Mary in several years and we were able to get caught up. My Aunt Lori and I chatted along with my Grandparents. It turns out that my Grandfather and I have a few tv shows in common that we really enjoy, Deadliest Catch being one of them. I was able to tell him that I had been on the F/V Northwestern and had met some of the crew. His face lit up when I told him too, it was really cool. Grandma has dealt with health issues in recent years and it was good to see her in good spirits and relatively good health too.

Monday evening was dinner with extended family who live around the Grand Haven area which is about 30 miles north of Holland. We met up at Red Robin and had a festive time getting caught up with each others lives. The poor waitress had her hands full with several adults and more kids, but she did really good though.

The days are starting to blend together now but I did get a chance to see a few long time friends a few times too. I met my friend Andie for coffee one day and dinner another day too. We've been friends since I was in 9th grade and have kept in some contact over the years.
I also got to visit my friend Brad and his wonderful wife Jennifer. Brad and I have been friends since homeroom in 7th grade. Over the years we became good friends and spent some good times together. I was honored to be asked to stand up in their wedding and will never forget that wonderful day and the privilege of being a part of it too. Six years ago while on a mission trip with his church Brad had an accident which has him in a wheelchair now. He had been rushed to a hospital in Iowa City and when I found out I was able to get down there from Minneapolis and visit him on 3 separate occasions. I'm glad that I was able to be there for him and to have the ability to visit him like I did. Since then whenever I go back home I make sure that I visit he and his family. Everytime I see him he's in great spirits and I always look forward to visiting with them.

One evening my sister and I went to the beach where we spent many years growing up and walked out onto the pier. The memories that came rushing back as we walked around the beach and between the cottages that are only feet from the sandy shores of the lake.
On Wednesday I spent the day with my friend Emily and her wonderful daughter Allison. Emily and I have been friends since the 1st grade and we've always had a good friendship. We all had a really fun day which included running a few errands for them, lunch, mini golf and a stop for ice cream.I want to thank Emily and Allison for a memorable day.

That evening was dinner with my parents as we had to head out early in the morning to fly back to Seattle. As I get older the meaning of family and friends is more defined for me and is something that I hold very close to me.
To all of my family and friends, thank you for always being there for me and I hope that I've been able to do the same for you all. Until my next visit to Michigan.........

Sperry Peak June 30, 2009

2009-07-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Full set of picture are here.

With adventure on our minds, Dane and I set out for the Mt Loop Hwy. Our plans included summiting Sperry and Vesper.
We got to the trailhead and were on the trail by 8:00am. The first part was pretty easy going, a bit steep in a few spots but a good trail though. The crossing of the Stilly was a bit percarious as it was a few small branches with a 7" diameter log on top of them. We quickly found ourselves in the open air looking up the snow covered basin towards Morning Star Peak.

We headed towards Headlee Pass with the sun in our faces. We headed up the steep gully and were glad that we had our crampons and axes with us.

Near the top the snow was gone and we still had to use our tools as the terrain was really steep and non forgiving. At the top we kind of wondered if we were actually on Headlee Pass. After removing our crampons and taking a short break we headed down the backside and soon found the trail as it led towards the lake below the peaks. This further made us question our "Pass".
Made good time getting to the lake and decided to head up to the more difficult summit of Sperry first and Vesper 2nd.
Vesper was really pretty covered with snow.

We made our way up the slab rock behind the lake as snow melted and made little streams through the rock. My route up did not anticipate a return trip down as we planned on taking the ridge to Vesper.
Oh, forgot to mention that I had forgotten my ax at the top of the pass and therefore would be handicapped for the remainder of our route to the summits, d'oh.
As we got further up and traversed some rocky sections we realized that a ridge traverse to Vesper was not in our best interest and then thoughts of returning down the slabs to the lake started to occupy my mind. At that point my anxiety started to climb as we gaind more elevation. When we reached the ridge below Sperry I informed that I was done for the day. My anxiety was getting the better of me and I was not eager to climb up to Sperry.
I mentioned to Dane that I did not want to keep him from a summit attempt and that I'd wait for him where we were. We set a turn around time for him as we relaxed. After about 20 minutes I told him that I wanted to reconsider my decision to summit Sperry, but I would leave my pack behind as it makes me feel top heavy and unstable due to it's size and design. He was happy with my choice and offered to carry my DSLR in his pack so I could get summit shots.
We headed up and took advantage of many veggie belays along the way. Before we knew it we were at the summit block and Dane took to the summit first as I stood on the false summit and snapped some photos.

We hung out on the summit for a bit and soaked in the views and some food that he brought up.

Ah the views!!!!!

We headed back down to my pack and went down the the slabby section above the lake that I had dreaded returning to. Much to my surprise I felt rather comfortable heading back down it as it was much wetter from increased snowmelt during the day. I realized that when I'm on a regular trail I don't think very much about my foot placement or holding on to anything. While on this section I was very deliberate with my foot placement and looking for good handholds. By taking things literally one step at a time I felt calm and comfortable and descended safely.
We returned to the lake and got a few shots as we took another short break.

We knew earlier that an attempt of Vesper would be another day as the day was getting away from us.
We returned to the trail and near Headlee Pass I ran to the other spot and retrieved my ax. Turned out that we were one gully away from the Headlee gully.

We donned our crampons and axes and started to descend from the pass.
As we started Dane stopped about 10 feet down and when he moved again he slipped and started going down. All I could do was watch helplessly as he slid over some exposed rocks before arresting himself. With shaken nerves and slightly sore elbow he was good to go after a few minutes. It spooked the crap out of me since I knew the feeling after my quick trip down Baring a few years ago. Getting himself ready to descend again he slipped and arrested very quickly. Cursing the pass he opted to downclimb the pass instead. It was slow going but safer for him. He got to a safe spot about 40 feet down and hid behind a tree as I headed down in the same manner. After about 30' down I opted to plunge step instead as I felt safer doing that with the soft snow. Finally after a little extra time we made it off the snow and at the bottom of the gully. We gave Headlee Pass the bird and continued along our way.
We got a few nice glissade runs in as we descended through the basin to the trail.
We returned to the car after an 11.5 hour adventure.
We are anxious to attempt Vesper but would rather for wait until Headlee Pass thaws out.
As I slowly push myself and improve on my skills I'm learning to accept and know my limits. Knowing when to stop and calm myself down made all the difference for me on this trip. I'm fortunate that I have friends that accept and respect my limits and help me to be a better hiker and take the time to help me when I need it, thank you Dane and to all the moron hikers that I take to the trails with!!

Fortune and South Ingalls Peaks

2009-06-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

Full set of pictures is HERE.
While I spent Sunday night and Monday at Red Top LO, Dane came up with a few ideas for us for Tuesday’s hike. One idea was Fortune Peak with a possible side trip to S. Ingalls. We decided that would be a great trip and on Tuesday morning I picked him up at 6:15. By 8:30 we were at the TH putting our boots on and getting ready for the journey ahead.

We opted to make a loop out of it and took a right at the Longs Pass junction shortly after the trail started. After a bit of time we encountered some snow but we were able to stay mostly on track with the buried trail. Somewhere we lost the next junction but we knew that we were doing alright and were heading north towards Ingalls Pass. By 11:00 I think it was we were at Ingalls Pass with Stuart staring us in the face.

Down below we saw an empty camp with 3 tents sitting on a dry slab of rock. Not being too certain of the snow conditions we sported our crampons and axes and descended into the basin. We did try to stay high and traverse our way around to a route we spied up to S. Ingalls. We decided on a south slope ascent rather than increase our distance and hike the saddle between the two Ingalls summits. We passed two other day hikers who had already made the summit and they told us that the snow for the most part was fairly soft. We decided to keep our crampons on and headed up towards the summit. With axes at the ready we started up the steep slope to the ridgeline. The higher we got the steeper the slope became. Self belay found itself to be rather helpful a few times for us as the snow consistency changed.
Finally we made the ridge and we were staring at the southern approach to S. Ingalls.

We dropped our packs, grabbed Clif bars and our cameras and we set off for the summit. The first part of the ascent was rather easy as it was just on some loose rocks and talus. Within short time we were at the base of the massive summit block.
With Dane helping to eye the route I headed up the scrambly rocks and took my time and had a good time. Now, I’m not a big fan of exposure or crazy scrambling routes, but I found this first section to be pretty good. I got up to a decent spot to stop and Dane quickly joined me. We continued in this manner all the way to the summit where the views were spectacular!!! Oh yeah, I checked the route from the north and it was significantly easier, or so it looked. We took in the views of Stuart and the other peaks in the area, had our small snack and snapped some photos.

