National Parks were FREE this weekend!!

I did 4. 5 miles on the Alki Beach Trail on 8/24 From Me Kwa Mooks Park to Jack Block Park

Weatherwatch Park

The view from Cormorant Cove

Lots of sidewalk street walking, but the little parks keep popping up

Charles Richey Viewpoint just past Constellation Park

Palm Trees on Alki

Seals out on this barge in Eliot Bay

View from Jack Block Park

I went back to Marination Kai to have lunch after my hike!

Unfortunately, it was high tide or I would have walked out to the Alki Lighthouse from the waterside...which is one of my favorite things to do. Ryan does this hike almost every single day that he is in Seattle. He calls it his Alki Walk. You leave from our house and go down to the water and come out close to Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook and then he walks all the way around Alki Beach passing so many little "pocket parks"  Me Kwa Mooks, Weather Watch, Cormorant Cove, Constellation, Charles Richey Viewpoint, until you get to the Alki Beach area from there, you hike on around Duwamish Head and towards the West Seattle Bridge. Just past Salty's on Alki is Jack Block Park. They used to have really neat information signs about the port at this park, but they are gone now. Probably the victims of vandalism. I learned a lot about the Port of Seattle from those signs that are now gone. But the views are still awesome from Jack Block Park. You can see all of the Port and downtown Seattle.

 So far my total mileage for hike-a-thon is 33 miles and we have raised $809 for the WTA

Just click "Sponsor Me" to make a donation. Thank you in advance for your generosity! And for those folks who don't want to send money thru the internet. The old fashioned way of writing a check and putting it in the mail works too.  Just make checks out to WTA and you can send them to me at PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA 98116  Many Thanks to Gretchen who made a donation this week!! September 7th is the LAST Day for contributions!! (Suzi!!)

August 25th thru 28th entrance to National Parks will be Free
https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm

Monday's Postcard 2016: Animals

                                  

 Just some random postcards with wildlife on them. Postcards like these can be found all over the country. And they can be found at National Parks all over the USA. This year is the centennial year of the National Park Service! August 25, 2016.

For those of you who are supporting Ryan and me for the WTA hike-a-thon this year, Here is the link to our donation page! Hike-a-thon

Training for the Camino!

At the end of the summer, I am going to meet Ryan in Portugal and walk with him to Santiago, Spain on the Portuguese Route of the Camino de Santiago.  So I have been "in training" getting used to a new backpack and carrying more weight than I usually carry while hiking.  Luckily, I don't have to carry a lot because we will be staying in albergues (hostels) and we will be walking through towns everyday, so I don't have to carry several weeks worth of food and water. Nor do I need to carry a tent or extensive sleeping bags etc. 

  

My Portuguese phrase book, Camino Map and my Credential 

Just an oversized day pack really!

On the Green River Trail for Hikeathon

Green River Trail on a Sunny Sunday

So on Sunday, August 14th, I did 4 miles on the Green River Trail wearing my Camino Backpack.

On Monday, August 15th I traveled over to Bellevue to hike around the Mercer Slough Nature Trails. I did the Heritage Trail, The Bellefields Trail and the Lake to Lake Trail for a total of 2 miles of hiking. 

Lots of folks out on the water trail today!!

Flowering shrubs near the boardwalk

Unfortunately, the Blueberry Farm Farmstand is CLOSED on Mondays. So I did not get to pick any blueberries (although I did notice that some folks were just walking in and picking some for themselves anyway) or purchase any produce for my dinner. I had to go to the Safeway Grocery Store instead. Not much fun in that.

August 16th found me at Seward Park in Seattle. I hiked for 2 miles around this park in the city on the loop trail and Sqebeqsed Trail

Seward Park

Gorgeous Afternoon

I wish I could have gone in the water

August 17th Dash Point Park, 2 more miles!!  The backpack is just second nature to me now. I think it will work out splendidly in Portugal.

evidence of logging in Dash Point Park

The Beach at Dash Point Park

Container ship headed for the Port at Tacoma

I've done 28.5 miles so far this month and we have raised $739 dollars!!  Thanks so much to Angele!! They finally credited your donation!

For those of you who are supporting Ryan and me for the WTA hike-a-thon this year, Here is the link to our donation page! Hike-a-thon    Many thanks to  for their donations this week!!

Monday's Postcard 2016: Gnomes

This year's postcard theme is that you don't have to travel to find postcards.  But so many of my quirky postcards do come from my travels. I visit bookstores and card shops all over the country. From a Hallmark store in New Jersey to an independent bookstore in Iowa, I am always on the lookout for fun postcards to send to my friends.
For those of you who are supporting Ryan and me for the WTA hike-a-thon this year, Here is the link to our donation page! Hike-a-thon  And I promise to send you a postcard if you give me your address too! Many thanks to Lisa and John S. for their donations this week!

