Wonderful Weekend

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately. I've been having some problems with my apartment and landlord, who in turn caused problems for me at the new place. My application was denied and I was beyond shocked. But things really do happen for a reason. The place that denied me was not the best by any means, but because it was affordable and located in a better area, I felt it was a step up for me and I was excited about moving there. When they called with the bad news I was heartbroken. But my current landlord is willing to work with me now and give me a better reference. This has sort of been a nightmare since the day I moved in, but I didn't want to write about it because that would just make me more angry. I've been trying to stay positive. I think the nightmare is over now though because Saturday I found a heavenly little place that is located in the same nice town of Auburn. It's still affordable, but it is WAY better than the place that denied me! I mean FAR superior. It's a great deal and I told her I'd take it the second we walked into the model - no kidding. She doesn't see any reason why my application would be denied and after talking to my landlord, neither do I. So cross your fingers folks, because Kitty and I will be SO very happy living there.

So, because I feel that ordeal is finally over, I can now get out of my cave and have some fun. The weather had been absolutely gorgeous the last three days. Bright sunshine and in the 70's and 80's. It felt too warm at times, but I'm not complaining. Sunday I got up at 5am and headed out to Deception Pass, which is 1.5 hours north of here. It's a narrow little bridge that connects Whidbey Island to the mainland. I've been there before, if you recall, but it was cloudy and rainy and I wasn't able to walk across the bridge that day. Sunday the weather was fabulous and I saw a lot of wildlife. I'm not that excited about taking pictures anymore though, because my camera's shortcomings are starting to piss me off - I can't zoom for crap, the picture quality is usually terrible when I do. It's a really great camera except for that. But that's kind of a big deal. So once I'm all settled in my new place I'm going to save up for a new camera. Here's what I was able to capture today though. Enjoy!

This video is a little long and poorly shot but keep watching and you'll see a seagull, a heron of some kind, a bald eagle, and a happy little seal frolicking in the water and chasing fish. (The one I kept referring to as an otter. Hey, I'm no wildlife expert OK?!)













Below: Ick!




Our little seal friend got tuckered out from playing all morning










Below: I couldn't even tell what this was until I got home and downloaded the photos. I thought it was some kind of a leaf but wasn't sure so I zoomed. turns out it's a slug - yuck!



A baby bird in the bush!


I spent most of the morning at the pass and then headed home. I wanted to avoid the heat, but today wasn't as hot as yesterday. I may not be taking many more adventures until later in the summer due to a tight budget and gas costing $4/gallon now. This move is going to be quite expensive but totally worth it!

Marina/Gardens

Hello Everyone!

Before I get to the pictures you just KNOW I'm gonna post, I have a little bit of news. Things are going well for me in my new job but things are not going so well in my new apartment building so I have decided to move closer to work. Right now I live north of downtown Seattle and work is south of downtown. It's quite a commute. I know moving is a huge pain and a little risky since I'm only a contractor at Alaska Air and have only been there 1 month, but I have a good feeling about it. I've already found an apartment in Auburn, which is only 11 miles from work.

Here's how I see things right now: I've developed this new love of life, travel, and outdoor adventure but I need money to fund these things. Alaska Air is a great place to work and I really like my job and my co-workers so I am going to do everything in my power to make sure I am successful there and perhaps they will even hire me permanently at some point. I am married to my job right now and most of my energy goes towards being good at it. I try to squeeze in fun in my spare time whenever I can and whenever the weather allows. Living closer to work will shorten my commute and give me more time to play. I will also be living one hour closer to Mount Rainier and Auburn has fantastic views of the mountain I'm told. Hey, did I mention my new gear?? I bought a tent, sleeping bag, air matress, collapsable chair (i'm not roughing it that much) and other miscellaneous camping gear. I also got a new backpack which is teh awesomest! It may be a while 'til I actually get to use my new toys because this move is going to be a financial burden. But I will go to Olympic Nat'l Park one of these days and when I do, it's going to be fabulous. Now onto the pictures...

~~ Des Moines Marina ~~

Well, Friday was supposed to be the nicest day of the whole weekend, go figure, so I decided to squeeze some outdoor time in around work. I took a long lunch and went down to the marina, camera in hand, and walked the rocky beach. It buoyed my spirits (ha, get it?) and I was more productive once I got back to work.

~~ Kubota Garden ~~

After work I drove to Kubota Garden and enjoyed the lush scenery until the sun went down.

The park is open sunup to sundown and is only about 5 miles down I-5 from the office so I imagine I'll be stopping frequently before or after work to enjoy the serenity of the gardens.

Pretty leaves

I love this tree. The bark on the trunk reminds me of an elephant's leg and the leaves are a fantastic color!

panorama-mania

I'm getting more competant with the panorama feature of my camera. I'm hoping to get a new camera soon though, one with a better lens. We'll see.

~ Good bye gardens, I'll be back soon.

Et Cetera

Miscellaneous ramblings on my part.
I forgot to include some Mt. Rainier info in my last post so here goes.

Mount Rainier National Park was established on March 2, 1899 and encompasses 235,625 acres, ranging in elevation from 1,610 to 14,410 feet above sea level. The mountain is an active volcano encased in over 35 square miles of snow and ice, surrounded by old growth forest and stunning wildflower meadows. The park is also rich in cultural resources and was designated a National Historic Landmark District as an outstanding example of early park planning and NPS rustic architecture. ~ as printed on the package of my Mount Rainier mousepad. Cool huh? I guess if you're a geek like me.