I was a bit nervous about our descent as it’s always easier to go up than down. This time Dane would lead and help me from below. I spied a slot route just below the summit that we decided would be better than our route up so he started downward. With the exception of one tricky spot, this route was pretty good and enjoyable.
We rejoined our packs and eyed a route to Fortune just below the ridgeline. Dane led the way as we crossed a snowfield heading towards some rock.

I felt more comfortable on the snow rather than the rock, but I followed Dane’s lead. This route was not as straightforward as Ingalls was, and it was a bit trickier too. As we pressed onward we were in constant contact and he was checking to see how I was doing and how my comfort level was at. I could have turned around at any point I knew, but I wanted to push myself and my limits a bit, but not too much, the punishment for to much risk was too great. There was one spot that made me want to chuck my pack down the mountain due to its cozy nature as I had to half crawl under a rock. At that point I knew that turning around would not be an option and that if I had to bail it would be straight down towards the snowfield.
*Note to self, smaller and lighter pack for this kind of stuff in the future*
After a few nerve wracking moments we were done with this section and we got back onto the ridge and made it to the summit of Fortune. I couldn’t believe our route here and how short it looked but how long it felt.

We snacked and snapped more photos and just relaxed for a bit. Dane almost fell asleep and I just chilled.

We had considered descending the west ridge but decided to head down the south ridge instead. The first section was easy through some short trees and talus /scree. We found ourselves on the ridge with an awesome looking glissade below us. Dane headed down first and got a fairly long run in. With his camera rolling I headed down next. Wow!!! That was a fast run down. The first section of 5 feet was steep and the rest was steep too, but not quite as much. I joined Dane in the run out and he asked how long I thought it would take us to hike back up for another run!!!!! We were exhausted!!! WTF Dane???? W did head back up and this time I went down first. I got to my pack and took some photos as Dane headed down. With his camera in one hand he was all over the place, it was funny to watch!!!
Wet and chilly we continued our hike down and found a talus/scree slope to take down to the trail in the Esmeralda Basin. Quickly the route got a bit hairy as avalanches had ripped the slope apart. Cliffs sprang up and we’d have to quickly change course.

Finally we made it to the trail where we took a break and begged for the car to appear. With fatigue setting in we lumbered down the last 2 miles of trail and 900’ of elevation descent until we saw the happy sight of the parking lot and my car. 8.5 hours and almost 4000’ of gain later we had two awesome summits under our belts and a 2 hour drive back to Seattle. Dane snored half the way back home and I tried to drown out the noise with my stereo.
What a great day to push myself and tag a couple great summits with a friend.

Bat N' Rouge 2009

2009-06-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

This was the wildest game of softball that I've ever seen. Every year on Capitol Hill the Gay community kicks off their Pride celebration with this game. The Dykes do battle with the Drag Queens for supremecy. I have not had this much fun in a while.
The Dykes came prepared with their Flannel shirts, mullets and some even had their toolbelts with them.

And the Queens, well they are Queens through and through.

The rules of the game are simple. The first inning is played by standard rules. The second inning has, well, no rules. Being a fund raiser, one can donate money during the even number innings and they can buy strikes or balls, base hits, outs or even home runs. You can also have a batter hit with a crooked bat, hit from their knees, runner can be told to run backwards, skip, or even crawl.
For another rate one can pay to have two Dykes wrestle between innings on the infield.

There was an appearance by the Knights of Malta who donated money to the Capitol Hill Alano Club, who the fund raiser was for.

The Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence was in charge of selling raffle tickets.

At one point a Queen was given a Dyke make over complete with a mullet, toolbelt and even a backpack, oh yeah, and her very own flannel shirt too!

One Dyke was so smitten by the new Dyke that she even proposed to her.

Sadly for the real Dyke she was turned down....

With Dyke names like: Amanda Wreckin With, Trailer Trash, Boobs, and Queens with names like: Victoria's Secretion, Miss Peaches, and Skipper how could anybody not laugh their butts off.
Years ago I would have never expected to see myself at an event such as this, much less enjoy myself, but I'm finding that I'm really enjoying living on Capitol Hill and all of the floavor that it has to offer. I won't be adjusting my sexual preference at all, but this neighborhood is helping to open my eyes up to so much in life and helping me enjoy life so much more than I have in the past.
To see plenty more pictures on my Flickr page go HERE

A hike with friends

2009-06-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been on a good hike in quite a while and I was getting restless. I called Adam and Dane and we headed out to Putrid Pete's Peak off I-90. The trail is not maintained but does get quite a bit of use. Most refer to it as a boot path. The route was snow free and straight forward. We made it to the summit in good time and safely.

From there we traversed the ridge connecting to Mt Defiance to our east.

WE encountered a bit of snow but managed quite well and didn't fall at all. The last bit of the ridge was a bit tricky and through some thick trees but we were soon rewarded with the open summit and more views to gaze our eyes upon, complete with thawing lakes far below.

We headed down after about 30 minutes on the summit and had a somewhat tricky descent through some snow in the trees. We made it down to the main trail safely and headed down to Mason Lake which sits below Bandera Peak.

I don't know the stats for this trip, but it was long but a lot of fun with close to 4000' of elevation gain I believe.

Photos from the ballpark

2009-06-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have hundreds of photos that I've taken while attending a Mariners game at Safeco Field but I've never taken any like these before.

Not so lucky bamboo plant

2009-06-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

I awoke today and walked into my living room and saw carnage on the floor from a 4 year old Lucky Bamboo plant all over the floor. Those who are aware know that these plants grow very slowly and take patience. This plant was about 18" tall but has been reduced to a stub no thanks to my cat Charlie. He chomped on all but one of the leaves, bad kitty!! I guess that's what i get for moving his climbing tree from it's usual spot in front of the picture window.......
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Getting ready for the game

2009-06-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

I got a call from a friend the other week inviting me to the Mariners vs Baltimore. Of course i had to say yes to the invite.
Baseball is something that has brought me closer to my sister and niece. We have not missed an opening day at Safeco Field in four years and don't on missing one any time soon.
The only game where my loyalties are torn is when the Detroit Tigers come into town. I grew up cheering for the Tigers back when Sparky Anderson was the manager. Sadly i never got to go to a game at Tiger Stadium.
The game of baseball will always be in my heart.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Times change, but vigils never stop

2009-06-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

With Washington Mutual now down for the count, Chase is slowly becoming the new face at bank branches around Seattle. It is unfortunate that an icon in the region has gone under and is being taken over by what some have described as a "soul-less excuse for a bank"

In a short period of time they have taken away the small town feel of a bank and replaced it with a cold-hearted feel that pays substantially less for interest bearing accounts. I've read numerous accounts of people who banked with WaMu and will be closing their Chase accounts in favor of a credit union instead. With what I've heard, I would do the same thing.

On another note, yesterday I was relaxing at Cal Anderson Park when I noticed a group of people start to gather. When I asked what was going on I was told that there will be a vigil for Dr. Tiller, the abortion doctor who was killed while at church. In a short period of time there were a few hundred people gathered to remember this man.

Please understand, I am not pro-abortion, but I am pro-choice. I do not believe that abortion is the answer to irresponsibility or poor decision making. I do believe that there are circumstances where an abortion would be justified, such as rape or incest. At the vigil a woman spoke who had been raped years ago. She hid her pregnancy out of shame and finally decided to have an abortion. She found her way to Kansas and to the care of Dr. Tiller. She shared how he and his staff were kind, caring and loving towards her. They did not pressure her into the procedure, but rather talked with her and helped her determine if the choice she was making was what she truly wanted.
I believe that people have the right to oppose abortion, as long as they do not impede or harm those who perform the procedure or those who may get one, or who are just looking for information. Not all women who walk into an abortion clinic, or Planned Parenthood are getting an abortion, but many times they are being treated as though they are by the protesters who frequently hang around outside the offices.
To the family and friends of Dr. Tiller, I send my condolences for your loss. To those who oppose his work, there is a time and a place to make your voice heard and a place of worship is not that place.

