January 2013February 2013 March 2013

02/27 - Marymere Falls

We've been recovering from a cold, or perhaps a pair of colds, one for each of us. It's probably the same thing everyone else seems to have or has gotten over, but it has slowed us down. Marymere Falls is a great hike for someone getting over a cold, but not quite back to full strength. It's not a very long hike, maybe 45 minutes, and there is some climbing, but not all that much. The hike passes through rain forest and along Barnes Creek, as well as to the eponymous falls, so there is plenty of moisture which is good for the sinuses.

We weren't disappointed. The Barnes Creek Valley is pretty dark in the winter, so some years the snow falls and stays. This year, the snows melted quickly, so the hike was easy going. The river was running briskly, and the falls were going full force. We panted and wheezed and coughed our way up to the lower and upper overlooks and spent some time enjoying the falling water. Then we made our way back.

As we said earlier, it wasn't much of a hike, but it was more than sitting around the house coughing and wheezing.


Snow above (on Mount Storm King)

Marymere Falls

More snow above

Rain forest down below

Barnes Creek

More rain forest

More rain forest

Keywords: barnes creek, winter, marymere falls


02/25 - Port Angeles Farmers' Market Update

The Port Angeles Farmers' Market gets a bit quiet in the winter, but it doesn't quite close down. There are always a few regulars and even a few newcomers to keep things interesting. Nash Huber's stand has been anchoring the market by its lonesome, and even they have run out of carrots, though they still have some nice kale, turnips and potatoes.

The Chimacum chicken (and other stuff) stand is gone for the time being, but Dungeness Seaworks is back selling salmon, halibut and ling cod. It's good to see them. We also tried out Jose's Salsa, but not the salsa. We tried a bunch of tamales and some of the chiles rellenos, and we can honestly report that they are quite good. Our favorite tamale was the vegetarian one with spinach, but the pork and chorizo tamales were pretty good too. The chiles rellenos were plumply stuffed with cheese, coated with batter and deep fried. They reheated nicely in the oven, so we've been living on Jose's for a few days now.

We aren't sure who is going to be at the market next Saturday, though we're hoping to see Johnston Farm again, and possible a few other regulars. It's a long way to spring, let alone the growing season, but the farmers' market is still worth a trip downtown.


Nash Huber's stand - a stalwart anchor

A terrible picture of Dungeness Seaworks - It's that low winter light.

An even worse picture of Jose's Salsa - We'll try for a better one.

Chiles rellenos

Assorted tamales

Keywords: farmers' market, nash huber, port angeles, salmon, winter, kale


02/22 - Morse Creek West

We often drive out to Morse Creek and park near the old railroad bridge. From there, we walk west towards Port Angeles. It's maybe a mile down to the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, and depending on time and energy, we'll walk for another mile or two towards town. Lately, we haven't been getting as far, but we have been seeing some amazing things.

Indian plum blossoms

Mount Baker framed by dark cloud and water

One of the many eagles

Keywords: morse creek, mount baker, port angeles, eagle


January 2013February 2013 March 2013