Thanksgiving

Dave says: For the week of Thanksgiving we headed down to Arizona for some sunshine. We enjoyed temperatures reaching the 70s and even low 80s and Alisha was even wearing her shorts. We went on two nice hikes with my mom and dad. The first involved a 4x4 experience out towards WoodPecker Mine to the east and we found an old mine although it turned out to be a different one. We were looking for some amethyst which we didn't find but my mom did come across an old pocket watch in the mining ruins.

The second hike was southeast of Phoenix and took us into Hidden Canyon for a really nice hike in the canyon including a section that slotted down pretty tight. On Thanksgiving we made it out to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum which is one of my family's favorite spots. The desert is really pretty out there we had a nice picnic. We took a walk on some of the trails and my dad even caught a snake which Alisha decided that she wanted to hold (more brave than me).

It was fun to spend time with family. We had a big Thanksgiving dinner at my uncle's house. We also made it to Christine's kids soccer games and to one of Daniel's band concerts. We stayed with my grandparents who always treat us really well when we are in town.

We also made it down to Tucson for a day trip to visit the U of A and connect with many of the great professors and students that we are friends. I still have research projects with many people there. Also, my cohort members Mike and Scott have both recently received job offers so it was fun to be there to congratulate them. Overall, it was an exceptional week!

Veteran's Day Week

Alisha says: On Veteran's Day we took a drive to check out Snoqualmie Falls. It is a rather impressive water fall that is just off the I-90. Later that week we went to the climbing gym with Sarah and Chris. We have done this a few times and it is always really fun. I think we are going to take up climbing as a winter activity to do when it is cold and rainy. Finally to wrap up the week we did a nice hike to Teneriffe Falls. Part of it was frozen so there were some ice-sickles but still lots of water flowing. It was really pretty with the sun shining on it and you can get really close which seemed cool until chunks of the ice were breaking off and crashing down.

Rain

Alisha says: After squeezing in a few more fall adventures the rain has finally started to fall rather regularly. We have still managed to get out, it just requires a few more layers of clothes. We left the house on one particularly rainy day expecting to hike in the rain but to our pleasant surprise it stopped and we enjoyed a nice hike up Middle Fork in Snoqualmie National Forest and didn't see anybody else on the trail.

After about a week of rainy days we finally got a clear Saturday so we went walking around Discovery Park. It was nice walking down by the water and we saw a tiny seal resting on the beach, some giant dead jelly fish that had washed up on shore, and some seals/otters swimming along in the water. The views were great! That evening we got to go to a University of Washington football game. They ended up losing but we got to see a nice sunset.

Middle Fork - Snoqualmie

Discovery Park

University of Washington Football Game

Halloween Cake that I made

A Trip to Lopez Island

Alisha says: It has been a mild October her in the Northwest as it has started to rain some but it has not started to fall nonstop yet, but we all know it is just a matter of time so in the mean time we have been squeezing in a few more adventures that have been on our list of things to do.

One day after Dave got home from work we rented a canoe and rowed around the waterways by the arboretum. It was a beautiful evening and fun to be on the water and see things from a different perspective. We saw lots of ducks and beautiful fall colors.

I now look at the weather forecast almost daily and during the week it had rained on and off but it looked like Saturday was shaping up to be a rain free day so we drove to Anacortes and took our hard tail 29 mountain bikes on the ferry to Lopez Island. Lopez is the most rural of the major islands in the San Juan's and with it being the off season it felt especially quiet as we rode around. The scenery was beautiful as we spent the day pedaling through wooded forests, open farmland with sheep, cows and horses, and along the rocky coastline full of picturesque views. At the far end of the island we went out to Iceberg Point and enjoyed the view before riding back to the small village to have some snacks at the bakery.

An Adventure in Fungi

Alisha says: Who knew mushrooms could be so interesting? On our beautiful fall day 7.5 mile hike to Annette Lake we saw so many different types of fungi. We passed mushrooms of all sizes, shapes and colors. My favorite was a bright red one with white spots. It reminded me of a mushroom from the Super Mario Bros game that I played as a kid. Once we arrived at the lake we found a nice place to sit, ate our snacks and admired the view. On the way back we decided to take pictures of the cool mushrooms that we found and we were both entertained looking for a new type we hadn't seen.

 The Mario mushroom

 These were really white and flat. They looked neat against the green moss.

 This one was huge!

 This one looked like cauliflower.

 Tiny mushrooms

 Spotted fuzzy mushroom

 Purple mushrooms

 Orange coral looking fungus

 Lots of mushrooms

Mt. Rainier - Camp Muir

Alisha says: We visited the Paradise (south) side of Mt. Rainier on a day with the forecast calling for warm and sunny conditions. The weather was great (although there was some smoke making the view a little hazy in the morning) for our hike to Camp Muir. Camp Muir sits at an elevation of 10,188 ft and is base camp for people who attempt to summit Mt. Rainier. The hike was 9 miles round trip with 4,700 ft. of elevation gain. We got an early start on the trail and although there were a few people on the lower trails, once we started up the Muir snowfield we only saw one other group. The trail starts out on a paved path that eventually turns to dirt and then you hit the Muir snowfield, which turns into an ice field until you finally reach Camp Muir. The hike was awesome and we were treated to up close magnificent views of the mountain. We could see different glaciers, see an ice cave in the distance, and hear the rumble of the glacier ice shifting and moving up higher on the mountain. The last part of the trail was the hardest as it gets really steep, wet and icy. We even had to cross over a few crevasses that had opened up in the ice. Although you could hop over them it really made me nervous because it was really icy and slippery and when you looked down they just opened up into a deep crack that you could not tell how far down it went. Once we reach the camp, which includes a few small buildings and restrooms, we rested and enjoyed the view while we enjoyed our lunch. A helicopter delivered some construction supplies while we were there. It was getting windy and we were getting cold so we started our journey down then mountain. It was tricky going down because of the slick conditions. Dave slipped a handful of times. There were a few sections where it was easier to slide than try and walk. On the way down we passed a bunch of people headed up and we once again were glad we got an early start. Mt. Rainier is really amazing!

Granite Mountain

Alisha says: A few pictures from our trek up Granite Mountain.