Bored at work for a minute

2009-05-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

After taking a minute to set up mobile blogging i thought i'd give it a shot.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Prop 8 sucks

2009-05-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

For those who do not know what this is, here you go. Proposition 8 was on the ballot in Nov 2008 in California and it in effect, would ban same sex marriages. Unfortunately it passed. Well recently a case was brought before the California Supreme Court and challenged the passing of Prop 8.
On Tuesday the high court handed down it's decision and it upheld the ban.
Around 5:00pm that day I was walking around Capitol Hill and I saw a poster on a telephone pole mentioning a rally that would take place at 5:30pm on the day of the court's decision. When I realized that that was the day I knew that I wanted to head down and support the LGBT community. Capitol Hill (my neighborhood) has a large percentage of gay people living in it. I have never felt threatened, targeted, or that a gay man would try and "convert" me to their way of life. I know a lot of gay men and women and I consider them to be no different from "straight" people. There are also a lot of people that I know at work who are gay and they treat me no differently than anybody else. I believe that they should have the same rights that I am entitled to, including being able to marry whom ever they please.
When I arrived at Westlake there were a few hundred people gathering including mounted police, bicycle police, local news media and even a helicopter not far above.

As 5:30 approached the crowd got larger and despite the court's decision, the mood was festive (in my opinion). People were there with flyers telling others how they can get more involve and some carried signs.

Local politicians spoke to the crowd and told us that the fight is not over! Washington passed a law recently that basically affords the rights to same sex couples except marriage.

This law needs to be changed to include marriage. How can people be afforded 95% of their rights as citizens of this country but not all 100% because of who they choose to be with, in my opinion that's not right.

I will continue to support the rights of all people because that is what I feel is right. I am not a gay man, ask any woman I've dated and they will tell you the same thing, but why should a gay person be deprived of the same rights that I can have. They pay taxes like I do, they live in the same neighborhood that I do, and to be honest, a lot of them are a lot nicer than a lot of straight people that I've come across in life.

NW Folklife 2009

2009-05-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day Weekend every year the Seattle Center plays host to one of the largest free festivals on the west coast. Folklife attracts all kinds of people to the four day event. There is plenty of music for almost every kind of music lover out there and arts and crafts to help deplete your wallet. If they don't empty you of cash there is also food from most corners of the globe that will tempt your palette and savings account. Mostly I enjoyed the people watching though. Here's a link to my whole photo set on Flickr.

Island Biking

2009-05-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Last week on a day when I got out of training early I grabbed my bike and hopped on the ferry and headed over to Bainbridge Island to take in the sights and sounds. Overall I rode 16 miles with about 1200' of elevation gain. Talk about a very pretty island with lots of hills!! One road was called Toe Jam Hill Road and it was steep.
I did manage to see some wildlife, including a Harbor Seal, male and femal Bald Eagles, Great Blue Heron, jumping fish, to mention a few.
A full set of photos is here.

A wonderful evening of music

2009-05-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

Years ago while I was still living in Minneapolis and Napster was a free site I found out about a band named "Sunny Day Real Estate". Unfortunately for me I didn't find out about them until it was too late, they had already broken up. I really enjoyed their music and often found myself listening to it.
I moved to Seattle in July 2003 and found a job working for a landscape company. A co-worker and I were talking about music and I mentioned Sunny Day to him. He of course having grown up here in Seattle had heard of them. He informed me that Jeremy Enigk, SDRE's front man had a solo career and had started a new band. "The Fire Theft" Rich set me up with a copy of Jeremy's first solo album and I was hooked, as well was I with the album by The Fire Theft.
As time went on I got a new job and I slowly got disconnected from new music. Fast forward to present day, I'm living in the city and very close to the heart of the music venues on Capitol Hill. One evening I was walking around and I was looking at the concert bills on the telephone poles and much to my surprise and delight, Jeremy Enigk is releasing a new solo record and he has a show at Neumos in a week!!! At the first chance I had I got my ticket! I wasn't going to miss this show, I've missed a lot of good shows in the past and have kicked myself as a result, especially since some of those musicians are now gone (ie. Kurt Cobain)
So the night of the show arrives and I get to Neumos early and listen to the 2 opening acts who were both good bands. For our listening delight Jeremy has collected the talents of 15 orchestral musicians and they were going to back him for tonight's show, very cool!!! There was a stand up bass, a couple cellists, about half dozen violinists, some clarinets, and a few french horns. In the middle of the stage were two acoustic guitars and a piano for Jeremy to dazzle us with. I've never seen what Jeremy looked like but my fellow fans sure did and the crowd went wild when he took to the stage. After almost 10 years a dream of mine was about to come true, hearing Jeremy's unmistakable voice live.

His voice is both powerful and melodic. Over the next hour or so he entertained us with songs from his solo career and Sunny Day Real Estate. The orchestra played beautifully behind him. As the show went on the room got very warm but nobody seemed to notice or care and we were being treated to one of the best musicians that Seattle has ever put out. At one point he hinted towards the rumors that SDRE was going to play again, that sent the crowd into a small frenzy. All I can say is that I really hope that happens, what a treat that would be for me.
Jeremy alternated between his guitar and piano as he gave us his musical candy. His first solo album includes a piano driven song called "Shade and the Black Hat" which he played in such a spectacular manner that after he finished the song there was silence for a moment before the crowd went crazy with cheers, clapping and just plain euphoria. After a short break he came back for an encore. First he played a song on his guitar without the orchestra, at that moment I felt that I was witnessing a genius on the stage. He finished the night with one last song with the strings and waved to the crowd and disappeared offstage. During the show he frequently interacted with the crowd as he was tuning his guitar, complimented the strings for making him sound good and just genuinely seemed to enjoy being on the stage and playing music for us to enjoy.

This was by far the most memorable show that I've ever been to and I'm so glad that I was able to go and hear some music that I've been listening to for 10 years. If it turns out that Sunny Day Real Estate does get back together for a show I will get in line for my ticket as soon as I can.

New 50mm lens

2009-05-07T11:13:00.001-07:00

For a while now I've wanted to get a 50mm lens but couldn't spare the money for one. A few months ago I bought a 17-85IS USM and no longer used my 18-55 or 28-105 USM lenses. So I decided to trade those two in for the 50mm. Lucky for me I got an even trade at the store and I was off with a new lens in my arsenal. With an aperature up to 1.8 I could finally get to have some fun with a shallow depth of field, woohoo!!
I have a lot to learn with this new lens, but I'm eager to take the time and see what I can do with it.

Oh yeah, I also bought a set of close up filters too :-)

Weekend starts with a snap

2009-05-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

My weekend started prompty at 6:30pm on Sunday and I quickly left work with my camera in hand. Here is my offering for the day.

A view of the sound from a seating area at Pike Place Market

Empty counters after the market closed

If I could have taken this puppy home with me I would have

Almost home

Flowers and night scenery

2009-05-03T12:19:00.001-07:00

Living in the city has afforded me the opportunity to get out more and enjoy the world around me. With so much to see the possibilities are nearly endless.
Saturday on my walk home from work I passed through Freeway Park and enjoyed some of the many pretty flowers that are growing.

As I got home the rain started in ernest so I settled down with some dinner and a movie. After about an hour I looked outside and noticed that the rain had subsided so I decided to grab my camera once more and walk around the hill for a bit and see if anything caught my attention. The full set of this journey is here.

Minus tides and a camera

2009-04-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Every few months we get minus tides in Puget Sound. What is a minus tide you might ask? Good question, and I will try to answer it the est that I can. The water level in the oceans is measured in feet. The mean level of the water is said to be at zero feet. High tides around here can be up to 12' and a low tide could "normally" be down to 1-2'. Every few months the lunar gravity pulls more water away from our area then causing a low tide to get down to -2.5' When this happens a lot of sea life can get stranded in a tide pool making for some great discoveries for man and animals.

Here is a look at the minus tide at Alki Beach in West Seattle

I spent many hours on Monday at Alki Beach just wandering around and taking in the sights. In my wanderings I came across a pair of Bald Eagles.

On Tuesday I spent even more time at Discovery Park. I had never seen the tide so low here before and I was very impressed. After looking for something along a bluff way and not finding it (it was a memory from months ago) I ventured out onto the tide flats and enjoyed the beautiful day and looking forward to the things I might see.

I came upon a Blue Heron fishing in a tide pool.

I finally left the Heron and walked along until I came upon some rocks that were sure to have some sea life hiding amongst them. I was not disappointed either.

There were other things too, but I don't want to make anybody lose their lunch.
The minus tides are always a hit with Seattleites and tourists alike. Both days that I enjoyed I saw a few different groups of school kids on a field trip learning about the sea life that we are lucky enough to have so close to home.

More time with my camera

2009-04-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

With some crazy stuff going on in my life I decided to grab my camera and head north yesterday to Mount Vernon, WA and check out the tulips. Unlike my hometown, these tulips do not line the roads or adorn the community, these are planted in rows in the fields outside of town. It's not like being back home, but it's close enough, I guess.
My first stop was at a daffodil field.

