Mt. Rainier

A friend of ours called us in August to ask us if we wanted to go hiking Labor Day weekend. He wanted to show us this great hike on Mt. Rainier, and we jumped at the chance. Who wouldn't want to hike on a volcano? Especially one that's not very likely to erupt. It was one of the best hikes I've been on, certainly the coolest. It was a 12 mile hike, but not terribly difficult so it took a long time without wearing you out too badly. We went with a big group, which ended up including another friend of ours. On our way up we hiked through beautiful forests, meadows, and we hiked on a couple glaciers! The area was just so beautiful, we were constantly astounded by the scenery. We saw various animals as we hiked including a bear! I've never seen a bear out in the wild before. This one was an adolescent, and we saw it as it came running down a glacier most likely frightened by all the hikers. It was so cool!

That's the distinctive peak of Rainier in the background

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Hiking across a glacier! 

Bear! Uh-oh where's the mom?

Bear footprints in the snow

Once we got to the top the view was incredible! We were really lucky that it was a clear day. You had to look carefully because it blends in with the clouds, but we could see all the way to Mt. Hood in Oregon. We ate lunch up there, took some group pictures, and watched a herd of mountain goats.

Mt. Adams and on the far right possibly part of Mt. Hood

The peak behind us looked like it wasn't too
much further, but it's another 7000 ft up!

The hike back was nice. It wasn't too steep, but it still felt like we were going much faster. We stopped for dinner on the way back where everyone was a little sleepy-drunk since we were so tired and finally made it home. It was a long day, but so much fun!

Seminary

So, I haven't posted in awhile because life has suddenly gotten much busier. About six weeks ago I was called to be a seminary teacher! For those who don't know, it's a scripture study class for high school students in the morning before school starts. I know some of you are laughing because, well, I was not the most on-time student when I was in seminary myself, and I'm not at all a morning person. It hasn't been easy, but so far so good! I've managed to make it there early every day, and I'm really enjoying teaching. I have a team teacher so I don't have to teach every day, which helps takes some of the stress off, and there is always someone there to help me. We teach the juniors, and we usually have 19 or 20 come. The students are really awesome. They're not always very awake, but we've had some fun and I hope they're learning. We're studying the Old Testament this year. I love it because it has so many good stories and some unusual ones that really make you think. I learn so much every time I prepare a lesson, and the hardest part is trying not to simply dump everything that I learned on my students. I'm really glad that I have this great chance to teach and do some good even though I'm not teaching school this year. It really is exactly what I needed right now.

Blue Angels

As much as I miss everyone in Utah and Virginia, I love living in Seattle! Last Saturday we got to see the Blue Angels perform. It was so cool! They come and do a show every year as part of the big event series, Seafair. This year we just watched the show from a neighborhood close to Lake Washington, but next year we plan on getting tickets to sit in the bleachers and see everything a little better. We could see pretty well, but I'm sure we missed some things with all the trees in the way. It's a really big event in the area and of course lots of people don't actually buy tickets and park close by. They have to shut down part of the interstate because so many people park there to watch the show. 

We got really lucky this year with parking thanks to the kindness of strangers. We were driving around trying to find a spot when we decided to just take a spot that would leave our car hanging a little into someone's driveway. As I was trying to parallel, their neighbors across the street told us they weren't going anywhere and we could just park right in their driveway. It wasn't a big deal to them, but I thought it was really nice. They also told us a good spot to go watch it that was only a couple blocks away. 

The show was awesome! This year it was especially cool to go since 2011 marks 100 years of naval aviation.  Mike was so excited about everything. We both thought it was really cool how closely they fly together. They did lots of spirals and loops and flying upside down. Our favorite was probably when all six planes we're flying towards us in tight formation, and they simultaneously broke away in different directions. The whole show was sort of like a dance, but with airplanes. Mike couldn't believe what they could get their planes to do. I loved how the loud sound of the planes came just behind them as they flew by. Right after the show ended a couple of motorcycles drove by us and they seemed so quiet. I can't wait to go again next year!

