Too Much Driving...: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Catchup

Okay, so I've got some serious catching up to do, but hopefully I'm on a role and will be able to keep the pictures rolling. Mostly just misc. crap for this installment except for the kitten montage, which is probably the best photo series this pathetic blog has ever experienced. Mel and I fostered a three-pack of kittens from the humane society for a week to get them socialized, and it was pretty fun. Nice to have them, but also nice to know that we didn't have to keep them, ya know? I had to wade through hundreds and hundreds of absurdly cute pictures and pick just the few that I'm sharing here. Poor Bella just about lost her mind. She did play well with them though, and in the end they loved her a lot more than they loved us. First is a shot of some late season glacier action up by Mt. Jefferson, followed by an unexplained shot of my friends John and Mark.

Next are a couple pictures from Marys peak on a nice misty day, followed by three pics from a work trip over to Eastern Oregon. The first is from the top of Lookout Mtn. overlooking the Ochico mountains (and the cascades in the distance). Next is a picture of Sheep rock. Finally is a pic I snapped in the Ponderosa forest by Black Butte. Neat contrast to the lush forests that we have just an hour away (on the rainy side of the hill).

Waldo - Septemberish 2012

This is a long overdue writeup of an overnight trip about 17 of us did out on Waldo Lake, way back, say, in October (ya, I've been lazy). Waldo is pretty amazing, and although I'd been there before to visit, I think I missed out on how awesome it was by neglecting to bring a boat. The water is clear... Like, absurdly clear. Actually, I've heard that it's more chemically pure than distilled water, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. It does rival Crater Lake for clarity: for example, on a good day, it's pretty common to be able to see 100' down. It sorta messes with your head because you're whole sense of depth is thrown off. When the sun hits it right, it turns an absurd turquoise, just like the water in Hawaii, etc. Very special place, and one I'm sure we'll be back to visit. If you are wondering, those are our friends Mark and Sarah in a bunch of these pics, and that's my bud Dennis paddling the drift boat.

Friday, September 28, 2012

2012 Summer Olympics

I admit that Mel and I are almost obnoxiously busy. We've adopted the "weekend warrior" mentality of putting in our 40 hours, punching the clock and hitting the road, returning on Sunday night (or Monday morning) not even remotely rested or prepared for another week of work. It's pretty typical for our weekends to be booked up for a month or two in advance, and our vactions to be planned out a year or two in advance. With all this stuff going on, it's hard not to take for granted what we are doing, or to get "desensitized" to some of the amazing places we are seeing.

Then there was our latest trip to the Olympics, so obviously a cut above our usual weekend jaunts that it makes them seem trivial by comparison. We followed a route known as the "Bailey Traverse", which is an on/off trail traverse of the park from the north side (Solduc) to the SW side (Quinnault). Somehow this "route" manages to squeeze spectacular old growth rainforest, alpine meadows, scrambling, bushwacking, glaciers, lakes, knife edge ridges, and wildlife into roughly 55 miles of the most beautiful terrain I've ever seen. Believe it or not, I am comfortable in saying that this trip was the best I've ever been on. Thanks to Mel, Chris, and Amy for being there to share it.