Then I headed down the road to see some tulips.

.....and like the doog Dutch Boy that I am, I took a pic of myself with the tulips.

After returning home I headed down to the waterfront and spent some time at the Olympic Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle.

Not much for words, but photos

2009-04-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks haven't been the greatest. With the exception of the Mariner's home opener with my sister, it's been kind of rough lately. So with that I'll just let you enjoy these photos.

Ancient Lake, March 30-31

2009-04-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

It had been 6 months since I had been on an overnight backpack trip and I was growing anxious to say the least. Wanting to not get buried by new snow falling in the mountains, my friend Tony and I headed to the dry side of Washington and found ourselves at Ancient Lake. The area actually has 4 lakes, so I'm not so sure about the name of the lake only acknowledging one of them.....
The sky was a bit hazy but the temps were in the low 60's when we took to the trail.
A full set of photos can be found here.

This area will only see me in the spring because in the summer it gets too hot around and there are rattlesnakes, and I despise snakes!!!! Tony doesn't like them either.

Basalt brought in from many years ago paint the horizon around here in almost every direction.

The water in the lakes is not very safe to drink as it is mostly irrigation runoff from the many local farms where they grow apples, alfalfa, corn and raise cattle. It still makes for a pretty scenic oasis in the desert climate out here.

On the eastern most lake is a pretty waterfall that comes in from the fields. Due to the pesticide and fertilizer in the water, there is a lot of algae growing on the rocks in and around the falls.

He headed above the falls to find another fall and an abandoned mine shaft.

On our way back I made a new friend.

I met the sunny side of a porcupine too.

AFter our return and a short nap I explored above our camp and got a few decent shots.

And for the last shot of the trip as my battery died.

Evening photography

2009-03-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Last night I got home and decided that I would head out and take some photos of the Aurora Ave and the Freemont Bridges. I headed into downtown and took the 17 bus along Westlake and was quickly at the Aurora Bridge. Along the waterfront there is a nice collection of houseboats that have a parking area which offers a few great views of the bridge.

I found a dock down the road that offered me a really nice angle on the Freemont Drawbridge.

I got a really nice surprise when I heard a horn call from a sailboat that requests that the bridge tender opens the bridge so he can pass through. The result of that bridge opening is one of my new favorite pictures.

I waited around hoping to get another bridge opening to photograph. Much to my delight, after about a 20 minute wait my wish came true!!!

After that shot I headed up to the street level in hopes of getting another opening. I didn't get another one but I was able to get some nice car trail shots though.

Back down to water level I looked up at the Aurora Bridge and saw what I had hoped would be a good shot.

Heading back to the Freemont Bridge I got another opening, but knowing that I couldn't make it to street level in time I quickly set up my gear again and got this shot.

So I ended up getting the shots I had hoped for along with a few really nice ones that I hadn't planned on. Mark this down as another successful day with my camera.

My name is Bryan James Kraai

2009-03-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

I am 35 years old and I live in Seattle, WA. I was born November 13, 1973 at Zeeland Community Hospital in Michigan. My older sister Lisa, was 3 years old when I came along. At the age of 6, my parents divorced and my Dad remarried. Sue was to be my stop-mom but I soon referred to her as Mom. She had 3 daughters and a son Michael. Though I never got to know Michael, I got to know my step-sisters very well over the years. The girls were 4 years apart from each other and they all took their turn looking out for me as my sister Lisa was living with extended family in Maryland.
I had a lot of anger as a child and never really learned how to manage or deal with it, not for a lack of trying on my parents behalf. There was some turmoil in the home as I grew up and I sought the support of my sisters as the years went by.
When I was 18 I moved away from Michigan to Minneapolis to try and turn my life around. It was at that time that I stopped drinking alcohol and doing the drugs that I had gotten myself into. While in Minneapolis I learned a lot about life and how to live like an adult. I didn't always live like an adult though, I made many mistakes that kids make in life but I made some of them in my 20's. Some of my decisions left me homeless and living on the streets withouth a penny to my name. I don't blame anybody but myself for the circumstances that lead to that situation. After starting over I began to get a better grip on things and got a decent job, met a wonderful woman and started to live a life that I had wanted. We had gotten engaged and were looking forward to getting married. I started to not take the best of care of myself and that realationship ended and about a year later I decided that it was time to leave Minneapolis and join my sister Lisa and niece Summer in not so sunny Seattle, WA.
I found work and quickly went through a few jobs before I started to settle down and look to the sun again, so to speak. While in Minneapolis I had taken a few college courses but never got my degree. Since I've been in Seattle my life has changed dramatically, especially in the last 6 months. I have been criticized by my lack of a college degree, not having a "career" but a "job", my appearance, or at least the way that I dress, some don't think that they could have an intelectual conversation with me. My life is not very dramatic, I try to keep a level head and not get too caught up in the drama of life. I have learned methods of dealing with my anger and realize that I don't have the time for it. I have loved, and I have lost that love, not for a lack of effort on my part. I love photography, hiking and exploring what the mountains of the Pacific Northwest have to offer. I've never traveled abroad. I find that there is plenty to discover here and don't have much interest in life outside of the states for the most part. Maybe someday I will go overseas, just not right now.
With all of the help from many people in my life I believe that I am a good person, generous, caring and try to treat people the best way that I can. Most of the women that I've dated over the years tell me that I'm a good person and to not let go of what makes me who I am.
I work a blue collar job and wear jeans and t-shirts almost everyday of the week and I'm ok with that.
This is me and who I am. I haven't had a drink of alcohol in over 17 years now and that is something that I am truly grateful for. I have a great life today and I am proud of the man that I've become and look forward to sharing who I am with somebody special.
One might ask why I am now writing this and what may have prompted it. To answer that question I will just say that it is because of the last 6 months, the people who I have met and the conversations that I've had and the experiences that I've been through. To those who have been there to help and support me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
So that is me, or at least in a nutshell....... :-)

My neighborhood

2009-03-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Lori asked that I take some pictures of my new neighborhood so that she could get an idea of where I lived and the daily life that goes on in and around it. So Lori, this posting is for you, enjoy the pictures!!

The complete and ongoing set can be found here.

My new apartment

2009-03-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am very happy to finally be living in Seattle and being closer to work and friends!!! Most of my move has been completed with the help of a few of my great friends. I showed up at my new place on Monday with a carload of stuff and a lease to sign. After getting the formalities out of the way I started lugging my stuff up the stairs. I live on the fifth floor, but lucky for me, the building is on a hill and the rear entrance is about 3.5 floors up, so that left only a flight and a half of stairs.
At the suggestion of my aunt, I took some pictures with my place mostly empty of my stuff. After I brought up a small dresser I realized that I had forgotten to snap a few photos.

Here's the living room:

Dining area

Kitchen

Bathroom

Bedroom

The bedroom is quite a bit smaller than my last one, but I'll take it along with the nice large living room. The view is also really nice. I get to look out towards the east side of Queen Anne Hill and I get a small view of the Aurora Bridge. In the summer I should be able to see the sun as it approaches it's setting time. Even though I'm on the north side of the building, this place does get some good lighting with the large (12' wide) window in the living room. Lucky for me I'm on the top floor, so no neighbors above me :-)
I'm about a 20 minute walk from work and very close to a couple of coffee shops, grocery stores, bookstores, views of the Space Needle and the Olympic Mountain Range. I am bummed though that I'm further away from my sister and niece. For over five years I have lived within a mile of them and have always been able to stop over pretty much whenever, but not so much anymore. Currently I have to park my car on the street which is difficult to find a parking spot in the evening. I'm on the waiting list for a paid off-street spot, but I don't know how long it will take to get one of those as they are in short supply and high demand.
Overall though I am very happy with my choice. I've been wanting to live in the city for quite a while now and it was about time I take some action.
As suggested, I will post more pictures soon showing the progress of getting settled in and making this apartment my home.
Oh, my cats had an interesting first night in the new place too, but they are adjusting and slowly warming up to the idea of a new home that does not include a deck for them to play on.

