New Baby!

Ashley had her baby! We are so excited to have a new addition to the family. While Ashley is in the hospital Mimi gets to watch Calvin. Today we went to the gym, and when we came home a baby bird was in my water barrel. Mimi fished it out and Calvin helped dry it off and help it recover. We saw the mommy and daddy bird flying around, so we left it near the porch so it could call it's mommy. When we came back a half an hour later it was gone! Calvin helped save the birdy.

good job, Calvin!

Hetch Hetchy

The third day it was pouring rain. After falling out of the tent onto my nose (which made me look like Lee beat me up) we decided to stay closer to the campground and visit Hetch Hetchy. I had never heard of this place, but after reading about it in the guide book I decided I wanted to go. Short version:

There were actually two Yosemite valleys. They were called the twin valleys, and both had waterfalls, a river running through it, wildlife, and massive granite walls. After the 1906 massive earthquake in San Francisco, many fires to broke out. These fires destroyed a lot of the city. After it was all over, San Francisco blamed lack of water resources for not being able to control the fires. They lobbied Congress to dam Hetch Hetchy for their water use. It took several years, with environmentalists screaming, but they won. The second valley was dammed, and we now have Hetch Hetchy reservoir. The water is so pure it does not have to be filtered. No human contact allowed! So this valley is for the enjoyment of San Francisco.

Visiting Grandpa Bob

We got to stop on the way up to Matt's and see Grandpa Bob. He and Phyllis took us to their favorite haunt for fish and chips. The meal lived up to the build up, the fish was crunchy and tasted great!

Yosemite

We started our trip by going to Yosemite. For a 'want to be' amatuer photographer, this is heaven on earth. It's pretty hard to get a bad picture in Yosemite, (though I did get a few, okay, maybe more than a few) and there is a lot to photograph.

Here is Tunnel View, one of the first things you see on an entry road.

Here we are in front of one of the best views in the park, sorry. It's one of those 'We were there!' shots.

This is mirror lake, I started working on my reflections here, and learned a lot. The sky is blown out, and the light was almost gone, but you can still see half dome in the lake. ( which is actually a wide spot in the river)

Waterfalls

There were so many water falls! in all the parks we visited.

Of course, here is the famous Bridal Veil Falls.

Pretty sights

When we left Matt and April's, the weather warmed up. The sky was beautiful, and the wildflowers were everywhere! Well, you know me and horses. I just had to get a picture of the flowers, sky and a horse in the middle.

On our way back, we passed Mount Shasta.

Matt and April's

Alyssa has grown so much! This time she was not afraid of Mimi, which was wonderful. Mimi could not replace mom or dad, but Alyssa didn't have to hide, and that was good.

Matt took us crabbing to round up some dinner.

Here are April and Alyssa just waiting.

Matt showing off some of the spoils.

Matt and Alyssa waiting for lunch....we had to wait, and wait....but the chowder was sure good!

She's adorable!

a purple starfish, just beautiful.

Olympic Park

When we left Matt and Rebecca's, we went to Olympic National Park. Neither Lee nor I had been there. On the way there, we saw the results of too much caffeine. :o)

Then we went into the Park.

We started off going to Hurricane ridge to see the view. We were lucky, we could see most of the mountains. Only Mt Olympus was covered with clouds.

It is a rain forest, so of course it rained. and rained. Which made everything so green! We were too early for the blackberries, though the thought made my mouth water.

The waterfalls were gorgeous!

I had to get a picture of this family on their bike.....brave people........

There are few places to stay near the park, it is so huge. We ended up at the Quinault Lodge, which was beautiful.

The conditions in the rain forest cause things to really grow. There are many record setting trees in the forest, including this giant Spruce tree.

What happens when you allow things to go........

Driving on the back roads, we felt like we were the only ones around. We came across a herd of Elk....so okay, I won't get job as a photographer for National Geographic, but it was cool just the same.

After we left we went to see Matt and April Henry. We began to see sun! We stopped to walk a little on the beach and came across a shipwreck.

This is actually a very large stump some artist carved on one side a very rough ship. I wish now I'd taken a picture of the other side so you could see the comparison. It really was just a stump.

Seattle Visit

I am such a bad blogger, but the family has really inspired me. I guess it's just laziness on my part to enjoy everyone else's blog, but not to participate. So I am going to try again....

Lee and I were blessed to be able to go to Seattle and visit Matt and Rebecca and their family. We got to be there for Brianna's Baptism. It was fun to see the girls and get to know them a little better.

When we got there, Brianna and her 'assistant' Asia had prepared a museum for grandparents to view. All the displays were clearly labeled, and she was able to answer any questions that were asked. Here is the 'curator' in front of one of her displays.

Asia worked very hard for the grand opening

Here they are for the opening

Brianna posed for the brochure with her favorite exhibit

Brianna's Baptism

Here is Brianna and her dad before her baptism:

it was good to compare photo ideas with Matt (sorry about the bad quality, I'm still working on it.....) and learn Rebecca's techniques for soft whole wheat bread.

Brianna posing so sweetly

Asia having fun

The two together

I came home and uploaded my photos....yes, Andrew Henry did explain why some of them were not what I had intended. Apparently the polarizer that I fell in love with on this trip for it's reflective abilities and contrast also make pictures darker....which I needed to compensate for. Sigh. Still learning......

Mom and Daughter

The family with the Grandparents