Sunday Morning Worship - Mt. Rainier Style

First of all I have to give a shout-out to my uncle,
Happy Birthday Uncle Steve!!

Secondly, you may have noticed I changed the title of the blog. I originally named it "Clueless in Seattle" because I was taking a leap and moving somewhere I had never been before. Now, I'm still clueless, but I no longer live in the city of Seattle. I moved 40 miles southeast to be closer to the mountain wilderness and work, which are my primary focuses. Seattle is lovely but I've never been a city-slicker, I'm more of a suburban/country girl and that is where I feel most at home. So anyway, that's why I changed the blog title.

Okay then, on to the main event. I went to Mt. Rainier today...
Big surprise. What can I say, the mountain is my church :). I don't always take pictures when I go. Sometimes I leave my camera in my trunk so I can enjoy the beauty without worrying about catching just the right shot. But today I was feeling camera-happy. I got off to a later start than I had hoped, I didn't get on the road until 5:00am. But that's okay, it was still a great morning. I stopped along the highway to take a pic so folks back home can see what the mountain looks like from my town, Auburn. (zoomed in a little)



It's always a little hazy in the early morning but the mountain glows in pastel pinks and purples. Reminds me of pale rose quartz - very pretty. This picture doesn't even do it justice. Sidenote: Did I mention I need a different camera? I'll keep using mine because the picture quality on wide shots is nearly unbeatable, but I need second camera with a great lens for zooming. My camera sucks for zooming and it's really starting to frustrate me. grrrr.

Moving along, I spent the entire morning just tooling around in my little Ford Focus, enjoying the sights. I took a couple of short hikes, one to a glorious waterfall, but we'll get to that. First, the sights along on the way to the national park.




Above and Below: Silhouette of Mt. Rainier as seen from a scenic viewpoint along the way



Below: I believe the water is Alder Lake



Below: Alder Dam



Below: Alder Lake



Below: A little bunny rabbit wanted his picture taken, so of course I obliged!



~ All pictures below were taken inside Mt. Rainier National Park ~



The mountain is gorgeous with the early morning light playing on the ridges. I've taken many photos of the mountain and not only do I not get tired of it, it seems more beautiful each time.





I saw two marmots in different places in the park. This little guy ran straight towards me in his quest for vegetation to munch on - no fear. The other fella was much more camera shy so I wasn't able to photograph him.




Isn't he cute?!





My trusty Focus loves the mountains too, check out his p.o.v.







This path leads to a little bridge overlooking Box Canyon.
It's even deeper than it looks in the photo below, taken looking down from the bridge



On the way down to the bridge I passed a guy coming up who said "I made a little snow man for you down there." He wasn't kidding :)



He's a little reminder that although it's summer and over 90 degrees in the cities today, it's still early spring in the mountains. Some people like to go to the beach when it's hot out, I prefer to come here. It was nice to be in the cool, fresh air for a while.









Below: Paradise River



I took a trecherous little trek down a steep slope of packed, slippery snow to get to the bottom of Narada Falls. Simply beautiful.



I tried to zoom in on the rainbow



So that's it. Another day very well spent. On the way home I stopped and bought some fresh strawberries. I'm eating some with whipped cream as I post this. Strawberries and cream - Yums!

Catch ya next time!

P.S. I should have pics up of my new place in Auburn by this time next week.

Moving Day/Kitty Collage

Tomorrow I move to my new apartment - the movers are arriving at 8am and I'm not as ready for them as I thought I was. I should be packing right about now but this is a good diversion for now. I'm a bit nervous about the move. It's a really great move, I picked a much better community that's closer to work. It's a healthy move, but regardless I still get very anxious about change. As does my cat. She knows what's what and is not very happy about it and she won't let me forget it. No matter what, even if I whip out the GOOD canned food, she just won't stop meowing, or rather howling. I guess she's just expressing aloud how I feel inside.

What, you thought only dogs howl? You haven't met my little precious. Let me introduce you.

Ahh, Kitty in happier times. But if she could talk right now she'd be screaming "I DON YIKE COW-WIDES, NO MORE COW-WIDES PLEEEEEZ MOMMA!!!" Of course she would sound like a three year old, she's my baby!

But anyway, who doesn't like a nice kitty collage now and then? Always cheers me up. In fact, I'm feeling a little better now. Perhaps I'll start packing. Or play Internet Spades. I haven't decided yet.

By the way, my job is still going wonderfully. I miss everyone back home. I'll be sure to post pics of the new place for those of you who care to see. ~ Peace-out boys and girls ~

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.