Photos of an old homestead

2009-03-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

On our way to Umtanum Creek Falls on Monday, Gil and I stopped at an old abandoned farmhouse along the road. I found myself being really fascinated by this old home. Gil had mentioned thinking about what kind of memories the family had while living in this place. That too got me thinking, this isn't just an old house, but somebody home. This could be the home of some of somebodies most fond memories, or it could house their most horrific ones, who know.
I find that the older I get the more I'm interested in older building. Whether it's old buildings at Fort Lawton which is in Discovery Park, or Northern State Hospital near Sedro Wooley. Every old building/home has it's own story to tell. Inevitably most old building fall victim to vandalism and lose some of their luster, but there's always something to see if I just take the time and look for it.
So anyway, as my photography advances I hope that I'm able to convey some of what I see in person to the photos that I share. Enjoy.
Full set of pictures are here.

What a day

2009-03-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

Today started out on kind of a sad note. I realized that I had to say goodbye to somebody who in a very short period of time, had became a big part of my life. This had been coming on for a little bit of time now, but I kept wanting to put it off out of fear of letting go. They had made their decision the other day, but I had to make it too. I said goodbye the best way that I could even though it was very hard for me.
As the day went on, it slowly got a bit better.
This evening I was chatting on Facebook with somebody who I've known for 20 years and haven't seen in about 15 years. Years ago this person moved away from home for college and came to a school in Minneapolis where I was living. They went to school there because of me. While they were there I was not the greatest friend that I could have been. While we were chatting they told me that I saved their life. I said thank you for them considering me somebody who saved their life. They replied by telling me that I wasn't just somebody, I was THE person who saved their life. What an honor and a blessing to hear something so powerful.
So to my friend, I would like to say thank you for being such a wonderful person, being my friend through all of these years and for warming my heart so much on this day.

Hunting waterfalls with friends

2009-03-04T11:17:00.001-08:00

On Monday Gil and I drove east to hike to Umtanum Creek Falls. What a beautiful area this time of year. Very little snow and views almost as far as the eye can see. The land is rolling and the sky is big, not as big as Montana though, haha

Up on the ridge the ground was very soft and mushy. Don't stop for long else you may get sucked into the ground like the dinosaurs in the tar pits!! The views were spectacular and very expansive. We found a wonderful rock outcropping and stopped there for some views on the canyon.

After our break we dropped down into the canyon and followed the creek to the falls.

On Tuesday Tony and I didn't have a lot of time so we made the short drive to North Bend to check out a few waterfalls over there. Most of my pictures did not turn out very good :( If I had better Photoshop skills I could probably salvage a few more, but I don't have that kind of time or the patience to learn what I would need to at this point. So here is my meager offering from 4 hours of waterfall shooting.

What other's think of me

2009-02-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

Lately I've found myself being a bit more concerned of what people think of me than usual. For the most part I'm not too overly concerned about other's thoughts of me. I do try to live my life in a way that hopefully leaves people with pleasant thoughts of me, or at least not terrible thoughts.
When I make decisions that are in my best interest, I shouldn't be too concerned how other's may feel about those choices I make, after all it's my life. I think though that these thoughts I have are the fact that I've made some desicions that I'm not completely comfortable with. They were the right things for me to do, but I'm not completely in a place where I can see the end result yet. I know that in time I will see that I did the right thing. I try not to hurt people around me, especially those who I care about the most, but sometimes that still happens. Basically I don't want to be seen as the "bad guy".
I recently found an apartment that I really like in Seattle. It has a wonderful view looking to the north and has a very large window in the living room. The location is great!! It's located not too far from work and there are a lot of cool things nearby, ranging from unique coffee shops, nightlife, easy access to the highway, and friends. I've been wanting to live in the city for a number of years but never have the guts to move accross the lake. The one major drawback of this move will be living further from my sister and niece who have been a very large part of my life since I moved here 5 1/2 years ago. I'm going to try and visit on a regular basis as much as I can. I know that they are both happy for me and know that I have not been happy in Kirkland for a few years now, but I can't help to feel a bit badly for moving away from them.
Other desicions I've made in recent months have been publicized enough that I don't need to rehash those again, but I'm still having a tough time with one in particular.
I know that I am living a good life and I've been raised to be a good person and for the most part I believe that I'm having a positive affect on those around me and that most have positive thoughts of me. So much has changed in my life in the last 6 months. There have been some amazing learning experiences and just plain old wonderful moments in there too. I look forward to seeing what's in store for me as life goes on.
Here's a few pics I recently took, including the view from my new apartment which I move into on March 9, 2009.

Twin Falls

2009-02-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

On Monday I went for a short hike with my friend Tony up to Twin Falls which is located near North Bend, about 30 miles from Seattle. The parking lot was mostly empty and we headed down the trail. The falls are actually mis-named, there are 3 falls, not two, but hey, who's counting right?
Words cannot describe this area well enough, so I will let my photos do the talking instead, enjoy.

Wrapping up the San Franciso Trip

2009-02-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

Well the trip to San Francisco was wonderful. We all had a wonderful time and I took a lot of pictures. To summarize the rest of the trip is not a very easy thing to do, but I will try.
We visited AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants Baseball team.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bkraai/sets/72157614097284764/

It rained in the park and there was hardly any grass on the playing field. They had hosted monster trucks in January and the rains slowed the progress on installing the new sod.

We visited the Aquarium By The Bay. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bkraai/sets/72157614049069997/
Talk about cool, we got to walk through a tube surrounded by fish and sea life.

A tour of the bay was a must, complete with a pass under the Golden Gate Bridge
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bkraai/sets/72157614096552912/

How could we tour the bay and not take an open top bus tour, complete with a little rain near the end.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bkraai/sets/72157614069092177/

I could never forget our stop on Nob Hill to visit the Cable Car Museum, holy cool!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bkraai/sets/72157614116806662/

I can't express enough how much fun I had on this trip with my sister Lisa and my niece Summer. Thank you both for inviting me along on this memorable trip. I hope to be able to return next fall and spend more time with my camera and tripod and search for those rare and hardly seen locations and scenes.

Alcatraz Island

2009-02-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

What a cool place this was to visit!!! The history here is more in depth than I ever realized. Aside from being an Army fort and a prison, there was even an indian occupation for 3 years! I could have stayed on the island exploring all day, but we did have other places we wanted to visit. I won't write too much but will let the pictures (hopefully) speak for themselves. All I can really say is that this was one of the best parts of the vacation. Here is a link for the complete set of pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bkraai/sets/72157614045183469/

I will say that the weather started out rainy and cold, but as the day went on the skies cleared a bit and I really enjoyed taking the audio tour and spending time at a place that has such a long history. Now for some pictures.

San Francisco: Day 1 Chinatown

2009-02-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

We arrived in San Francisco at 9:00am and quickly made our way to the hotel where they stored our bags while we headed out on the town. The bus ride from the BART to the hotel was interesting to say the least. A whole slew of Chinese charged the door to get onto the bus!! We couldn't believe it, the bus was packed!!! Standing room only and we had our suitcases with us. Once the bus got to Chinatown almost 70% of the riders got off, and they tried to de-bus in the same manner that they got on. People pushed and nudged each other as if it was a race to get off.
After dropping our bags with the bellman at the hotel we headed up Columbus Ave and got some great food at Pat's Cafe.

After lunch we walked up Columbus Ave to Stockton and found ourselves in Chinatown. Lisa and I had not been here in over 20 years and we wanted to check it out. Wow is this place busy!!!

The buses through here are packed as are the streets. People push their way around like it's no big deal. Summer had a tough time with this as she is not used to it.

We stopped in a few shops and found a lot of stuff we did not need. These shops are packed with all sorts of stuff almost from floor to ceiling. I don't know what's in the air, but there was a rather strong aroma lingering everywhere we went.

From there we headed up to Nob Hill to see a The Huntington Hotel that we stayed at over 20 years ago on a family vacation.The park across the street has a nice fountain with a Cathedral next door.

We then headed back towards the hotel so we could get checked in and get off our feet.

A thank you to my blog followers

2009-02-05T11:25:00.001-08:00

I wanted to take a few moments to thank all of those who follow my blog, whether it be publicly or anonymously. Since I started this blog I've had only a handful of comments, but of those they have all been very nice. Some have been from friends and family, while others have been from complete strangers. In a recent posting I shared about my last relationship and I received two very kind comments, Purrduedvm and Janice, you don't know how much you comments meant to me. Yes I will continue to blog and share parts of my life with anybody who cares to read about it. Time does heal all wounds, actually after Cathy broke up with me in October I had thought of a tattoo that would be of a band-aid with a clock in the middle above where the wound would be. We appear to be on the same page.
So again thank you to everyone for taking your time to read what I have to say, even if I babble from time to time.