Look at how close they are!

They look like they're attached, but they're not!

Close enough to see the colors!

Pike's Market

Pike's Market is one of the big places to see in Seattle, so last Saturday Mike and I decided we needed to go. It was a blast! It's like a giant, well, market. There were booths and stores everywhere selling everything from custom cutting boards to handmade trinkets to food. It was so much fun to look at everything. Though I tried not to get to close, so no vendors would mistake us for actual customers. We were just looking this time around. I think Mike only took a picture of the entrance, there were just too many things going on inside! Mike thought about buying some smoked salmon (yuck!), but he decided to wait.

This is actually only a very small part of the market

We walked by a totem pole

Bottom of the totem pole

A farmer statue. We thought he looked like Mario.

After we left the market, we decided to go walk down to the piers since we were only a couple blocks away. It reminded me of Fisherman's wharf in San Francisco. There were more shops to look at and seafood places everywhere. My favorite shop was the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. It had just about everything you could imagine including two mummies! Mike and I debated for awhile about whether they were real or not. I was leaning toward no, but when I looked it up online, sure enough they are real mummies. I just never expected to see real mummies in a random shop on the waterfront. The shop also had some good fudge. 

It's hard to see amidst the trash, but there's a jellyfish in the middle.

Old-fashioned fire truck

We found a nice big pier with a good view of the Sound and of the city behind us. It was a really clear day, so  we could see both Mt. Rainier and the Olympic mountains. I love seeing Mt. Rainier. It always looks so big and grand. Where we live is actually closer to it than Seattle, but we hardly ever see it because there's too many trees in the way or it's too cloudy. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm seeing the top of the mountain or if it's actually a cloud. 

Mt. Rainier

Olympic Mountains and the Sound

Part of the city

We walked by the aquarium. I'm looking at a sea anemone, and we didn't even have to go in!

Cool fountain

The ferry!

We ended up eating dinner at a fish and chips place. They thankfully also had chicken since I don't like seafood. Mike enjoyed his prawns though! Then we got to eat along a pier with some lovely seagulls perching quite close and yelling occasionally. While we were standing in line, I saw my old Italian teacher from BYU! He actually recognized me and showed me his daughter who was born, I believe, while he was my teacher. It was the last place I expected to see anyone I knew. Earlier we had run into a friend in the middle of the market too, but she lives in Seattle so it wasn't quite as unexpected. There was also a guy standing next to us in line wearing a BYU mechanical engineering T-shirt. I nudged Mike, and he started talking to the guy since Mike just graduated from the same place with the same degree (he even has the same T-shirt). It turns out the guy lives right by us and is in our stake (church region)! He gave Mike his business card and told him to send him an email so we can get together sometime. Who knows, we may have just made some good friends. I love how small the world is sometimes!

We had a lot of fun, but we're going to have to go back soon. We missed the throwing of the fish, the gum wall, and I'm sure we missed many booths. I can't wait!

Snoqualmie Falls and the 4th of July

When we were getting ready to move, everyone asked us if we were prepared for it to rain all the time. As it turns out in Seattle it doesn't rain all the time, but it is cloudy and a little chilly most of the time. However, the 4th of July weekend was perfect. It was warm and sunny and we decided we needed to get outside. So the Saturday before the 4th, we decided we'd go to Snoqualmie Falls. Mike had heard about it from some of his co-workers, and it sounded really cool so we went.

Snoqualmie Falls is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, a pretty waterfall. It's in the Cascade Mountains and is owned by Puget Sound energy. They use the falls to generate electric power and have since the 1890s!

There were lots of people there, since it was such a nice day, and we even passed by a wedding. It was a beautiful place and it was so nice to get out. We stopped at a Teriyaki place to eat on the way home. It was really good, and it's run by a couple. The husband cooks, and the wife waits tables and works the cash register. It was so cute!

