Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Seattle Trip

NORTHERN WASHINGTON ADVENTURE-Ross Lake DamThere is a series of three dams in the northeastern portion of Washington that is operated by Seattle City Light. Prior to 9/11, you could actually tour the inside of the Ross Lake Dam. While that is no longer an option, visitors can take a lovely boat ride up to the dam, all the while enjoying the lake and its environs. Tour info. can be found here. The water is glacier-fed so it's really chilly but it's beautiful country and there is plenty to see and do.


After the boat tour we did a ranger-led forest walk. Dad was the only one who actually paid attention. The remainder of the family scouted out ahead, or, in the case of Chris and I, lagged behind.
Chris did some bird watching..
Sonja slipped into this tree...
And got stuck...

Here is the picture of the black bear that I would have taken had it held still long enough for me to grab a camera. We saw it crossing the road in front of our car while on the way back from our hike. It was a good-sized black bear, not your average yearling. Since I didn't get a picture, I took a photo (of the photo) of the bear in the gift shop. Did you follow all that?

We walked across the top of the dam. Here is the view from the top.
Here are the wild turkeys that mom spotted while we were driving out to get breakfast one morning.
On the boat...


Mom convinced us to take a 7-mile jaunt through Rainy Pass, near Ross Lake. Dad, due to the broken ankle, kept himself occupied in the car with the newspaper for the 4.5-hours that it took to complete the trek. He also did a "short" two-mile loop (on crutches) to a nearby lake.

This is my cousin Jesse. He turned out to be a great hiker and went the whole way with (barely) a complaint. We decided he probably got the most exercise since he'd run up the trail and then run back to check back with us. Bailey does the same thing and usually covers twice as much ground as Chris and I. The Peak (looking north into Canada)


Awwww. What a cute madre.


The Padres.
SAILING-Lake Washington
Papa, Chris and I took the tempest out for a spin on the lake. We had lots of wind...almost too much wind. Heading down-wind, I grabbed the camera and took a couple shots (as it was the only time in which the boat was actually level). Tempests are designed to keel over, but to not quite turn turtle, thanks largely to a giant keel attached to the bottom of the boat.