Back on the trail, destination: Oyster Dome

2009-02-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

As I get back into the swing of my life I decided to go for a snow free hike this time. I met Jorj and we drove up towards Bellingham with Oyster Dome as our destination for the day. As we got off I-5 we noticed that part of the Hwy 11 bridge was gone, lucky for us they have a decent detour.
We got to the trailhead, after missing it on the first pass. The trail starts out gaining elevation pretty wuickly. Having not been out on the trail too much lately, my legs were really feeling it. The trail is very well used and takes no effort to follow it. For the most part the trip up was eventless.

There were sporatic views along the way up with a few creeks to cross.

The view from Oyster Dome opens up to the west and Puget Sound and the San Juan islands. I hope to come up here for the night sometime and take in the sunset.

After a 30 minute break we headed over to North Butte and got some good views of Mt Baker.

The hike wasn't too long but it was nice to be able to get back out there and get to know somebody new.

Life goes on from here.......

2009-01-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

Well my last post was a few weeks ago and things have changed quite a bit since then. Last Wed night Cathy and I broke up. It was a very difficult night in which I got next to no sleep followed by a long series of flights that brought me back home to Michigan.
I've had some relationships in the past where I looked back and saw that I had done some things that I wish that I hadn't done. This one was different though. I was a good person and treated her well. There is no blame in why this relationship did not work out. We are simply two people who have different lives and mixed well for a short period of time. Does it hurt? Of course it does. It is never easy to lose a loved one, no matter what happens, but I'm trying to move on and continue to live my life the best I know how. During my time with Cathy I learned a lot about myself and my hopes and dreams. Before we met I was rather closed off and didn't let anybody new get to know me. I had dated a woman before Cathy and I hadn't allowed her to get to know me, and in the end she got hurt.
I will be eternally grateful for the time that I was able to spend with Cathy as it included some wonderful experiences together. So whatever happens in our lives, I know that I am a better person for having known her and letting her get to know me. As I go from here I am reminded of all of the wonderful people who are in my life. My family and friends who are helping through this tough time are truly spectacular people. From my parents back home who let me come home with only several hours notice, my sisters who are back in Michigan who opened their homes and hearts to me, my extended family including my aunts, grandparents and cousins who made time in their busy schedules, and an old friend who I got to see for the first time in 17 years, thank you all very much for being there for me when I needed you most. I also have great friends here in Seattle who take time in their lives to hike with me, talk with me or send me a quick message letting me know that they are thinking about me. I could not ever forget my sister Lisa and niece Summer whose love and support have been there for me through so many different times in my life.
I am truly blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people who only want what's best for me and want me to be happy. Thank you all!!!

A night with Cathy and the Seattle Symphony

2009-01-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

Cathy had mentioned a few times that she really wanted to go to the symphony with me. One of her Christmas presents was a pair of tickets to the symphony for "An Evening With Bach" She was really excited and we couldn't wait to go. After work on Saturday we headed up to her place to change and get ready for the big night. I must add that Cathy looked absolutely beautiful!!

We headed back downtown and went to McCormicks for a wonderful dinner and were soon on our way to Benaroya Hall. This would be my first time and I couldn't wait. We arrived with about 5 minutes to spare and quickly found our seats. Another volunteer from the library gift shop was there and we stopped for a quick hello. Within moments of sitting down the house lights dimmed and the evening was ready to begin. Please for give me as I don't know all the proper terminology for the symphony, but I'll do the best that I can.
Our conductor for the evening was Nicholas McGegan. He was wonderful and had an excellent demeanor. The way that he interacted with the crowd and the musicians really changed my pre-conceived notion of conductors. He really seemed to have fun and really enjoy what he does. Featured on violin was Ari Kavafian. She was an exceptional violinist and the audience loved her.
Watching all of the other musicians was really cool. The different styles that they all played in was pretty wild. One violinist would play in a very calm quiet manner while another looked as if he was going to knock out the woman next to him with his bow!! One violinist had a beard that reminded of a ZZ Top band member, while a cello player has the most wild hairdo I would expect for a member of the symphony. Putting appearances aside though, they all played beautifully and Cathy and I really enjoyed our evening together. This was one of the best dates that we've had together so far!!!

Seattle cut off....

2009-01-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

With the heavy snow then very heavy rains all major highways have been closed due to avalanches and mudslides. US Hwy 2 over Stevens Pass is closed due to 2 avalanches, I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass is closed for the same reasons including US Hwy 12 over White Pass. I-5 through Chehalis is closed due to flooding over the interstate. So this leads us to ask, "Should we be come a part of Canada?" That is after all the only way that we can leave our corner of the world.
Rainfall totals in Seattle as of 10:15am were 3.42" in just 48 hours. Mountain locations received substantially more rain that has wreaked havoc to one small village at the summit of Snoqualmie Pass. An avalanche at "Hyak" the eastern summit of the ski area was considered a "Climax" avalanche. It took all the snow and some soil some 100 yards wide, 2 chair lift towers, trees and even a house and permanently moved them from their comfortable homes. Two people were rescued from the house which was moved some 100 feet off it's foundation. The ski run has a gouge cut into it from all the water that has flowed down the mountain. The run was a black diamond run and the chairlift was the main artery for this particular part of the resort, essentially shutting this part down for the season. Hyak is only operational on the weekends and holidays, so not much revenue should be lost, but many locals in the village of Hyak enjoy this part of the resort.
In other parts of the mountains, many access roads to popular trails can be expected to be washed out or at least damaged. The road along the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River has a mudslide that has trapped local residents in their homes.
Snow levels in the mountains are expected to drop today with snow in the forecast for later in the day.
Many local low lying towns are experiencing localized flooding with river and creeks cresting at some point today. In the last few years that I've been here we have experienced 2 "100 year" floods, amazing how fast 100 years can go by, and I don't feel that much older.

I'm bored......

2009-01-06T18:21:00.001-08:00

The weather in the mountains has not been very good lately with all the snow that's been falling. The interstate passes have been closed off and on for avalanche control purposes.
Today marks the last of 3 days off. Sunday I spent some time with Cathy and tried to help a friend of hers get her car running. The car is still not running, but I never claimed to be a mechanic. Later in the day snow started falling again and I spent the evening in Seattle and gave Cathy a ride to work in the Morning.

Yesterday after dropping Cathy off at work, I spent time assembling some furniture for my niece that my sister bought for her from IKEA. I took some pictures later in the day, but I haven't uploaded them onto the internet yet.
Today I headed back to Kirkland and took care of a few last things with the redecorating project in Summer's bedroom and ran a few errands before driving to West Seattle to see how big the waves were since the winds were strong. The waves were about 3-4' high with about the same for the fetch. My UV filter quickly got a salt water haze on it and ruined most of the shots that I took, next time I'll pay more attention to that. I then headed to Interbay and Fishermen's Terminal, followed buy a trip back to Golden Gardens to watch the daylight wane away. The winds were still strong and I got a few shots.

I need to get back into the mountains and soon. Staying in the city so much can drive a person crazy. Gas money is tight but I'll try to make something happen as I have another 3 day weekend coming up next week too.

A visit to the asylum

2008-12-30T21:07:00.000-08:00

No I didn't get admitted!!!! My friend Tony joined me for a trip north to the Northern State Hospital. It was shut down in 1973 (the year I was born) and is believed to be haunted. Go figure, haunted by those less mentally capable...
We stuck to the farm section of the property since time was short and daylight was limited. Even in this part it was a bit spooky and eerie. We did see a barn owl, bald eagle and sadly a dead cat that we think died recently during the cold weather, poor little guy.
We explored the old buildings and tempted fate by climbing stairs to the upper levels of some and getting some decent pictures. I hope to go back there again to get pics of the hospital and more of the grounds.

Getting caught up

2008-12-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

I realized today that I hadn't updated my blog in over a week. Well Christmas is over and tomorrow I get to pick Cathy up from the airport. She flew down to San Jose for Christmas with her family. Then they flew to Vegas to celebrate her sister's 21st birthday. I've been keeping myself busy with work and friends/family.
The uber amount of snow that we got is mostly gone, thank goodness. I really like snow but the city does not have adequate equipment to remove it and the roads were terrible as a result. Lucky for me I have good snow driving skills and a great car that really helps me get around in it.
I've taken a lot of pictures recently of the freakish amounts of snow that we've received.

