Granville Island

I took a solo trip up to Vancouver, spending most of my time around Granville Island. Here's some snaps from my 40d!

Also, I'm doing my pics slightly differently. The whole album is embedded below (the slide-show). Or if you prefer, you can still click on the link below to see all that pics.

Click here for the full album (60+ pics) or just hit "play" below to see all the pics.

Holidays in Bellingham

Ok - it's been a long time. Here are pics from our December and a sledding day to kick off the new year. Be forewarned - there's 298 images if you dare. The events, in order are

• Children's "mini-musical" at Northlake
• His Kindergarten class at school doing a little Christmas song
• Christmas Day (a couple of pics at our house, a huge chunk of pics at Auntie Biz's house, and a few more at Grandma and Grandpa's house)
• Christmas at Whidbey
• A few pics from our deep freeze (no, that's not snow, just heavy frost)
• Sledding day from yesterday (Jan 1st)

Here's the link to the full album.

Never did figure out what was so funny

Uncle Derrick got a Kinect for Christmas

Me and Ellie

Family "Brunch" at the Farm

The force is strong with this one

A lot of fun with this "balance game" from Uncle Dave

Summer Fun!

Lots of pics from Boulevard Park, The Fair, Seattle Trip, and Whidbey Island. All that in 1 week!

Here's a link to the full album...

The bridge at Boulevard Park

The original Picture...

And having a little fun with the colors...

B and M watching the trains go by

Brennan and the gum wall!

A Mike Hike: Boundary Bay, Cowap Peak, and Excelsior Pass

Yesterday was spent in my favorite place...the mountains. I did a few short hikes that added up to about 10 miles...it was fantastic. These were hikes I hadn't done before, mostly due to the fact that Canyon Creek Rd. had been closed for most of the time we'd lived here.

Skip the reading and just to to all the pics, (click here).

The hiking was great. I started at the Damfino Lakes Trailhead, but took the spur to the left and followed the Boundary Way trail. At another junction I headed left and went to Cowap Peak, (5658'). The views were fantastic - you could see Baker, Shuksan, and all the peaks surrounding...360 degree panorama.

I was mesmerized by something I wasn't expecting to see - the smoke from the big fire in British Columbia. I watched this for awhile, and every few seconds the patterns in the smoke would change. On the way down from the peak I did a short jaunt on the Boundary Way trail, and then headed back to the Damfino Lakes junction, spotting first a big marmot sunning himself on a rock, and then a bunch of Pikas who were also out in the later afternoon sun.

Then it was Damfino Lakes, (er "Damfino Ponds might be more apt), and on to Excelsior Pass. At the top of the pass is another gorgeous view of Baker. I was tempted to push on to Excelsior Peak, but my knee was hurting and after consulting my map, realized I had a full 3 miles back to the car. So I stopped for my dinner, (beef stick, yogurt raisins, trail mix and a tiger's milk bar), enjoyed the view, and started the painful walk down...(whatever is wrong with my knee, it only hurt on the descent).

If you're looking for a good day hike, this area is fun. I see why it's not quite as popular as some of the other areas, (Skyline Divide, Heliotrope Ridge, Bagley Lakes, Artist Point, Lake Ann - all are more popular). The 15 miles on Canyon Creek Road to reach the trailhead takes a solid 45 minutes. Still, the trade off is it wasn't nearly as crowded, and the views were great. Enjoy the pics!

Full Album here (56 photos)

Smoke from the B.C. Fires

Big Marmot enjoying the sun

A Pika - small and skittish, you have to be sneaky

Artist and Bagley Lakes with B

We went up with B to Artist Point and Bagley Lakes today. It was cloudy, but still gorgeous. We had a great time. All the photos click here, a few fav's below.

I tried to tell him they were backwards, but he would have none of it.

Heliotrope Ridge

Julie and I went out to Heliotrope Ridge today. For those not familiar, this hike brings you to the brink of the Coleman Glacier on Mt. Baker. It is also the trail that leads to the most popular climbing route to the summit of Baker.

It was a perfect day! Sunny but not too hot. We made it to the ridge which is saying something - had to cross through 4 creeks/waterfall things, one of which was pretty sketchy. Thankful for trekking poles and a super adventurous wife! Many turned around at the last crossing and we saw one lady take kind of a nasty fall. Still, we made it, and the views of the glacier were worth it.

Click here to see the album, (about 40 or so pics).