More Fun in the Mountains...

Again, Mt. Shuksan was in full glory...however, since I have so many pictures of Shuksan, I thought I'd put some other pictures from today on this blog.

For some great pictures of Mt. Shuksan, click here or here.

Well, OK, I have to put this picture of Shuksan up too and yes, technically speaking the picture right above is a part of Shuksan.

Padden - "Hoar Frost?"

While walking around Lake Padden, we came upon these beautiful ice-creations; what we thought was called "Hoar-Frost" but after reading a little about it, I'm not sure? Unfortunately, the only camera lens I had with me was a 70mm-300mm zoom lens...not exactly designed for close-ups from 4 feet away!

And yes, the ducks were out...and yes, that is Lake Padden partially frozen over.

I gave in...

If they're good enough for a baby...

I finally wised up and am trading in my trusty dell laptop for a macbook.

A Day at Mount Baker

Went snow-shoeing today up at Mt. Baker. We went part way up to Artist Point, then cut down into the valley around the Lake (below Heather Meadows Visitor Center), and came back up to the parking lot. Additionally, on the way down, we did another couple of miles (round trip) on the Salmon Creek trail, a popular cross-country ski trail often used by snow-shoers.

The first picture was taken on our first snow-shoe; to the left is Table Mountain, below is the Lake we went down to. We then traversed over to the right of this picture.

Another picture of some peaks. The picture does NOT do it justice...it was beautiful. Also, the smaller picture below this one is the bathroom at Heather Meadows Visitor Center...I'd say it's probably closed!

One very interesting thing was some of the snow we saw on the hike. It was crystallized, and very dry, and when you walked it sounded like millions of tiny ice crystals. The pictures don't do it justice...it was so cool...the last picture of this 'snow' is after I photo-shopped it. Click on the images to see them larger.

And of course, what's a day at the mountain without a great shot of a mountain...

More Snow Pictures II

Top: Whatcom Falls. Below left: a non-native bird of some kind. Anyone know? Below Center: Some ice crystals. Below Right: More Ice Crystals. Below Center: Upper Falls (above Whatcom Falls).

More Snow!

Yes, we have about 6 inches (my ruler is buried somewhere in the snow, leftover from the last time...so it's a guess). See some experimental night shots below...

Weather Hawk

Yes - I'm a weather hawk! Julie actually jokes that if I ever leave ministry, I'll become a weatherman. So, for those of you who share my passion, it is Tuesday night, 9;47 PM and I am watching this storm come in. Here's the details...

- Today in B'ham it was VERY windy (over 50 mph)
- We lost power from 2:30 PM until just about 10 minutes ago (9:30 PM) - that is the 7th time we have lost power this year. It's getting old...but we have the routine down. Head-lamps (thanks for the Christmas gifts, family), put the perishables in a cooler and set outside, start a fire, chop some wood, shut all the doors, and hunker down.
- Presently, it is lightly snowing, and at my house, 34 degrees. Note: when we got home this evening, at 8:30, it was 37.5. In 1 hour it has dropped over 3 degrees and still dropping. The snow is not sticking yet...

That's all for now!

Gotta love life...

1) Laptop not working, had to have it completely wiped and re-built...
2) Chimney leaking in storm - we already paid way too much money to have it fixed once...
3) New inkjet printer not printing...
4) Old inkejet printer not printing...
5) Trip to Office Max to buy new ink...still not printing
6) Power went out...again (about the 6th time in the last 2 months)...

Another day in Bellingham...

Leap of Faith

On December 31st, I preached a message on trusting God called "Leap of Faith." Want to listen to it?
1) Click here....this link takes you to the church website.
2) Right click and hit "save target as..." and save it to your computer. It will take a few minutes to download, after which you just double-click the file and listen to it in your audio player.
3) OR just "left-click" and wait a few minutes...you can listen to it without downloading.

Lingering Holiday Images

Our first Christmas Tree at our new house.
The photo of the eagle, while not my best eagle picture (click here), represents a highlight of the holidays for me and for Julie. Growing up, Julie and her Dad took a yearly trip to the Skagit to "Eagle Watch." Apparently, a large number of Eagles return from Alaska to the Skagit Valley every year to feed on the salmon that make their way upstream. So this year, with Julie's parents home from Honduras, we decided to make the trek. Sure enough, there were many eagle's out. I didn't manage to get a great picture, but here's a sample of one.

We also managed to find a great lunch spot on the way home; a BBQ shack right on the side of the road. While not much for atmosphere, (propane heater, peanut shells all over the floor), the food was great and really hit the spot. The day was a highlight for sure!