Mount Rainier National Park

Well, we made it to Mount Rainer National Park. It's about a 3 hr drive northwest of us. Zach was there for a training for work so Ada and I decided to come visit for a night. Beautiful place, even though we never actually got to see the mountain since they were having a blizzard! Who would have thought there would be that much snow up there?
Lacking snowshoes or skis we didn't stray too far from the roads, but we did enjoy the snow.

Volcano Evacuation Route?? These signs were posted everywhere. Thankfully the volcano didn't blow while we were there...although maybe that would have melted the snow for us...

I must have too much time on my hands...

I seem to have gotten the sewing bug these days. It's strange because I never was a sewer even though my mom was a talented seamstress and my best friend growing up would sew the most beautiful riding clothes for us. But I've found that sewing for kids is easy...mostly because you can make colorful, fun things and nobody criticizes your mistakes! Below is the felt food collection (yes, those are ravioli), a beach ball, and some thrift store jackets that I covered up the ugly designs they came with.


And more shirts with fun critters. It's so addictive to buy an ugly shirt and make it uniquely beautiful (or at least I think so).

And then there is "Irene"....

Turtle tracks? Think again!

On beaches around the world it's not uncommon to see tracks of sea turtles as they crawl onto shore to lay eggs. The tracks photographed above are from a loggerhead turtle as she made her way back to the ocean at Cape Hatteras. Species of sea turtles can actually be identified by the tracks that they leave.


So, a visitor to the Oregon coast this afternoon may have been stumped when they came across these bizzare tracks in the sand. Sea turtle? Energetic star fish? Hmmm....

It's a motoring baby with a snickerdoodle butt! A gorgeous sunny day today here on the Oregon shore allowed Ada and I to spend the afternoon on the beach looking for sand dollars, watching the wind surfers brave the frigid water temps (are they crazy?), and of course....practicing our false turtle tracks!

And here she continues....all the way up the dune where no timid turtle would dare to go. Does the girl have no fear?

A few pictures

Fort Stevens State Park....with the mighty Columbia River in the background.



At the highest point in Astoria on a rare sunny day. That's the town in the background.