Top of the falls

Pretty rainbow

Mike trying to be artsy

The 4th was a blast! We had a ward pancake breakfast in the morning where another couple invited us to go rock climbing with them. It was another beautiful day, so we decided we should to go and do something outdoorsy. We haven't gotten the pictures from them yet, but it was really fun. We went into the mountains to a place that is made for rock climbers(they have bolts and stuff to hook your rope to), but is still outside. We had to hike for awhile to get there. I used trekking poles for the first time, and they're amazing! Usually after I hike, walk, run, or whatever for awhile my knees start to hurt. Not this time! I think I'm going to get some for myself. The guy we went with is really into rock climbing, so we felt safe since he really knew what he was doing. He had all the equipment already, including shoes he could let us borrow. It was definitely nerve-racking and difficult, but he walked us through everything and I managed to make it to the top of the first two we did. By the last one though, I was too tired. Anyway, it was fun and definitely an adventure.

We were planning on going into Seattle to see the fireworks, but rock climbing took longer than we expected and we would never have found parking or a good spot to watch. Apparently Seattle fireworks are a big deal. So we just went to our local show right the building where Mike works. It was still a decent show. While we were waiting I made Mike read the Declaration of Independence with me (I'm a history teacher after all!) and it was nice to remember what our founding fathers did for us. Happy Birthday America!

Baseball

Seattle just gets cooler and cooler all the time. Mike and I went to see the Seattle Mariner's on Monday night! It was our first major league baseball game, and I have to say, it was still a little boring, but much better than other baseball games we've been to. It was a LDS friends/family night, so we got discounted tickets and went with some other people from our ward. It was great getting to know some more new people. We rode the light rail up to the baseball stadium, and I was really surprised by how big it was. I'm bad at estimating, but I'm pretty sure it's bigger than the BYU football stadium. It wasn't filled, but there were a lot of people there. It's surprising how much more fun a game is when there's so many people cheering with you. We had a blast, and even though the Mariner's lost, I might actually want to go again!

A little bit of Seattle-including a troll

Seattle is such a big and interesting city! We haven't seen very much of it yet, but I thought I'd share what we have seen so far.

The first Sunday we were here, Mike's cousin was kind enough to invite us to dinner with his family. It was a fun evening, and at the end the told us about a little park not too far from their house where we could go see the sunset on the Puget Sound.

Beautiful

Sunset on the Sound

Later that week we decided to go see the Ballard Locks and find the Troll Bridge. The locks are where boats going upriver come through. The lower part of the river is literally lower, so the locks provide an enclosed area that they can flood with water and get up to the same water level as the upper part of the river. It's also where the salmon ladder is so the locks wouldn't disrupt the annual migration of the salmon upriver. The main salmon migration doesn't happen until midsummer so we only saw one lonely salmon.

Boat coming through

We saw some ducks trying to get through with the boat.

In process of raising the water level

One lonely salmon

The fish ladder designed to help the salmon swim upriver

We also found the Troll Bridge. Mike's sister Melanie is on her mission in New York, but when she found out we were moving to Seattle, she told us we had to go see the Troll Bridge. We managed to find it under the Aurora Bridge. The city had an art contest to decide what to put under the bridge, and the troll easily beat out every other idea (who wouldn't want a troll under the bridge?). Turns out the area has a high Scandinavian population, and trolls are a part of Scandinavian legends. This one is based off of the troll in Billy Goats Gruff, and yes, that is an actual Volkswagen in his left hand.

Yes, the troll is located on Troll avenue

Mike running away

Me running away. He's scary.

After we saw the troll, we ate at a Greek/Middle Eastern restaurant nearby. It was my first time having a gyro, and it was pretty good. Mike enjoyed his, and the rest of mine (it was huge!) We've had a pretty fun time so far, and can't wait to see more!