Nothing much, how about you?

Yes I am back.

I was never really gone but it certainly seems my Summer was long and, I have to admit, filled with ennui.  Between a virus that hit me hard and frequent trips into work on the weekends, I never felt greatly inspired for blogging.  Fires late in the Summer kept me home from so many of my favorite areas.  I did some fun stuff and I visited an amazing place I will tell you about later.

    
It seemed that Summer would never arrive and rain persistently kept me from my favorite areas.  I even got turned back by snow in early June.  I had some nice visits to Eastern Washington and one of my favorite encounters was with this Great Horned Owl nest.

I paid a quick visit to my favorite hike to Red Top, but was turned back by snow.  I stopped at the little abandoned cabin to check on an orchid I know blooms there and encountered this feral peony bloom with a butterfly, perfect timing.

Late in  June I left for a vacation to England and Madeira.  On Madeira I hiked from hotel to hotel using a Sherpa service to transport my bags.  This method of travel is quite popular in Europe and I am aiming for another trip next Summer. 

I was in London for the solstice.

Madeira is remarkable for its rugged volcanic mountains.  I will certainly return to hike in this area.  I fell ill a few days into my visit and did not feel up to the 20Km hike along the spine of the island.  At ~ 6000 feet, I didn't feel totally confident I could easily and safely cover the distance.  I contented myself with spending the day at the hotel enjoying the view and drinking tea.

My neighbor and I had a trip rock hounding.  Augite crystals are found no other place in Washington but this one location.  It was a blazing hot day and we were introduced to several methods of finding rocks.

One new activity that I have really embraced is Mud Racing, or MOB events; Mud Obstacles and Beer.  Warrior Dash is one of the larger events but I am finding smaller events sponsored by local community groups to be just as much fun.  I did eight events this summer and look forward to the next one.  I braved the North Bend Warrior Dash along with some co-workers.

I had two nice hikes, both of which involved trains.  Lester is a ghost town in the Cascades that served as a railroad stop back in the day.  For a long time I have wanted to hike up the abandoned road to pay a visit. 

A second hike took me to the Iron Goat trail.  I need to go back as my visit was highlighted by a fall that broke my camera.  This Pika was the final subject for my Olympus.

My friend Ron suggested a few cameras for me and I was instantly in love with the Nikon Coolpix 510.  I have been out and about snapping pictures for my projects.  I was able to capture the August Blue Moon

This fearsome Isopod on International Rock Flipping Day

A handsome rooster at the Evergreen State Fair.

The stretch of 80+ sunny days was finally broken last weekend with rain.  I feel all is right with the world now.  I even see a hit of new snow on some of the higher mountains today.  I ran out to Snoqualmie Falls on Sunday and got this pictures of the clouds for my Scavenger Hunt.

and Kubota Gardens for the Fall color in the rain

I will probably be heading to the beach soon.  I saw a kite there that I cannot get out of my mind.  My little place in Neah Bay, Bullman Beach, is not going to be open in the winter this year, so I am looking for a little snuggery for the holiday week.

So that's about everything.  I will try to do some stories on Madeira soon.  It is a lot like here, only different.

Everybody Loves a Train

This last weekend I was on-call at work and required to be in on both days.  This left me with the inability to hit the road early. I had a primary goal of getting my Monthly Scavenger Hunt photos worked on.   I spent the Saturday being totally domestic (translation...doing laundry) and paid a visit to the Redmond Saturday Market where I bought some treats for myself.

A print from Stephanie Johnson.  This amazing and talented student has art work that always catches my eye.

www.stephaniekjohnson.com

I think you will agree she is an amazing talent.

I also bought myself a treat from Wildflour Bakery.  Gluten Free.  Unfortunately they do not have a shop, but only sell at Farmers Markets right now.  They are in the process of getting bar code registration so they can vend locally.  Their blueberry lemon cupcake was less a conventional Mom's cupcake and more a tea cake.  Totally wonderful.

On to the Scavenger Hunt Photos

Subject : Comfort Food. I consider all baked goods the ultimate comfort food.

Subject : Something Musical

A fiddling group called The Onlies, busking to raise money to go to "fiddler camp".  They were very good.

Subject: Summer event

Vine ripened heirloom tomatoes at the Saturday Market.  Only in Summer, around here.

Sunday I knew I would visit the Snoqualmie Railroad Days since one of the challenge subject was "seen at the bus or railway station"  That is a hard one since here in America, bus and train stations are not that common.

But I knew I could enjoy a mid-afternoon with a train ride on the historic tracks that run from Snoqualmie Falls to North Bend.

Railroad Days is a Summer event celebrated in the town of Snoqualmie, just east of where I live.  At its heart is the Northwest Railway Museum   www.trainmuseum.org

This area was timber country and the railroad line through here serviced the timber concerns.  West of town is Snoqualmie Falls one of the most impressive waterfalls in the region.  I visited the valley area early in 2010 and you can see a picture of the Falls in pretty full roar here.

http://meanderingwa.blogspot.com/2010/01/rain-rinse-repeat.html


We start at the historic depot, built in 1890.

The ticket lobby was a wonderful collection of wood panels and squeaky floors. While waiting for my ticket I noted that there was a can of Nallys Lumberjack Syrup in a display case. I had a mini-flashback of very distant childhood.

The train had one engine and two cars.  I selected this 1915 era "hard" passenger car.

It was beautiful but still in need of renovations. I soon appreciated the joy of a well padded dress/bustle or corset.

I loved watching everyone and their reactions to being on the train. Some things are timeless. Parents and children; hard to know who had the most fun.