Urban Hiking around Seattle

So glad to be back home in Seattle to get in a few miles on my home turf. My first day back I did one mile at Lincoln Park on the Beach and Bluff Trails. It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon in West Seattle, as you can see from this photo.

Fauntleroy Ferries coming and going

August 9th found me checking out the new extension of the Des Moines Creek Trail. This trail is always on my hike-a-thon list because it is very close to the airport and easy for me to just hop over and do a mile or two. Unfortunately, there is all sorts of road construction (or is it construction for the Light Rail??) Anyway it was difficult to get to the North End of the Des Moines Creek Trail where I usually park and walk from, so I drove on down to what I consider the new END of the Trail at Des Moines Beach Park and I parked there and hiked back up towards the airport.

The Beach at the End of the Des Moines Creek Trail

The water treatment plant, worst part of Des Moines Creek Trail

The trail used to end here at the water treatment plant, but now you get to go around it and down to the Beach!! Very cool in my opinion. I only did 2 miles on the Des Moines Creek Trail. When I reached the water treatment plant, I turned around and headed back to the Beach. By the way, there were crowds of people wandering around the Beach Park with their cell phones out, so I think it was a big Pokeman Go spot.  Myself and a lone bicyclist were the only ones who left the beach area and headed out on the trail !! LOL

Dragonfly Pavilion

Longfellow Creek

After a few days at work and time spent by the pool in Las Vegas, I came home and did 3 miles on the Longfellow Creek Trail in West Seattle. Another "go to" trail for me. The Longfellow Creek trail is in my "backyard" here in West Seattle and I usually include it for Hike-a-thon every year.


So far I only have 18.5 miles for hike-a-thon, but Ryan and I have raised $599 for Washington Trails! Our goal is $1500,,,,,,so we still have about 900 dollars to go....I just need 900 of you guys reading this to send in one dollar each!! Send us a dollar!! For Washington Trails!!

For those of you who are supporting Ryan and me for the WTA hike-a-thon this year, Here is the link to our donation page! Hike-a-thon    Many thanks to Ray, Gwen, JT and Steve for their donations this week!!

Monday's Postcard 2016: Fishermen

I just love the artwork on these postcards. The artist is Claude Howell from North Carolina and the series is called Mending Nets.  I might frame these one day and put them on my walls, but for now, I will share them with you. For those of you who are supporting Ryan and me for the WTA hike-a-thon this year, Here is the link to our donation page! Hike-a-thon

Yosemite for Hike-a-thon!!

This year Hike-a-thon started out with a bang as Ryan and I traveled to Fresno, CA on August 1st and then drove to the Nelder Grove in Oakhurst, CA to camp out and hike among the Giant Sequoia Grove there.                                                          

The next day we got into Yosemite Park early to snag a campsite for the next 4 days and Ryan hiked from Tuolumne Meadows to Tenaya Lake. I did a mile around Tenaya Lake and then just relaxed. 

August 3rd, Ryan started his trek of the John Muir Trail doing Vernal Falls and on to Tuolumne Meadow, I just went to the Falls and back to visit Yosemite Village in the Valley. 

I arrived in Tuolumne Meadows to pick up Ryan and I had some time to spare, so I hiked out to see Soda Springs in the Tuolumne Meadow for another 1.5 miles.

On August 5th, we hiked to Tuolumne Grove together      

 Then Ryan did a few more miles across Tuolumne Meadow to the Tulumne Lodge. I hiked out a half a mile and back while waiting for him to arrive.

 On August 6th. I left Ryan to continue on the John Muir Trail all the way to Mount Whitney. As I left Yosemite, I stopped in the Wawona area and did the Meadow Loop Trail for 3.5 more miles for hike-a-thon.

So far I have a total of 12.5 miles for Hike-a-thon and we have raised $419 dollars for the WTA.  We are half way to our goal!!

Just click "Sponsor Me" to make a donation. Thank you in advance for your generosity! And for those folks who don't want to send money thru the internet. The old fashioned way of writing a check and putting it in the mail works too.  Just make checks out to WTA and you can send them to me at PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA 98116  Many Thanks to Jennifer and Janet who made donations this week!!

Stories from Hike-a-thons Past

Ryan and I have been participating in the Washington Trails Association Hike-a-thon every August for the past 12 years and we have some really interesting stories. Like the year when I slipped on a beach log and gave myself a black eye!!

soon to be a black eye

Beach Logs Can KILL!

