I know that several folks are looking forward to a blog about our paddle in
Haida Gwaii - and I promise that is coming soon. But I'm the kind of gal that works in the order of my life, so I needed to get through a bunch of fun photos pre-big paddle and write this blog before my brain is capable of moving onto those lovely islands in remote British Columbia.
The week before we left for Haida Gwaii we were treated to a visit from a good friend, Mike D., who lives in Juneau, AK. Mike and I have been friends for 14 years now (Jay and Mike for 11!) and we never tire of playtime with our dear Alaskan friend. He really wanted to go to a Tom Petty concert at
The Gorge, which we had heard was one of the best outdoor concert venues in the world. We've always liked Tom Petty, we have always been curious about going to a concert at The Gorge, and we never get to see Mike. So obviously we said YES to this visit and weekend fun!
Going to a concert at The Gorge is a fascinating experience. There are no places to stay nearby so everyone "camps" in massive tents with air mattresses (which we don't own) on a huge lawn, tents are pitched about one foot apart from one another, and everyone has to give up any personal space issues they have very quickly. I pretended I was back in Malaysia, where everyone pushes you from all directions whenever you need to line up for anything. A few beers helped with the cattle herd crowd - and boy did we have good beer! Mike researched a sweet spot to buy beer,
The Beer Junction, in West Seattle. So we checked it out when we scooped him up at the airport and we walked out with what seemed like more than enough beer for the weekend (barely!).
The morning after the concert was slow and lazy. We planned on driving toward Leavenworth to camp in a more wild place and go for a hike with Mike before he got back on a plane to Juneau. Lucky for us - The Gorge is east of the Cascades, where the weather is always hotter and more sunny in the summer, which meansssss PEACHES! Whenever I happen to be east of the Cascades in the summer I usually obsess over getting peaches. And Mike was happy to accommodate me and my peach obsession. It's not like you can grow peaches in southeast Alaska right? So we found ourselves a roadside peach stand and gorged on that tasty fruit.
We marveled at the size of the hanging flower pots in Leavenworth.
Beer and brats - is there really anything better to do in
Leavenworth??
Well,
tubing is probably something that can compete with beer and brats in Leavenworth. Turns out everyone wants to go tubing in Leavenworth in the summer - so we had to wait for the 4pm tubing drop-off. Too bad, the sun had gone down a bit and it wasn't as hot. But we braved the chilly water with our beers and had a lovely and fun ride.
Cheesy friend photo (I love it, can't help it)
The next morning we headed out on a hike that seemed like it would be perfect in that it got us out in the mountains, got us to a lake, and got us back to our car in time to drive Mike to Seattle for his flight. On our way to Eightmile Lake, we had some great views of the Enchantments range....
What a sweet little yellow-rumped warbler! I think this may be a first-year since it is still so tan on the upper body. Anyone?
This entire hike went through an area that had a large wildfire sweep through about 10 years ago. It was really fascinating to see the land in various stages of succession as plants and animals came back to build a new forest. I was hoping to see a pika here, but we only heard their cute little whistles.
David Attenborough would have had better luck, but alas, I never get to hang out with my hero.
Each one of us took a dip in Eightmile Lake - which was clear, cold, and simply lovely. Our hike back down was also great, although I'm still a slow mover thanks to my rib injury (read my previous Hozomeen Lake blog if you have no idea what I'm talking about). We made it to the car with plenty of time to spare for our drive to Seattle. At least it seemed like plenty! Well, it turns out we needed every extra minute we had because we encountered the longest line of traffic in the world on Rt. 2. We were all getting a little nervous - but thankfully - we made it to the airport in time for Mike to jog to his flight and head back north to Juneau.
We are so lucky to have a friend like Mike - what a great weekend we had. Now it is our turn to head to Juneau and visit him next! And no visit would be complete without a stopover in Gustavus, paradise on this planet. Perhaps next May???
And speaking of Gustavus - Jay and I were able to meet up for a breakfast with my old Gustavus housemate, Jessica, on her way back to Gustavus via ferry from Washington. She took a job in the best town in the world as a teacher - so those lucky folks now have the best teacher in the world in the best town in the world. Jessica's kiddos, Anica and Emery, better know how sweet it is to be in Gustavus. I think they do actually - they are great kiddos. Life is good folks, life is real good.
Photos here (at the bottom of the album):
https://picasaweb.google.com/111221596171793333099/August2014?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDHg8T6tJLsiwE
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