What this little snippet fails to convey is the real danger the volcano presents to the surrounding communities. It is a ticking time-bomb and volcanologists agree that it is long overdue for a major eruption. Hopefully officials have learned something from the Mt. St. Helens disaaster and have early warning systems and evacuation plans in place. But it's nearly impossible to be completely compared when you're dealing with mother nature.

On a completely different note, I got some more outdoor gear yesterday. Yays!!
I got a small tent, a folding chair, and other little camping supplies. I also got a new backpack - double Yays! It's a really awesome pack and perfect for day-hiking except it is just a tad, a smidge tight in the waist where it buckles. That's okay though, in fact it's perfect incentive to stay active and lose weight so I can wear my new backpack more comfortably!

I'm sure I'll be posting new adventures soon. The weather for this weekend is not looking so hot. Friday is supposed to be fabulous though, so here's hoping the meteoroligist got it wrong and the nice weather pushes back to Saturday. *fingers crossed*

My Sunday

So, what did you do this weekend? Myself, I didn't do that much - just took a 16 hour trip on Sunday, driving 330 miles and taking 550 photos. Very much to the dismay of my orphaned cat.
(For those not keeping track, that's more photos than I took on my entire Vegas vacation!)
I know, I can hardly believe I did it either. I must be posessed because this is not the Angela I know. I'm beginning to love sun-up to sun-down daytrip adventures. The plan was to drive out to Snoqualmie Falls, 35 miles or so, spend a couple of hours there and drive back. I spent a few hours there, but I didn't drive back. It was too beautiful outside to go home - can you blame me?! My cat can, and does. So here's how it went down, I went to bed at midnight, got up at 5am, and hit the road.

Washington in the early morning. There's really nothing special about this picture, I just wanted to show a typical view out here. (I like the bird flying overhead). Yes, I'm aware that photographing while driving is dangerous but my tripod was seated right next to me so it was very easy and there were virtually no other cars on the road so early in the morning, if that makes you feel any better.
On the way to the falls I spotted two deer grazing alongside the road.



They are heading to Seattle apparently.

I arrived at the falls around 7am. It turned out to be a beautiful day weather-wise, just as I had hoped. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Snoqualmie Falls Park.







Lots of pretty scenery at the falls











Garter snake sunning himself. If you click to enlarge you will see his tongue is out :p

This wide-angle shot is the so-called "money shot" of the falls but unfortunately the rainbow could not be seen from this angle. The building on the left is the Salish Lodge and it's very nice.

I love trees and the trees up here grow strangely compared to those in Minnesota. It's quite beautiful.



Taken from the lower observation deck. The 1/2 mile hike back up the steep incline was a good workout for me. Good thing I wore my new hiking shoes with good traction.

Tada! My new hiking shoes. I luv them!

Play the video to see the waterfall in action

I left the falls around 10:30, grabbed some food and could NOT bring myself to drive home. So I impulsively drove down to Mt. Rainier National Park and boy am I glad I did. My first visit to the park sucked compared to this one (with the exception of spending time with Julian) This time I got to see a lot, lot more. The weather was perfect and the views just kept getting better and better as I drove up the mountain road. The phrase repeated aloud was "Are you kidding me?!" each time I saw something spectacular. It was a phenomenal experience for me. I saw a ton of wildlife and great mountain views. Here are just a few of my favorite photos.

The photo above was taken on my way to the park.

The photos below were taken inside Mt. Rainier National Park.


I didn't do a thing to this photo, that is truly the color of Kautz Creek and the dry bed around it.

I like to call this next series of photos "Zooming in on Mt. Rainier"



This little bird was pretty but I wanted to ring it's little neck because it wouldn't stay still so I could take its picture. Oh the nerve! The photo was taken at the National Park Inn where Julian and I stayed and where I have reservations for later this year. I'm quite enraptured by Mt. Rainier if you can't tell. I'll be getting my money's worth and then some on my annual pass.

It was a different story with this little fella below who gladly posed for his close-up. Actually he scared the crap out of me at first. I opened my car door and was getting out, camera in hand, when I saw something flapping toward me. I wasn't sure if he was trying to land or about to claw my eyes out. At first I thought he was deranged. But as he sat there staring at me with a "Aren't you going to feed me, Dummy?" look on his face I realized that wasn't the case. Someone must have been feeding this little guy. Not a good idea to feed the wildlife. As a rule I try to keep my distance. He gave up and flew away when he realized I wasn't good for anything except taking his picture. He's awful cute huh.

Below, (drumroll) is the grand finale of Mt. Rainier, complete with video of an amazing view.






It must have been 7:30pm or so when I left the park. Once I got outside the park, I continued to see wildlife. I must have seen a total of 50 different deer throughout the course of the day. Just outside the park they travel in groups of about 10. The deer below is alert because 5 of her friends are sprinting towards her. They all ended up taking off which is odd since they are not very afraid of humans or cars.

As I got a little farther down the road I discovered why they ran.

Did this little guy really think he was going to have venison for dinner?
Silly coyote, the roadrunner always wins :)


Here are some elk just taking it easy. They have no clue how awesome the view is from where they are do they?

Wrapping it up, these were my final shots, just taken along the road somewhere. I tried in vain to get a sunset photo - it was a pretty sunset. When the sun dipped below the treeline the evergreens were backlit in pink. But you'll just have to take my word for it because I could never find the right place to stop and get a good picture of it and I was running low on gas and had to stop and re-fuel. Bummer.


So ends my daytrip. I got home sometime after 10pm. I was tired but the trip was SO worth it. I'm already planning my next trip in my head. Memorial Day weekend is coming up and I'm thinking Olympic National Park! Oooohhh (anxiously rubbing hands together) We'll see. You can't plan too much though or you lose some sense of adventure. 'Til next time!