May 2010June 2010 July 2010

06/28 - Lake Angeles Trail Update

We're doing a lot of updates lately, largely because a lot is happening. Summer means another season of local produce and another sesason of access to the high country of Olympic National Park. The Lake Angeles Trail is one of the first trails we explore, if only because it is open for most of the year, especially if we take our snowshoes. Now, of course, the trail is shoe ready, and from what we have heard, there is only a bit of snow left around the lake. (Yes, we really have to get up there, but we have to get back in shape first.)

For other news, the Pacific dogwood is out, the trilliums are passing, and the park service has removed that big tree that was blocking the start of the boardwalk about 700' above the parking lot. Stay tuned as we Kalebergs start checking things out, or check out the park service's trail reports.

Pacific dogwood

The trail repair team from a few weeks back - note the chain saw at the ready

The cleared trail

The rude bridge

Another flower we really should look up somewhere

A fading trillium, its petals turning pink

Descending into the mists below

Keywords: high country, lake angeles, summer, trails, trillium, kale

06/28 - Farmers' Market Update

We do more shopping than ever at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market. That's where we get most of our beef, lamb, and seafood, as well as almost all of our vegetables. This has been a slow year, and, frankly, we're a bit worried about Nash Huber's stand which has been surprisingly bare of produce. "Where's our broccoli?" Where's our cauliflower?", we asked. Nash's folks say that this is a seed year, which is good news for the future, but not for 2010. Despite this, there was broccoli, at Lazy J! We loaded up. We have some catching up to do. Knock wood we'll be seeing more early summer vegetables next week.

Broccoli!

Keywords: farmers' market, nash huber, port angeles, shopping, summer

06/27 - The Hurricane Hill Trail

While we were off in Hawaii, the snows of the high country were melting. Not only was the road to Hurricane Hill open, but the trail was free of snow save for one section which is shaded by trees. It's great getting back up there, and already the flowers are in bloom. So far, this looks like it is going to be a great year in the mountains.

An avalanche lily

The big mountains are covered with snow, but down on Hurricane Hill, the snow is melting apace.

Another view

The high country

That section of snowy trail - not as bad as it looks.

Phlox scents the air.

One of our marmot friends

We really need to look up what this flower is on the internet.

Some of the first lupine

Indian paintbrush

Glacier lilies

Keywords: flowers, high country, hurricane hill

06/25 - Hawaii 2010

We just returned from Hawaii, and we've posted our report, complete with pictures.

A Maui sunset

Keywords: hawaii

06/24 - Lake Crescent Cottage - Bathroom Update

We don't post a lot of Lake Crescent Cottage news here, but we remodeled the downstairs bathroom back in March and have spent the time since then figuring out how to take a proper picture. We tried a few different approaches, with clever camera angles and a wide angle lens, but were never really satisfied. Finally, we decided to try taking a panorama, a series of photographs and using Photoshop to combine them into a single image. We've taken panoramas before, but always in the wide open spaces like the top of Klahane Ridge or out at Obstruction Point so we could capture miles of mountains and glorious scenery in a single image. We don't want to deprecate our cottage bathroom, but we accept that it is of a much smaller scale. So, to make a long story short, or perhaps just to end a long story, here is our Lake Crescent Cottage bathroom panorama. As with our larger scale panoramas, this one looks even better in person.

Our final image

Keywords: lake crescent cottage, panoramas, kale

06/09 - Larkspur by the Roadside

We always think of larkspur as a high altitude plant, so it is surprising to see it growing along Olympic Hot Springs Road not far from the junction with 101. It's in full bloom right now, and a bit tricky to find. If nothing else, all eyes are on the Elwha River this time of year. This larkspur grows across the road. Look for a power line pole on the right as you are heading north if you care to find this patch.



Keywords: summer, flowers, elwha, olympic hot springs

06/06 - Olympic Cellars at the Farmers' Market

Olympic Cellars dropped by the farmers' market. It's nice to see our local producers reaching out, especially now that the summer season is starting.

Olympic Cellars at the Port Angeles Farmers' Market

Keywords: farmers' market

06/05 - Gaze In Horror

We had a sudden desire for an old fashioned dish, the kind that dominated the women's magazines of the 1960s but has long since vanished. In this case it was a dish of Moll's Untamed Enchiladas, done in the true 1960s style. It was called enchiladas, but it was actually more of a lasagna with layers of
  • meat with mexican spices, garlic, onions and regular green bell peppers - We substituted pork for beef.
  • queso fresco and some other cheese we had lying around the house
  • real, full fat sour cream and canned black olives
If you make this, be sure to use a regular green bell pepper, not one of those fancy mexican peppers, and use those canned olives, not those fancy Italian ones that come in bottles. That is, if you want the true 1960s taste.

We know it looks rather terrifying in the picture, but it was pretty tasty, though horribly rich.

Behold ye mighty ...

Keywords: food

06/04 - Dungeness Spit

Our last hike at Dungeness Spit was a real challenge. The beach was still at its winter worst with rocks and pebbles and stones and horribly soft sand. It was rough going. On our most recent hike, things were much better. There was a lot more firm sand and a lot fewer rocks, at least for the first mile or so. Then things got rough. Still, more sand and better footing is a sign of summer.

Some of the better footing

Poorer footing further out

Some of this driftwood looks like the ribs of a great beast.

The dinghy is our one mile landmark. The dinghy has been here for years.

More fantastic driftwood

The clouds loomed dark over the mountain.

We don't think the FDIC will be much help here.

Keywords: dungeness spit

May 2010June 2010 July 2010