More pictures from trips

So, my parents were in Seattle last weekend. And so were my grandparents. And though I had a camera in my pocket the entire time, I took no pictures... thus i will post the ones I have now and then post my dad's select choices at a later time. In the meantime:

the center of the known universe... in Fremont, outside of Seattle. In fact, as soon as this was discovered, the neighbourhood seceded from the city, the state and the United States. I don't know the legal ramifications, but that's what the tourist bureau reports.

The Hiram Chittenden Lock system... lets boats up and down from the Puget Sound, more specifically Shilshole (don't read this too quickly!) Bay and to Lake Washington. It made me sad to see the fish ladders that were installed as "a gateway for wild salmon to get upriver." I don't particularly think they value the "gate" installed just for them... perhaps they'd like to do it more naturally.

Lunch for Teresa, Stephanie, Nick and me when we hiked up to Cedar and Pine Lakes (25-Jul) for a test/day hike.

Said lake... with Nick in an inflatable tube on the left of the picture and Stephanie in a tube on the right. The log in the middle served for hours of entertainment including fencing matches, water and wizard battles, and a mechanic shop for lashing logs for boating opportunities.

Pictures from my graduate program

Here are some of my favorite (and only shots) from the recent field tips we have been taking this summer:

Peeping through Douglas Fir to see Mt. Baker (10781 ft, 3286 m) from the east bank Baker Lake trail.

Indian Pipe, Monotropa uniflora, on the old-growth forest floor. Connected via fungi to nearby coniferous trees, it is an indicator for wood mushrooms in the coming season (Pojar & Mackinnon, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, p352.)

The falls that washed out the Sourdough Creek trail

Looking north on Ross Lake. Desolation Peak (6102 ft, 1860 m) in the looming foreground, home of Jack Kerouac's famed wilderness lookout (which we saw on the top left of the shoulder using binoculars). He spent the summer looking northwards toward Hozomeen Peak (jagged, further background, 8066 ft, 2459 m) and into Canada.

Nohokomeen Glacier, which lies on the west side of Jack Mountain, was seen from Ross Lake, glistening in the sun... asking for me to hike up there and take a look someday!

With Cousin Aaron, July 4th Ferry

This is a picture of the balcony from which I took my recent pictures. That is my "garden" in the background. Two tomato plants flanking a basil. They seemed pretty weak, but I stabilized them with twigs and dental floss to keep them upright. They have taken root and gotten more sun and seem stronger

Picture of my car on the Port Townsend/Keystone Ferry... heading towards Aaron's on a misty cold Sunday (July 4th) morning

A shot of the Olympics from the east. We didn't go to the ice, but it's still there!

Aaron and I pose in front of Marymere Falls

My older cousin looks at the secret falls to which we bushwhacked! No fences up there

Any notes of mention at this point? I am dealing with culture shock which is very real. My patience level is not as high as when it was before I left Japan. I am leaning on my ego and my anger to get me through some days. It's hard still with the English and American "culture" overload... so I retreat into a hermit and a mean one at that. But I recognize when this happens and then I force myself to face the uncomfortable situations I feel.

For example, many folks around here say hi to me on the street. I am not used to random people bothering me while I am walking, so I find it irritating. However, there is generally no ill will intended to me, as folks are being friendly. So I have to come to terms with being friendly on the streets instead of being able to mind my own business. Small changes. And one at a time. I am confronted often and it is rather unnerving... but it is the way of American life; something I used to be good at doing. Now, I am out of shape and without the motivation to create and work out situations that resolve themselves anyways. So, now its a matter of balancing the action with non-action.

Pix from my back balcony

I just realized that I have a lot of writing to do. In general. For a year of no blogs, to keep three separate journals for classes. And for time which has passed me by.

At sunset from my back balcony. It is a shared fire escape for four apartments, but someone has chairs out there and the emergency detector has long since been deactivated. I would care, but I spend too much time out there, reading in the sun, checking on my two tomato plants and the lowly basil that I wish could get a grip on the wind that blows through in the afternoon!

Towards Canada, some of the mountains to the north. On a clear day, you can see Mount Doom and into Mordor...

It's quite the drop... I am on the second floor, but the building goes down like four levels and is built on a hill. Nice view of Bellingham Bay though.

Sun setting over Orcas Island, or perhaps the tail of Bellingham that juts out and makes the whole thing a bay. They sort of blur together and my vision is not so sharp... but it sets over land from my vantage point.

The clouds were pervasive until July 5th! But they have disappeared for the time being and we are hoping for days with blue skies and cloudless sunsets!

Life begins anew... studying

Argghhh. I just wrote a small blog and it disappeared in my cut and paste options... Oy.

Here are some pictures from the campus of Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Washington State. This is my home for the next year and eight months, as I embark on an amazing program to earn a Masters in Environmental Education and a certificate in non-profit administration. The program involves a one-year residency at the North Cascades Institute, in the heart of the National Park with the same name.

There are many opportunities for me to create, research, learn and practice many elements of non-profit work and experiential education. As this is the field for me, it is a matter of checking out the many facets and fine-tuning my abilities and interests. I am in a good place.


View from the student union, looking at Bellingham Bay... with one of the San Juan Islands in the background

View of the main administration building, lost in and among Douglas Fir

The main plaza of campus. Lots of construction in the summer because the weather is nice and there are fewer students

Some more buildings... the one under construction is the home of the Environmental Studies department

One of the walkways on campus, and one of the many statues around also