Snow days in Seattle

2008-12-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

The forecast for Wed. night included cold temps and snow. When I awoke Thursday the weathermen had not faltered on this forecast. Snow covered the ground in Kirkland as I hoped the library would be closed for the day. I was bummed to here that I would still be going into work and the library would be open normal hours.
I got a text from Cathy and she wasn't going in to work since the roads near her place were a solid sheet of ice. I hopped on a bus and headed to Seattle where we were to meet for coffee. Snow was falling as I found her and we headed to Starbucks for a hot cup of coffee.

After coffee and a stop for a quiche muffin I headed off to work while Cathy met up with some friends to go sledding down some Seattle streets.
When I got done with work I walked up to Cathy's place and found a group of people sledding down the street in front of her building. There were two transit buses that were abandoned at the intersection and the Union Ave was closed off since it was so steep and icy.

I went up to Cathy's apartment and asked her to join me in playing in the snow and sled down the street. Having grown up in the Midwest I am used to snow, but the chance to sled down a street in Seattle would be a first for me.
The buses had ad signs on their sides which had been removed and used as makeshift sleds. These are about 2 feet wide and 10 feet long, making for a good toboggan.

Cathy and I jumped on the back of one with about 6 other people and started on down the road. We got going pretty past as we started to fish tail a bit. I saw a Lincoln in my path and feared a direct hit with it. As we approached I leaned to my right to avoid a direct hit with the bumper and ended up nailing the front right tire with my butt. I hit really hard and laid there for a few moments before getting up with a very sore backside. As I type this my butt still hurts. I continued to sled down the road on various items that were strewn around at the top of the hill. The best was a Teflon coated cookie sheet. That proved to be the best ride of them all. I got going pretty fast and had a lot of very close calls with car bumpers!! Cathy and I went on a few more rides on the bus signs before heading inside her place for warmth. AS the night went on the crowd outside got more drunk and more creative. They started sledding down on a sofa and a mattress wrapped in plastic. They hit a few cars pretty hard but no serious injuries ensued. Metro Transit came to retrieve their buses and got a good laugh at the creative use of their bus signs. The Police stopped by too to make sure that everyone was OK and to say hello. Asking the crowd to disperse would have been useless, so SPD didn't even bother. We even heard them shooting the breeze with the drunk sledders. The view from Cathy's balcony was great and offered a great bird's eye view of the fun.

Friday morning life somewhat returned to normal. Businesses reopened after closing early on Thursday, bus service was closer to full operation and the library was open as usual again. Cathy had the day off again and I was sore from my crashes into the cars the night before. Roads were still icy but there was a bunch of sand scattered to aid in vehicular traction and most vehicles were seen driving with chains.
During the afternoon two charter buses crashed due to icy roads and are currently perched on top of a wall high above Interstate 5. Two lanes of traffic on I-5 are blocked as crews asses the situation and prepare to remove the buses from their respective perches. The following photos were taken by "SeaTurtle". I'm having a problem with the links for these so just copy and paste them into your browser.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/3120658163_4eb454ec13.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/3120658163_4eb454ec13.jpg

The forecast for tomorrow night into Sunday morning calls for more snow and bad weather. Forecasters say that what we got Thursday morning would end up being a "dress rehearsal" for what's to come, oh boy.......

A week in my life

2008-12-15T09:02:00.000-08:00

What a week this has been. On Monday I went on a snowshoe trip with my friend Tom. We went up to Stevens Pass and headed up to Big Chief Mt.

The snow was great but did not require our snowshoes for the first half of the trip up. We followed up some of the ski runs until connecting with the Pacific Crest Trail which runs from Canada to Mexico. Soon we were on the ridge top and followed that all the way to Big Chief. The views were slim due to clouds but the feeling of accomplishment was awesome.

We took a Bryan inspired shortcut down the mountain which didn’t excite Tom too much after the first five minutes down. The way was steep and tricky with foliage still visible making the route a bit precarious in a few spots. After some re-routes and some exciting moments we were out of the tough stuff and heading back to the parking lot.

Later that night I spent with Cathy relaxing with her after an exhausting day. When I got to her place I found her doing laundry and the dryer was not working correctly. I attempted to fix it for her and ended up breaking my cell phone in the process. That was a big time bummer. Cathy felt bad but I told her not to worry that I’d get a new one right away and that it wasn’t her fault. Tuesday I ordered a replacement phone and went into work for a short shift to cover for a guy who is gone on vacation. After my shift I surprised Cathy with a Christmas Tree. She had wanted one but didn’t think she’d be able to get one. I found a 5’6” Noble Fir and hid behind it as she opened her apt door. She had the most beautiful smile on her face as I appeared from the tree. I got the tree inside and she found a good spot for it.

On Wed I wasn’t feeling well so I stayed home from work and slept for hours. I got a few things done around the house and later in the evening went to spend some time with Cathy. The next few days were filled with work and spending more time with Cathy. On Saturday things got busy for me. After work I had 3 parties to go to. The first was a work party. That was fun as I shot the breeze and some pool with co-workers.
The next stop was in Ballard where my friend Rich was celebrating his birthday. We hung out at a bar called Old Peculiar as snow started to fall outside. As the snow increased and the flakes became the size of quarters I decided I should leave a bit early as I had to get up to Capital Hill in Seattle and didn’t want bad roads to keep me from getting up there. I parked my car and headed to Clever Dunnes to meet up with Cathy for her friend’s birthday party. The birthday girl had gone by the time I got there but others were still around and I got to meet some of Cathy’s friends. We stopped at another bar for a few minutes then I took Cathy home.
In the morning the roads on Capital Hill were icy and I decided to leave my car up there and walk down to work. The library was busy with people hiding from the cold weather.
What a great week I had! The more time I spend with Cathy the more I realize how wonderful of a woman she is.

Getting into the holiday spirit

2008-12-07T12:34:00.001-08:00

Last night marked the annual tree decorating by the Seattle contingency of my family. This year would have a few changes as compared to previous years. First was that the tree was to be a bit shorter, about 5'0" tall to be exact. I must say that the size of it made it a real breeze to haul up the stairs and set up in the tree stand. The other change was that this year it wasn't just the usual three of us, we were joined by my lovely girlfriend Cathy. Being able to share this occasion with her meant so much to me. Her beautiful smile lit up the room as we decorated the tree and I shared a few stories behind some of the ornaments that have been in our family for many many years. I am delighted to have Cathy in my life and for her being willing to participate in this family occasion. Like me, Cathy comes from a large family and they are not here in Seattle, so it felt good to have her with us. Cathy and I are planning on setting up a tree in her apartment soon so that she can have some holiday spirit in her place as well as have some of her family memories displayed for her to enjoy.
As promised in my last posting, I finally have a picture of the two of us that Cathy has graciously allowed me to post for all of you to enjoy.

Taylor River hike and life update

2008-12-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

On Monday Tony and I hiked up along the Taylor River just outside of North Bend. The trail is fairly flat which was good for Tony as he has had knee problems lately and he's trying to rehab it. We stopped along the way for shots of different waterfalls. The day started out rather clear but soon the skies filled with clouds. By the time we headed back to the car the air was moist with rain and darkness.
All said, it was a great day to get out on the trails and even better with a good friend.

Otter Falls

Marten Falls

Me

I hope that all of my family and friends are doing well and enjoying the holiday season. Life here in Seattle is going really good. I have a stable job which I really appreciate. I have wonderful family out here that are always there for me. And I have a wonderful girlfriend who is quickly turning into a big part of my life. We are getting to know each other quite a bit and I'm reminded everyday how wonderful she is. I feel very lucky to have her in my life and to be able to be a part of her life as well. I hope to post a picture of her on here soon. I took one of her the other morning and posted it on my Flickr page, but she's not to thrilled about that one, so hopefully I'll get one of her that she likes and I'll post it here so you can all see how beautiful she is :)

A great holiday week

2008-11-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

Turkey, family, friends and a special woman!!
This week started out by talking to Cathy and our getting back together. Throughout the week we've spent a lot of time together and have talked a lot. I really enjoy having Cathy a part of my life, she means a lot to me. Being with her makes me want to be a better person for myself, my family and friends and for her.
On Thanksgiving Lisa (my sister) and I were invited to join my friend Alexie and his family to dinner. My niece Summer was spending the day with her dad and his family. It was a bummer to not be able to spend time with her since I've been a part of her Thanksgiving since I moved here. Being able to join my friend's family was very nice though too.
On Friday Cathy met up with me at work and we were going to go out after my shift got done. Unfortunately a problem occured 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave and Cathy graciously waited for an hour for me so I could fix the problem for the evening. Everytime I saw her while she was waiting she had a smile on her face for me :) I am so lucky!!!
Last night we joined Lisa and Summer for some dinner and a movie at their place. It is so nice that the three of them get along and that we can all spend time together.
I truly am blessed to have such a good life and have such wonderful people to share it with and who share their lives with me.

