Reunions

Things have an odd way of coming back around.  People that you don't expect pop up in usually good ways.

I had several great reunions in Seattle.  I had dinner with Ben and Sarah, above, some wonderful rafting friends from back in my Portland days.  We all admired the fish tank.

Then, I had the wonderful surprise of discovering that Emily Orling resides in Seattle.  We hadn't seen each other in over 10 years!  We sang together many years ago in the St. Louis Children's Choirs.  Emily continues to sing, outdoing me, as the lead vocalist for a bluegrass group!

Further Up and Further In

No climber am I.  The shaky Elvis leg came out many times as I struggled to find correct footing and hand holds.

I joined a large group of Katie Donze's friends as I visited her in Seattle for a climbing trip.  There were over a dozen of us that went to central Washington.  I was the least experienced and happy to watch the good climbers, but they insisted I tried a few runs.  

When not climbing, the camp fire offered lots of entertainment, such as Mike with his smoking coozy!  The results the following morning, below!

Maggie, the obligatory cute puppy along.  And my tent near the feathers, some of the many basalt columns in the area.

The central crag in the above photo is the one successful climb I made.  I hadn't climbed in years, so I was happy to reach the top on at least one.

A bunch of climbers were out for the weekend.  And a lot of butts were seen scaling one run or another.

Getting ready to shotgun some beers after a hard day of climbing.

Along the Way

Logging is a huge industry, but it's often hard to see evidence while out and about.  Every now and then you come across huge amounts of timber.  I struggle with opinions about it.  Many are opposed to it, but it's a pretty necessary industry overall.

Some views around the University of Washington library.  College campuses are always very interesting for the diversity of thought and people that they offer.

A view of the sky from my camp in southern Canada.

Rocky Mountain High

Canadian Rockies, that is.  Okay, so the Canadian Rockies are beyond description.  Absolutely awesome.  I loved the several days that I spent up there, although the weather wasn't ideal.  I hit a lot of snow and ice on the passes.

I had better weather in Banff NP.  Then headed into a graveyard of mountains as weather came in for my trip through Jasper NP.  The Icefield Parkway, Highway 93, had huge tombstones peaking in and out of the foggy cloud cover as I made my way through a beautifully frightening valley.

Surprisingly, the Canadian Rockies are not taller than the US counterparts.  However, they are much more striking.  With sharper peaks, more stone and few trees, they are very dramatic.