Everyone waves. We wave out

People wave back...and smile

Mr Conductor (who did not look like Ringo Starr) punched tickets and answered questions.

There was a lot to see along the way.

Pretty houses, back streets, and a lot of blackberries. For the back story on train tracks and blackberries, visit this entry from August of 2009

http://meanderingwa.blogspot.com/2009/08/rite-of-summer-blackberries.html

The engine pushed us eastbound to North Bend. Some of the children were confused as to why we were going backwards. They were the ones sitting in the backward facing seats.

Fans of the Television show "Twin Peaks" will recognize this sight.

After picking up passengers we held up traffic while we returned via Snoqualmie and headed to the falls. The town was hosting an auto show and it was fun to watch the fancy cars and the visitors as we trundled past.

The museum has many old train cars awaiting restoration. They are placed along the tracks and as you roll past you get a too close look at them. It will take a lot of work to restore them all. The museum has a dedicated facility and corps of volunteers who make this all possible.

Around here it is not unusual to find ramps and bridges over creeks made from train flatcars. It is not until you get below them that you can see that they are old train bases. This is an old Burlington Northern car base.

We wind up our trip right at the brink of the Snoqualmie Falls. The foliage on the trees obscure much of the view right now but you can still see a part of the power generation plant and the mitigation Puget Sound Energy is doing to preserve this area. The river valley below this spot is one of the big flood areas of the state.

That large tree is right at the brink of the Falls.  It has been there some time, sooner or later it is going to go over.

After a pause, the engine pushed us back the direction we came. We got a chance to see the collection of old train cars. There was even a snowplow engine. Near the depot a traditional "big log" to try to count rings on.

After leaving the train I wandered about to collect my train station picture. I settled on this detail of a 1926 Mallet steam locomotive piston and wheels. I liked the color the metal has taken on with the lichens and weathering.

Subject: Something I saw in the train or bus station.

Walking along the rows of fancy restored cars I found the perfect subject for what I thought might be one of my biggest challenges.

Subject: Something with a big nose.

A 1941 Willys Coupe.

Driving home after my day out, I realized that I forgot to put a penny on the tracks.

Another opportunity to make mayhem missed.

Rain, Rinse, Repeat

What can you do? It is winter in Puget Sound Country and with El Nino set up, the normal wet weather seems to persist without those pretty "blue days" that serve up a reward.

This is a photo that I took Wednesday during my daily lunch-time walk. It is really raining in this shot. That rain that you cannot see falling. Everything gets wet...eventually. The native peoples called it "chu-bash" , I call it organized fog.

I tried to chase the sunshine Saturday. I started the morning early at the farm. High on a ridge over the Carnation / Duvall valley it is often quite fogged in. Saturday was no exception.

I did not hold great hopes at finding clear skies any time soon. I love the valley and the farms and community along the way. This pretty little farm is a great example. Those are Belted Galloway (beef) cattle. Some people call them Oreo Cookies Cows.

Double Stuff, perhaps. They look very furry and fat.

As I drove along the valley floor I wondered what Snoqualmie Falls might be running like. It was not but a few miles southbound when the skies looked like they were going to break. I stopped in at a Fish and Wildlife parking spot and walked for an hour along the river trail and wove through some open hunting fields.

What a treat. There was clearly still clouds and fog sitting in the trees high up on the ridge.

Down here on the valley floor the sun was breaking through. There was even patches of blue sky. What a difference a few miles and several hundred feet elevation makes.

I wandered through the fields and came to the river. Across the way, the historic Carnation Research Farm sits prettily on the side of the hill.

Further south along the river, I paid a quick visit to Tolt - Mac Donald Park. This park climbs the side of the valley ridge and has become quite popular with mountain bikers. I have spent some time birding in these woods. The trails are like so many in this region. I was a bit apprehensive to see what tire rutting had done to them.

You cross a pretty bridge to get to the park. It has a slight sway as you walk across over the very fast running Snoqualmie River. Look at the moisture in the air coming from the trees ( and sky)

People who enjoy fishing must really enjoy it to stand hip deep on a 40 degree day. Notice the sky. There has not been more than 30 minutes and 3 or so miles from the pretty blue sky and trees shot.

This park is unique that it has a camp group and yurts you can rent. I have to imagine someone who enjoys fishing might have a pleasant couple days so close to the city.

The park trails climb steeply, so it is a good workout. The trails have been well maintained with erosion control breaks. The soil appears somewhat sandy in places. I don't know if that is natural to this spot or representative of the maintenance the bike community has done to preserve the quality.

I saw this sign, posted last Fall. We have a cougar has been in the neighborhood of the farm, about 6 miles north along the ridge, for many years. A cougar can have a range of 50 miles so it comes as no surprise to me that a cat would like this nice patch of old forest. In all my rambles I have never seen a cougar.

To the east there is a hint of clearing sky. I can clearly see that the snow really seems to be lacking in this El Nino year. Not good at all as this snow represents the irrigation water that keeps our Eastern Washington agriculture going. At least they can manufacture snow for the Olympics.

By the time I get to the falls, it is fully overcast and dreary again. There is so much moisture in the air that between the spray from the falls and the fog and clouds, you could not see the foot of the falls. Indeed you could not even see 1/3 of the way down when standing at the closest vantage point.

After finishing at work today, I returned to the falls. It was much clearer, though still cloudy and the falls were putting on a great show.

Professor Mass http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/ is forecasting strong windstorms along the coast starting tonight. Most of the heavy El Nino rain gets diverted into California so we might get some blue skies in the coming week. The mountains might even get more snow. I wish I could scoot out to the coast for an exciting storm watch. Overall, however , the promise of some blue sky is enough for me.