Stevens Pass and Lake Wenatchee in Autumn

Scenes from a foggy road trip thru Washington’s Cascade Mountains in late October of 2009

Gazing across Lake Wenatchee from the state park there. Curious what drives or pulls the clouds as if towards a central point, tho the big volcano Glacier Peak is over the horizon there just out of view. It’s Tuesday the 20th of October 2009, and one can feel Winter’s on the way. Winter comes early up here in the mountains.

Me in an old-fashioned selfie taken with my handheld Nikon D40 DSLR. Somewhere on the side of a dirt USNFS road north of Stevens Pass in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. From Wednesday 21 October 2009.

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Overnight to Lake Josephine

Two friends reconnect during the COVID-19 pandemic after first meeting 20 years earlier…with nature as much as with themselves…and must one confront the Trail to embrace the Wild?

*Note: This foto-essay has 103 fotos and 13 short videos*

Lake Josephine from the Icicle Creek Trail in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA. We left the PCT to head downhill to the lakeshore.

The magic of this adventure surprised me as I rarely go on overnight backpacking and camping trips. Once one has experienced going out for several days and nights it’s difficult to go back to merely one or two nights out. Such trips can be a lot of work and takes time to prepare for and to clean up afterwards. Edan had invited me to go with him. He’d encouraged me, and chose a fairly easy trip with low mileage as we both felt out of shape. Having had a surprisingly wonderful time overnighting solo on the PCT a month earlier, I agreed. Glad I did. Rediscovered the joy and ease of overnighters. Turned out to be one of my most favorite backpacking trips ever. We had balmy Autumn weather with a burst of Indian summer conditions. The scenery of Washington’s Alpine Lakes Wilderness is magnificent. And two long-time buddies, both divorced with kids all grown up, got to spend some rare time together in a place neither had been to before.

Edan Z and William B, friends for 20 years, pose at the Trailhead. The author’s on foto right holding the camera. Sunday 4 October 2020.  We left parking lot on foot at 11:18. Bit of a late start for an overnighter, but not as late as those we encountered later in the dark. All’s well, tho, as such a later start isn’t ideal. Yet we were well-rested from a good night’s sleep. Edan drove, and we were determined to enjoy the journey anyway.

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To the River House

Our blended family’s joys & sorrows finding, gaining, enjoying, and losing our dream house and the many wacky adventures & jolly mishaps in and around the area, 2007 – 2010

*Click on any picture to expand and enlarge*

*This is a graphic intensive foto essay with 246 fotos & 1 video, and the larger the screen the better*

Kristina out in front of our new home with our realtor Randy V. We called it The River House. I took this picture with a LG smartfone camera at the time, Tuesday the 16th of October 2007, down in Mule Tail Flats outside Plain, Washington, in the Greater Stevens Pass – Leavenworth – Wenatchee Corridor.

The River House, Monday 18 August 2008.

Our back yard ends here at the river. The Wenatchee River flows thru the Cascade Mountains from Lake Wenatchee down thru several canyons before merging into the huge Columbia River. Wednesday 26 December 2007.

Blended family dynamics, y’all! Trying to get ourselves togerther for a family portrait by our comic genius Emily, one of my oldest daughter’s closest friends. I’m on my knees in the snow. Behind stand L2R: Talia, Kate, Morgan (now Dylan), & Kristina. Wednesday 16 January 2008.

Kids were at the right age for goofy pranks, too. Here my oldest, Morgan/Dylan discovers, well, this shower stall doesn’t quite work like one of Dr. Who’s TARDIS booths. This one here just sucks people screaming down the drain merrily, merrily, merrily into oblivion. OK, well, I don’t know exactly what she’s up to here, LOL! But Emily does! Mid-January of 2008.

Talia & Kate wrecked & laughing at the Sledding Hill over in Lake Wenatchee State Park close to the River House. A big day for Talia as she got back into snow sports after breaking her leg in a sledding accident on the same run two years earlier. Taken on Monday 15 February 2010.

The back side of the River House, the side facing the Wenatchee River. Yeah, I cleared and cleaned up what was an overgrown, debris-strewn yard. “Parked it out,” as the locals say. Took many long days and weeks. Had to for wildfire insurance, too. Hot tub on the deck picture right, and an onion swing, a fun gift for the kids from family friends up in Edmonton, Alberta just left of center. Aye, we love this place. Took us a long time to get over its loss. Was a house we’d expected to leave to our kids and their kids and have family & friends from around the world visit us here. Monday 18 August 2008.

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