60-Year Storm

In the middle of January much of the Northwest got hit with what some forecasters have referred to as a 60-year storm. In Olympia we got almost 2 FEET of snow! It started out really fun with most businesses being closed, so that many folks didn't have to work. Snow Day! We relaxed and played in the snowy wonderland, but then the freezing rains came to much of southwest Washington. Everything became encapsulated with ice. Trees started breaking due to the weight of the ice and this caused massive power outages. We were lucky in that we only lost power for 28 hours. Mom and Doug lost power for several days. The experience made us all think about being prepared for emergencies and how thankful we are for great neighbors and friends.

The weekend before the big storm we had just a few inches of snow and went on a snowy hike at Priest Point Park.

The storm came in on Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning we had deep snow!

Carmen had some clearance issues with the deep snow, but she enjoyed the snow nonetheless.

Thanks to Eric's eastcoast upbringing. He shoveled our walkway. Most folks here in Northwest lowlands have no concept of shoveling their sidewalks.

Snow Day! Eric sledding at the neighborhood hill with Carmen in tow.

Yep, I snowboarded around the neighborhood. Why not?

Then Wednesday night into Thursday brought freezing rain...

Everything became covered in ice.

Our Subaru...

Trees brought down power lines.

Central Street. Notice all the icy branches hanging down over the cars.

These poplar trees normally stand straight up in the air. They looked so odd curved at the tops.

Several days after the storm Eric and I decided to hike at our beloved Watershed Park to assess the damage. The damage was massive. All the forested parks in town are still closed due to fallen trees.

We kept losing the trail. It was hard to follow with all the destruction.

Alder trees laying right across the trail.

Anniversary Weekend in Port Townsend

In mid-December we spent a long weekend in Port Townsend for our 10th wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful time with sun, paddle boarding, hiking, good food, and lots of relaxation. Port Townsend was beautiful and decorated for the Holidays. A major highlight for us was running into our favorite local celebrity, Luke Burbank from TBTL podcast fame. He's also known for NPR's Wait Wait and the Ross and Burbank Show on Kiro (97.3 FM). He was really nice and talked to us for awhile. On the Monday podcast he mentioned us and Carmen! Thanks to Carmen for being so charming.

Self portrait from the PT waterfront.

Point Hudson Marina. We were able to store the boards there.

We had a beautiful afternoon paddle on Mystery Bay (Marrowstone Island). We also paddled along the Port Townsend waterfront from Pt Hudson to Boat Haven.

This picture was taken on 2nd floor lobby at the Palace Hotel where we stayed. We stayed on the 3rd floor this time with a nice waterfront view.

View from our room.

During a hike on the beach at Fort Worden we came across this octopus carcass. The legs were missing, but it was neat to see. We also saw a seagull eat an entire starfish!

We saw some cool shorebirds like black-bellied plovers (pictured above) and black turnstones.

We love Port Townsend!

First Snowboarding of the Season

On Black Friday my friend Chris and I went on our first snowboarding trip of the season to White Pass. We called it "White Friday"! Beats shopping any day. There was a lot of fresh snow and the sun came out in the afternoon. Stoked!

Happy snowboarders!

Mt. Rainier from the ski lift.

Taking a break to enjoy the scenary.

Interesting cloud patterns in the afternoon. They may have been lenticular clouds that drifted off Mt Rainier.

Thanksgiving at the farm

We had our first family thanksgiving at the farm since Grandma and Grandpa Era passed. The farmhouse was cozy and nice. Dad has done such an awesome job remodeling it. G & G would be so proud!

My wild blackberry pie using Grandma's crust recipe.

Dinner time. The Tofurky was yummy.

Carmen got to meet her high-energy but sweet cousin Ben.

Traditional walk to the bluff overlooking the River. Watch out for cow pies!

Fall in the South Puget Sound

Fall in the South Puget Sound is very beautiful, so I'm sharing a few photos we took last fall.

Priest Point Park and Ellis Cove.

Chum salmon spawning in Mclane Creek.

Paddling on a very windy and rainy day out at Boston Harbor with our friend Matt (in red) who had just gotten a board and wanted to go out despite the weather.

Gull Harbor (south of Boston Harbor).

We get out on the Sound even on the coldest days!

Eric's Birthday (39th)

For Eric's 39th birthday we went to Portland. We stayed right downtown at the Hotel Monaco. It was a lot of fun and we got to take in some of Portland's best!

Oysters, of course, and good eats at the famous Oyster Bar.

The Hotel Monaco is more than pet friendly - they welcome your dog like she's a celebrity. See Carmen's name on the sign?

Carmen got her own bed and treat basket.

Carmen enjoying the reception with us and other hotel guests.

This is a picture of the 30+ minute continual line for Voodoo donuts. We did eventually get some donuts and ate way too many.

We went to Ground Kontrol where we played pinball and other arcade games in the wee hours. I think it was the 70's & 80's hit songs they played - it just kept you amped.

Holden Village

In early November I spent several days in Holden Village, a small Lutheran Bible Camp located in the eastern foothills of the Cascades - only accessible by a couple hour ferry ride up Lake Chelan. I was there to tour the Holden Mine Clean-up site as I'm providing technical assistance to the clean-up efforts as they relate to toxicity in the nearby Railroad Creek which is heavily contaminated by metals from the mine. The village was really sweet. I attended all the community events while I was there and even went running with a few villagers on some of the snowy mountain trails. It was a neat experience.

Self portrait at Donkey Falls

Donkey Falls

Snowy trail that we ran on.