A, R and R (Day 1)

The museum was very impressed with my findings regarding the old wagon road that they gave me a trip North.  No, there will be no archaeology for me, just A, R & R (adventuring, rest and relaxation).

Before any adventuring begins one needs to refuel.  This coffee was just what I needed to help wake me up.

Our first stop was Jerry and Ben's garden (I wish) but actually a Botanical Garden. A lot of the plants were in bloom. 

Hanging out in a grove of Rhododendron's 

This place would be a great spot for a picnic.  Speaking of food, it's off to my next location. 

My next stop was the McMenamins Anderson School.  It's an old school that is turned into a hotel, bar, and restaurant.

This hallway is cool with all the  light fixtures. 

Being that it's a former school there is a bar called the Principal's office.  I was summoned there by my roommates, I hope I am not in trouble...

Whew, I'm safe.  In fact they had a nice beverage waiting for me.  Must be time to do another evaluation. 

All this adventuring is making me hungry.  Let's see if I can find anything to eat around here.

Yep, this will do.

Happy Labor Day

Yipee, it’s Labor Day!  What are we going to do today Sequoia?

Even though it’s supposed to be foggy today we decided to roll the dice and see if the fogs burns off.

It’s hard to identify where we are but my roommates and I are near Mt. Rainier Nat’l Park in Washington.  With all of this fog we probably won’t the mountain but you never know.

I can see clearly now, the rain, um I mean fog is gone....

This  tree is just my size. 

Ah lunch.  What no trail mix?  What no cheese? At least we can see Sheep Lake in the distance.  We hiked by Sheep  Lake to Sourdough Gap (who names these places)  and ate at the gap.

The fog never cleared but on a good note we didn’t get rained on either and periodically the fog lifted and we could see the scenery around us.

Being that the first day was foggy we decided to tempt fate and take a drive to Sunny Yakima.  Yakima is on the other side of the mountains and it has over 300 days of sunshine. 

Their arboretum is in full bloom.  Look at these flowers?  

I bet this is what Jerry's garden looks like.

Spikey

Well, it’s time to start heading home.  Looks like we have time for one more adventure.  Off to Mt. St. Helen’s national monument.  

The mountain is out today and even though there isn’t much snow on it, it definitely looks grand.

Spirit Lake is looking good.  It got “moved” when the mountain erupted in the stone ages but it’s recovering well.

The viewpoint we went to was called Windy Ridge and as you can see….it’s windy.  Sequoia likes the wind so it was right up his alley.

I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day.  Does this mean that summer is over?