Do you have a facebook?

Hi Everyone,
If you are reading this, thanks for caring enough to come to my blog. I have come to realize that one of the main reasons I was blogging was to share things with people I care about who care about me. Thank you for being one of those people.

These days, rather than writing lengthy stories about our new adventures (after living here for nearly 3 years, many of them are repeat adventures), I have been enjoying sharing shorter one-liner stories with others who are sharing their one-line stories with me via Facebook. It is where I have been sharing photos, music and links to things I find interesting too.

I know I've written about my Facebook leanings before and apologize if I am being redundant. For awhile, I tried posting the things I was posting on Facebook on the blog too but that really was redundant.

The blog has been a wonderful online journal and virtual photo album. I wish I were keeping it up but I thought I should acknowledge I'm not. Today, I even signed up for Twitter. So far, I am only "following" Cameron and Eddie Izzard but who knows where this will lead.

If you want to join me in one of those other worlds, please do.

Peace,
Mary

Welcome, Barack

This video was made by Jared Paul, the founder of A Good Idea, the group Sam, Leo and I volunteered with, yesterday, Martin Luther King Day. Jared gave us the opportunity to serve and to make a new friend. Nice to have met you, Jared & Melanie. As Jared's video says, "Be Kind. Be Giving. Be Empathic. Be Compassionate. Be the Change." Welcome, Barack.

Giant Mud Puddle - Birch Bay, Washington

When Cam and I joined Sam, and others from the Powell family, in Birch Bay, Wash-
ington for the family reunion, tide pooling was the first order of business.

Here are more photos of us tide pooling.

Through the snow.

My last post stops, at the the point on the Maple Pass Loop, just before we first encountered snow on the path.

We hadn't realized that part of the loop would require us to cross through (and climb up) so much snow.





Thankfully, the weather was lovely.

We were comfor-
tably warm the whole hike.



Flowers were bursting out every-
where.








When we made it to the top of the mountain and could see Lake Ann, and the trail that would take us back out, on the far side of that lake, we were encouraged to keep going and get there.

Eventually, we had walked through so much snow that it stopped being novel and we had had enough of it.

Maybe not too surprisingly in retrospect, but at the time, I hadn't thought about the fact that climbing down mountainsides covered in snow would be more difficult than climbing up them.

There are not photos to go with it but one of our favorite stories from the hike happened at a point where we had lost the trail but felt we needed to climb down a steep area, through some shrub-like trees and snow.

It was so steep that I was crawling on the ground, holding on to the trunks of the trees to keep from sliding down the mountainside, while trying to make my way to more level ground, where I could stand again. Cameron asked, "Are you alright?" I answered, "No. I am falling down a mountain."

Once, I marveled that being up on an unfamiliar mountain, hiking around in the snow, was maybe the craziest thing I had ever done.

What if we had really gotten lost of the weather had turned or someone had gotten hurt. We did encounter a few other brave souls but were on our own up there for the most part.

But in the end, we did not fall.

We made it.







Thanks for the mem-
orable adventure, Love.

This Flickr set has more photos of our trek through the snow.

To the Snow

As Cam men-
tioned, we are getting ready for a trip to the snow.

We took a trip to the snow on the second day we were in the N. Cascades National Park. I hadn't been expecting that one.

This Flickr set takes you on the trail with us from the base of the mountain, near Rainy Lake (shown above) to a point high above.

Shortly after this last photo, we began our trek through the snow. That journey will be documented soon.

N. Cascades National Park - Day 1 - Creek

Last July, on our way to the Powell Family Reunion, Cameron and I took a side trip to the N. Cascades National Park.

After marveling at the views from the scenic overlook, we explored a camp-
ground and creek in the valley below. Here is a Flickr set with more photos from that night.

N. Cascades National Park - Day 1 - Peak

Lately, I've been spending most of my online free time on Facebook. Since I learned how to post and share things with family and friends there, I haven't been blogging as much. If you want to join the fun, please visit my profile and let me know.

One thing I do want to do on the blog is share some photos of and stories from the Powell family Reunion. Cam and I spent the weekend before the reunion camping in and exploring the North Cascades National Park. I kept calling it a second honeymoon.

These photos were taken at a scenic lookout near Cascade Peak.

Predawn Hike to Tennessee Valley Beach

This morning, Cam and I left home at 5:35am for a predawn hike to Tennessee Valley Beach. It was peaceful. We were the first ones to make it there today.

Here is a Flickr set with more photos from our outing.

Angel Island Pics on Flickr

You may remember that we went to Angel Island to watch the Air & Water show on Saturday, 10/11. On Sunday, 10/12, the island caught fire.

I just posted my favorite photos from our day on Angel Island on Flickr. Check them out.

Maddux Family in the Mist

Last weekend, it rained all day on Saturday. So, on Sunday, we decided to make the most of it by going on a waterfall hike. From the Pantoll Ranger Station, on Mt. Tam, we hiked down the Matt Davis trail and back up the Steep Ravine trail. The mist was magical.

More photos of this hike are here.