It was time once again to go in search of the Golden Alpine Larch tree. This is a coniferous tree that losses it’s needles in the fall. The elusive alpine larch grows at high elevations, on the east side of the Cascades. They like wet, shady areas and can tolerate high winds. These trees can…
Since Derek moved out of the college dorms and into a house with a few of his friends, I need to take him down a few things that couldn’t fly with him like his bike. Mostly I wanted to check out the house. I talked Jim Aga into sharing the drive with me and stopping…
Seems like over night the weather changed to fall. Jim and I only had a 2 day weekend and I needed to be back early on Sunday. We decided on a trip to Rock Mtn on the other side of Steven’s Pass. Typically a day trip but we would camp on the summit where the…
On September 10th, Fay and I headed out on our annual trip. Just the two of us. The Hanging Gardens and Bannock Lakes hit both our radar last year so it was easy to decide where to go.
After my 5 day trip with Fay through Bannock Lakes and the Hanging Gardens, I anxiously awaited Jim’s arrival to Image Lake so we could climb some of the peaks I had marveled over the last few days. I knew he had a long day of hiking with lots of elevation gain so I had…
The high route above Whatcom Pass has been on Jim and my list since we met. Neither of us had ever been in the area. The high route has the benefit of being directly across from Challenger, one of the prettiest mountains in the North Cascades.
Since I was still getting over jet lag from Europe, Jim and I decided to do a 3-day trip into Del Campo and Gothic peaks. Jim was able to work until early afternoon on Friday. We were on the trail just before 4pm and arrived Foggy Lake just before dark. We enjoyed a quite dinner…
Derek and I spent the flight home summarizing our amazing adventure.
My priority for France was getting Derek to the D-Day beaches in Normandy. I actually think everyone should see them and hear the stories of unity and sacrifice so others can be free.
Our first really hiccup of the trip happened when our airlines changed the time of our flight leaving Seville, Spain making it impossible for us to catch our connection to Geneva, Switzerland. After being on hold for 20 minutes, the airlines got things fixed by sending us to Munich and then back to Zurich.