Rock Climbing: Exit 38, Vantage, and Into Fall

Well, since my last post I think I've been on about 6 more airplanes and in a few different states -- California primarily where it's nice, warm, and sunny so I'm not complaining too much.  But it is nice to be home for a while!  In between work travel, my brother, Alan, and his girlfriend, Ruchi, came to visit us in Seattle.  It was the first time I'd met Ruchi, aka, "The Ruch," aka, "Fat Daddy"...and thought she was awesome :)  Alan is lucky to have her.

They did lots of touristy things in Seattle and I tagged along on a few of the activities that I hadn't already done, including Chihuly Gardens and Glass Exhibit at Seattle Center (awesome!) and the Seattle Underground Tour (also cool).  We took them rock climbing one day at Exit 38 and they both said they had a great time.

Will, excited to see his grandma Doris's doppelganger.

 After Alan and Ruchi's visit, and more work travel, Will and I went to Vantage to do a bit of climbing. I lead my firs 5.10 route!  Awesome :)  It's always nice to camp a night or two and look at the stars.

Trey Songz... What What!!

Do you know who Trey Songz is?  Well, if you are 18 or 19 years old and female you likely do.  I was in Philly this past week, up close and personal, with Trey Songz and his posse'.  "Why?" you ask?  Because I got to go to a concert that we were throwing for our student customers at work.  I have never been backstage at a concert or met an artist, but now I have.  When I explained I was going to a concert for Trey Songz to my Dad, his response was "Who, Trey Anastasio from Phish?"... no Dad, I am not surprised and frankly, would have been worried if he knew Trey Songz...http://www.treysongz.com/

Even if rap or R&B isn't your thing (which, it isn't mine) Trey sure can put on a good concert!

Laboring Away on Labor Day

Adequate title for this post, read below and you'll see.  For Labor Day Will and I headed out scenic Highway 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway.  It was jaw-droppingly beautiful.  The mountains in the North Cascades are jagged and so huge and the rivers and lakes are a pristine emerald color green from glacier melt-off.  As we drove through the winding curves around different mountains, I thought to myself that this was the most spectacular place I've been in the U.S.  It's really unlike anywhere else.

Our first night we drove in and set up a camp sight we'd call home for the next three nights at Ballard Campground in Mazama.  The next day we woke up early and, per usual, Will became the 'man of the kitchen' and started cooking our oatmeal and making coffee.  It's nice to have a slight role-reversal when we camp.  We packed our backpacks, picked up my mountain bike, and rode the Buck Mountain trail.

After our morning bike riding, we went into Winthrop, WA and piddled around the town, ate ice cream and bought a couple of books to read at camp.  It may not be clear in the photos below, but Winthrop is a themed mining town and tourist destination.

Later that night we were having dinner and drinks at the Mazama store (notice I said 'the' Mazama store... only one in the town) and ran into two different people we knew from Seattle!  So random!  P.S. I love the Mazama store, it's like a mini Whole Foods and has lots of delicious food and local gifts and wares.  I got a locally made merino wool skirt that was made from sweaters.  One of the friends we ran into was Owen, who had just finished paragliding in the area.  We mentioned that we wanted to try paragliding and Owen knew some instructors who agreed to take us out on a tandem flight later that weekend.

On our second day in the North Cascades we mountain biked up Cutthroat Pass.  Another trail very adequately named.  I ended up hiking my rented bike up most of the trail.  It was extremely difficult to get that heavy thing up there but it was a breeze and a LOT of fun riding it down.

After our bike ride we took a tour at the Smokejumper Base.  The base we visited just outside Winthrop was the birthplace of Smokejumping.  Chris, a Smokejumper, was our guide and showed us all around the base, showed us the outfits they wear, showed us inside their plane etc.  It was awesome and these men and women are hard-core!

Their suit weighs 80 lbs!  And their packs
weigh 120 lbs or more!  Crazy fit people, they
are like the Navy Seals of firefighting.

Supply package with its own parachute.

All Smokejumpers are also seamstresses. They sew
all their own clothing and repair all parachutes.

I'm flying the plane!  Once the 'fire bell' rings,
all Smokejumpers are in the plane, totally ready
to go within five minutes!

On our last day we went rock climbing at Fun Wall.  I lead climbed the longest route I've ever climbed, 10 bolts and I felt pretty good about it :)  We also met up with Owen's crew to paraglide but after getting harnessed up and seeing Owen almost get blown into the trees off the mountain top, our guides opted not to fly that day since the winds were too strong.

Look at the top, middle of this photo and the
little black dot you see is me.

Labor Day weekend concluded with a visit to Cascadian Organic Farms for an ice-cream cone :)  I got home-made raspberry and Will got home-made blueberry.  It's a picturesque farm in a beautiful valley. What a wonderful weekend, I love summer!