Then there is the year when my sister and I were hiking on the Olympic Peninsula and my car broke down and had to be towed back to Seattle on the FERRY!

getting towed on the ferry

Hike-a-thon is Off to a Rousing Start

The year that we got most of our miles hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Excited to be on the PCT

Last Miles for Hike-a-thon 2010

And the year we did a backpacking trip up the Tubal Cain Trail to see the remains of a 60 year old airplane crash

debris near our campsite

Week 4 of Hike-a-thon 2014

I can't wait to see what adventures this year will bring!! Just click "Sponsor Me" to make a donation. Thank you in advance for your generosity! And for those folks who don't want to send money thru the internet. The old fashioned way of writing a check and putting it in the mail works too.  Just make checks out to WTA and you can send them to me at PO Box 16131 Seattle, WA 98116

July 2016 Reading

Temple Grove by Scott Elliott (library) About a grove of trees in the Olympic National Park. The author weaves a fictional story about a logger who wants to make money from the timber and the environmentalist who is out to stop him. Having hiked and traveled through the area alot, I really enjoyed all the local flavor in the book.
Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich (audiobook) About the corporate job market. I listened to this one on audiobook while driving to and from trailheads to go on hikes and to pick up and drop off Ryan for his hiking!
The Pedestrians by Rachel Zucker (library) a book of poetry, not bad, but I think I liked the Ellen Bass poetry better. If I like Ellen Bass now, I guess I cannot pick one of her books to be "out of my comfort zone" LOL
The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson (library) I am still fascinated by all things Swedish and on a hot day, reading descriptions of snow is so refreshing! This is a short book, but complex. It was just okay
Looking for Alaska by John Green (library) on the list of banned books because of a sex scene. You can follow this link to see what the author has to say about it!  I liked it but it is just as sad as The Fault in Our Stars. So be warned!
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (library) A girl gets a job as a server at a fancy NYC restaurant.  Reminded me a lot of Kitchen Confidential, but more about the waitstaff than the cooks. I enjoyed it.
All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister (library) Supposedly there are more single women now than in any other time in history. Women are staying single longer before getting married and women are choosing to remain single rather than have a boyfriend. How this has all evolved over the years is fascinating.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (library) How did I skip this one in school? I thought I had read it, About the experiences of a black family with particular emphasis on the perception of beauty equaling light skin and blue eyes.
Trophy Hunt by C J Box. (library) Jack the Ripper style killings plaque Wyoming, but Joe Pickett is going to figure out the mystery.
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory ( audiobook). Still trying to figure out this period of English History.  Gregory does a good job of making it come alive for me.
Shock Wave by John Sandford ( audiobook) a Virgil Flowers book on CD.  I have gotten addicted to having a book on tape going when I am driving around alone in my car.
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (library) Edith Wharton is one of my favorite authors and I needed to pick a book that was over 100 years old to read for my library bingo card. So this was my choice! Reading Book Bingo Again, it is set during winter and there is much snow!!
The Lover by Marguerite Duras (library) I read this book years ago when the movie came out. So I am rereading it now for the Reading Book Bingo  I had forgotten that I did not like it so much. I think the movie that was made from it was better. It skips around so much, past, present, it can get confusing to really follow the narrative. But I think too, that that is the point. Sometimes it is almost like poetry, but maybe that is just because it is a translation of another language? This is the Barbara Bray translation of the book.
The Secrets She Keeps by Deb Caletti (library) I enjoyed this one, part of the story is set at one of those dude ranch places that people used to go to in Nevada back in the day and I found that fascinating. Reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Berg's style (I am a HUGE fan of Elizabeth Berg)
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (library) Private airplane crash with two survivors I really liked it. Lots of twists and turns to find out what happened.
Unprocessed by Megan Kimble (library) about her year of trying to eat only unprocessed food, despite living in a city on a budget. I have been trying to eat more unprocessed food, so this topic fascinates me. And it is extremely similar to the 100 mile diet idea (of eating items that come from within 100 miles of where you live) It can be a real challenge and I live in an area with great access to farmers markets year round.
The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell (library) similar to The Almost Nearly Perfect People that I read earlier this year. More of my fascination with all things Scandinavian. I really liked it and laughed aloud quite often while reading.
Lies Across America by James Loewen (library) I absolutely loved this book about historical markers across America and the things that they don't get right!! I'll be reading this authors other books as well!!
He's Gone by Deb Caletti (library) ok, now reading everything that she has ever written!! This one about a wife whose husband disappears.
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas okay, chalk up another author that I am going to have to read everything that she has ever written. This one also gives me an Elizabeth Berg vibe. This particular book is set at a Japanese Internment camp in Colorado during WWII. Mostly about the young girl who lives on a farm right next door to the camp.
I Loved, I Lost, I made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci (library) I really enjoyed her descriptions of her NYC love life and I got some really great ideas for pasta dinners!! LOL My favorite line from the book might be: " My imagination had the flexibility of a thirteen-year-old Chinese gymnast."


For those of you who are supporting Ryan and me for the WTA hike-a-thon this year, Here is the link to our donation page! Hike-a-thon

Monday's Postcard 2016: Wine

I liked these comedic postcards about wine, they make me laugh, so I bought them for my collection

 For those of you who are supporting Ryan and me for the WTA hike-a-thon this year, Here is the link to our donation page! Hike-a-thon  Thanks to Da Kool Kats and Margaret for their donation!!!