2 days off and a ferry boat ride

2008-11-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well for my days off on Monday and Tuesday I made sure to put them to good use. On Monday I took the bus into Seattle where I got on a ferry and headed to Bainbridge Island. I hadn't been to Bainbridge in several years and with the perfect weather I wanted to get some photos and just get out on the ferry. I really enjoy being on the water and being able to enjoy Puget Sound is truly a gift. The winds were brisk as the ferry got up to cruising speed and the seagulls were making time with the ferry and were hoping for a free snack from any willing human. A ferry boat worker answered their call and came out with bread and other snacks.

Once on Bainbridge I did a little bit of walking around the town of Winslow, and soaked in the nice sunshine.

After a few hours on the island I headed back to Seattle and anxiously looked forward to a call from Cathy. Things were looking up for us and she had asked if she could call me later in the evening. I ended up going to visit with her and we were able to talk and figure some stuff out. I'm very glad that she decided to give us another chance. The circumstances around our break up were somewhat complicated, but I respect the decision that she made at the time. I'm happy to say that we are back together though now and that makes me very happy.

On Tuesday I stayed home for most of the day taking care of some domestic things while my car was in the shop for an oil change. I was happy that the oil change seems to have quieted the problem that I noticed in my engine on Sunday. Even at 35 years old I can still get complacent about car maintenance.
At home I got more painting done and spent some much needed time with my kitty cats. They get lonely when I'm not around very much. Even with 3 of them running around they miss me. So these next pics are for them.

Charlie

Shadow

Max

What a week.

2008-11-23T23:51:00.000-08:00

This week has been filled with a lot of different things. I was talking with an old friend from Michigan and she had asked if I still played the piano. I told her that I had given it up when I finished the 6th grade. Looking back now I realize what a bummer that was. Recently I got a music book from the library and sat back down in from of the piano. My fingers are a bit rusty, but I'm confident my skills will come back. It felt so good though to play again, I can see playing it will be a good thing for me and offer another good outlet in my life.
I've started the boring task of repainting my apartment. I had covered many of my walls in here to cover the drab color that it was when I got here, but I have to change it back before I move otherwise they will charge me when I move out at the end of March. I know that's a ways off, but if I get started now I can have it done and I can focus on finding a new place and snowshoeing later.
On Saturday there was a commercial for Toyota filmed outside the library and I got to be a part of that for the entire time they filmed. Early in the day I got a wonderful surprise that really made my day. It's amazing how one person can affect your whole day, make you smile, and make you feel really good, even if the contact is for only a few moments.
Tonight after work I went to a friend's house where he had a birthday party for his wife whose birthday was the same day as mine was. On my way up there though my car started to make a funny noise from under the hood. After the party Lex and I looked under the hood and we think it may be a problem with the lifters. If that's the case my car might be parked for a while as paying a few debts is more important to me right now. On my way home I stopped at the coffee shop and was greeted by a guy from the library. He and his wife were there to perform on stage. Their music was pretty crazy, a lot of strange noise. It was fun to listen even if a few times I thought my eardrums would fall out of my head.
Now I'm at home and ready for a few good days off from work and an upcoming holiday complete with a bonus day off too. Tomorrow I'll take my car to a shop down the road and get their opinion on what's wrong with it. I really hope that there is a simple fix, maybe a long overdue oil change will fix the problem, who knows.

Pain and Joy make us human

2008-11-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

The title is part of a text that a friend sent me almost three weeks ago. "Data", a character from the tv series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was an android who could do anything a human could and better, but what he could not do was feel what it was like to be human. He longed for the chance to be able to feel emotions. Unlike Data, we feel emotions both when we wish to and when we don't.
Like most people in the world I've felt extreme pain and extreme joy and everything in between. I'm reminded that both during pain and joy that "This too shall pass". It's nice to be reminded of that when I'm experiencing pain, but not when I'm experiencing joy. Sometimes we feel one of these emotions from a person we've come into contact with, but the ones closest to us can make us feel both of them, sometimes within a short period of time. I don't fault them for that, if I didn't trust them I would never let them get as so close to me as I have.
Experiencing pain helps me grow as a person if I'm willing to allow it to happen. Having enjoyed the joys that have been a part of my life gives me hope as I work through pain. Pain in life is mandatory, suffering on the other hand is optional. The longer I sit in pain I start to drift ever closer to suffering, and that does me or anybody around me any bit of good. Loss is a part of life, and the pain comes along with it. In my life I've not lost nearly as much as others that I know, but I've lost some and the grieving process goes along with it. It's what I do after that and how I deal with it that makes up a big part of who I am. Six years ago I lost a special person in my life and due to guilt and shame I suffered long after that person was gone. I was a wreck and not fun to be around. Lately I've reached out to those around me and they have helped pick me up and point me in the right direction.
So as I move on with my life I don't regret the things that I've gone through or that I've done, to do so would keep me from enjoying the wonderful things and people that come into my life. It's important for me to remember the things that people bring into my life, no matter how long that lasts, whether it be for only a few short weeks, or many years.

Waterfall pictures

2008-11-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures that I took yesterday.

Happy Birthday to me

2008-11-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday!!!!!! My day has so far gone very well. I went to coffee in Seattle with a friend from work. It was a great way to start off my day. After that I picked up Tony from a Dr. appt on Cap Hill and after stopping by his place to get a few things we headed east into the mountains to take some pictures of some waterfalls after the heavy rains fell earlier in the week. Oh I almost forgot, some lady hit my car today too. She pulled out into the road turning left from my left and hit the back of my car. She cracked the lens cover on my taillight. She asked if we could deal with this right there on the spot. She asked how much it would cost to replace the tail light and I said probably about $200. She then proceeded to give me $200 in cash!! I thought that was pretty cool and didn't want to deal with the mess of insurance companies.
Tony and I got back from our long photo session and met up with a couple of other friends at a coffee shop in Ballard. The icing on the cake tonight was hearing a pretty girl play the violin and sing on the open mic.
This was a wonderful and low key way to celebrate my birthday. I'll post pictures later.

What I'd like in a woman

2008-11-10T15:24:00.001-08:00

I recently spoke with a few friends and they suggested that I make a list of things that I'd look for in a woman I'd want to date. I was encouraged to not list things I didn't want because then if I did that that might end up being the things I'd find in a woman. So I've been thinking of this list, if you will, and putting some good thought into it. I will of course probably add more things, but I was also informed that I might not get the 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom house, that I might instead get the 3 bedroom/1.5 bathroom house instead. That much I understood. Life and relationships in particular do consist of some compromises, but it's important that I not confuse that with sacrificing certain things that I need or want in my life.
So first and foremost I'd like a woman that I can talk to and feel comfortable being myself around. I need to feel that I can trust her.
I'd likes someone who has goals and ambitions in life.
Wants to learn more about life around her and expand her horizons persay.
She would be either a light drinker or non drinker.
I'd prefer a non-smoker. (I smoked for 17 years and have quit for 5 now)
A hiker girl would be great, or at least go out on a few hikes with me.
Likes to read.
Likes to go for walks and talk.
Family oriented
Feels comfortable being herself.
Low maintenance (can get ready to head out in a reasonable amount of time.
Expects to be treated with respect.
So that's what I've got for now. I think this is a good starting point. I'm not going to get too caught up in this list, but knowing what I'd like is very important and a good thing to know.

Live music at Sunset Tavern

2008-11-09T23:54:00.000-08:00

On Friday after work I headed over to Tony's place and hung out there for a bit before we drove into Ballard to catch a show at the Sunset Tavern. I had recently listened to a friends jazz band over dinner in Columbia City, but this was going to be my first club show in over a year and a half.
The bands on the bill for the night were not any that I had every heard of before. I caught a bit of each band's music on their MySpace pages and I was intrigued by what I had heard.
The first band was a 3 piece called Season of Nightmares. They were pretty good and were celebrating a recent record release.

The second band, Meisce was bigger and their accordian player was MIA for the first few moments after they took to the stage. A very unique band with a good sound.

The last band was called Wages of Sin. A lot of people had come to see these guys. Their stand up bass player was also in the first band. The sound that these guys had was something new to me, well that goes for all the bands that night. The lead singer sounded similar to a pirate singing. These guys got the crowd going though and everybody, including me, was having a great time.

So for a mere $8 I got three bands, free water and a heck of a good time in this small venue.