Cou Cou

If you're wondering, yes, I am still alive. Camille and I are back at the tiny house in Massachusetts. However in blog land, we're still in Seattle.

We drove to Matt and Yurie's new place in Seattle and very quickly got out of the city and into Olympic National Park.

Hope you're not sick of waterfalls yet, because this one is quite stunning, especially with that magical rainforest light.

Then we drove to the coast to find a place to camp on the beach. It's not often you get to hike on the beach with backpacks full of camping gear.

We stayed at a camping area called hole in the wall. I overheard a woman asking, "So is this the hole in the wall?". I'm not entirely sure why it wouldn't be.

Camille and I slept next to the fire, my favorite place to sleep while camping. We met a family of raccoons that night. They spent most of the night trying to dig through our packs. And they successfully got our bag of food from the "tree" which was only 5 feet off the ground. Our laziness became their dinner. 

The next day we did some more hiking. We found some really large dogs hanging out by the visitor center.

Beyond Olympic, we explored Seattle a bunch with Matt and Yurie and after a week or so we said our goodbyes and headed out for more adventures around Washington. 

We really wanted to explore the Enchantments but the permitting system is quite strict and availability is slim to none. So instead we hike around areas just outside of the permit zone which were beautiful enough for our standards.

Then we headed to Mt. Rainier. Interestingly, up to this point we had spent several weeks in Washington but saw Rainier either due to clouds or other mountains obstructing the view. So the reveal as we approached the park was quite wonderful. 

And then I got terribly sick. Worse than I've felt in many many years. Sick enough to justify getting a hotel room for the night... A rare moment indeed. But my god did that feel good to have a hot shower and large warm bed!

Then we started making our way back south, via the coastline. The drive was a mix of small towns and untouched wilderness. We made many stops and saw lots of wildlife, including whales, seals, pelicans, dolphins and sea lions!

Our trip down the coast ultimately led us to Sacramento where we picked up Tim from the airport. He had some vacation time left and we told him that Yosemite was our next stop and the rest is history.

It was Tim's and Camille's first time in Yosemite Valley and my fourth, but it still felt like the first time for me. It's a spectacular place.

Day one was spent hiking around the valley. And of course we saw some more waterfalls.

Watching the colors change on El Cap as the sun set can be pretty nice.

On day 2 we climbed a few pitches on Yosemite's pristine granite. With 3 people and 1 rope, we didn't dare do any multipitch, but had a great time nonetheless. 

And another nice view on the way out of the park.

Day 3 we visited one of the Sequoia groves before heading back to Sacramento.

More big trees!

Then we stayed in a motel in Sacramento so we could get cleaned up and ready to drop Tim off at the airport in the morning.

And then Camille and I headed south! More to come soon soon! I promise...

Back To Nature

After dropping Christian and Greg off at the airport, Camille and I hightailed it off into the woods.

First stop: Redwoods

The trees are big!

A quiet stroll through fern canyon was exactly what the doctor ordered.

A post-lunch stroll on the quiet foggy beach was also what the doctor ordered.

Some say this selfie angle isn't flattering, but it sure is a great way to include the 300 foot tall trees behind you.

The Redwoods can be spiritually draining. They're just too grandiose. After a few days of strolling amongst the giants we made our way to Oregon. First stop in the new state was Crater Lake National Park. We arrived at the crater just before sunset and just before the fog rolled in. It's a lucky thing we did, as you'll soon see the view we had the next morning.

Found a wonderful little spot to camp just outside of the park boundaries.

And the next day this was our view of the lake within the crater. Glad we made the extra drive to see it the evening before! Okay, time to move on!

Found a couple nice waterfalls on our way north to Bend.

This second fall was pretty incredible as it forced its way through these spectacular basalt columns and crashed into the beautiful blue pool below.

Before getting to Bend, we stopped for a quick coffee break and talked to a local who gave us a great recommendation for some natural hot springs nearby. 

Just on the shore of East lake are some small thermal streams coming out of the ground. Some people have dug out small holes to create little hot spring pools right on the edge of the lake. Half of the year they are under water but we came at the right time and luckily had the place to ourselves. It was quite shallow but felt superb, especially with the cool fall breeze.

Then on the way back to the main road we stopped at a place called the big obsidian flow. A complete surprise to us, we found ourselves on top of a full square mile of piles of shiny black obsidian, a result of a very recent lava flow in the area. Super cool!

We camped nearby in the Deschutes National Forest and then checked out some falls nearby in the morning. Not bad!

Then finally to Bend to visit some old friends of mine. Of course we had to show Camille the lava tube caves.

 It was a brief visit as we had much more to see but it was great catching up with the Bend gang.

On the way north we stopped at Smith Rock State Park for a couple days of climbing and hiking.

We setup Christian's tent (our 2nd time ever sleeping together in a tent!) right by the cliff overlooking the park. What a great spot to sit with a beer and watch the sunset.

Then we checked out Portland for an afternoon, visiting Powell's bookstore and Great Notion Brewing. And before you know it we were driving into Washington State!

After many hours of driving we stopped for a nice hike to a lake. 

The lake had rabbits.

And kind of a view of Mt. Rainier

Another camping spot and another nice hike nearby brought us to this cute little waterfall.

Then we headed to Seattle to visit Matt and Yuri who had very recently moved there from Boston. More to come on that soon!