Butchart Gardens, Twenty Years Later.

This past weekend, Whitney and I went to Victoria out on Vancouver Island for her birthday. We stopped by Olympic Bagel Company in Port Angeles on our way out and picked up the Apple Crunch bagel. This is of course the notorious bagel that my mom thinks single-handedly ruined her calorie total for life, but really, she's so healthy and trim, it's a ridiculous thought. I, on the other hand, have no qualms about munching on this little ring of heaven. Ahh, the heady days of youth. After spending a pretty relax evening, we got up Saturday morning to go to Butchart Gardens. I came here with my family when I was six or seven years old. We were living in beautiful Boise, Idaho at the time when we came to Seattle and I decided that I wanted to live here some day. Look at me! Achieving goals! These gardens on Vancouver Island are incredible. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Here is the sunken garden.
And the pond at the back of the sunken garden. The new monkey puzzle tree. The old one, which we took our picture in front of twenty years ago has gone the way of the mulcher. Poor thing. Looking down into the Japanese garden. (Just what every garden should be, but maybe I'd go a little lighter on the west-side of the Pac Rim thing.) And then finally, looking down towards their own private harbor. Hello! What a nice yard. Maybe my new goal should be to live on Vancouver Island . . . no. Too far. Too cold. I'll just buy lots of land in Montana and build a sunken garden out there. I could spend many happy weeks. Just me and my bulldozer. Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Stop that giggling, it makes me uncomfortable.

Ahh, one of the great cinematic classics of the modern era. Taking just five days to write and ten days to film, we all got together to watch "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" tonight. It's amazing and full of wonderful sentences like when Dr. Paul Armstrong is driving up the canyon with his wife to find a meteor full of atmosphereum: "Seriously, Betty, you know what this meteor could mean to science. If we find it, and it's real, it could mean a lot. It could mean actual advances in the field of science." Or Ranger Brad says "Oh, say... You don't believe those old legends about the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, do you?" And the other scientist (two scientists in one movie!) says, "Ranger Brad, I'm a scientist, I don't believe in anything." If any of you are looking for a movie to watch for Halloween, I would suggest this one (with a healthy dose of it's a spoof so their acting is wooden for a reason) or Watcher in the Woods (which is actually pretty scary, despite being in the family section of the video store).

Frosty the Snowman still alive and well.

No greenhouses in the North Cascades so no worries Frosty. I just got back from a quick 24 hour camping trip to the North Cascades with Whitney (aka Pepper). I've never been on the North Cascades Highway (SR20) and it is supposed to be one of the most beautiful drives in the United States. Well, it is. After a chillsville night of camping where we stole back our $15 at the closed campground to stay at the open one next door, we cruised the road in style. Here's a picture of Goodell Creek where we mercifully found a campsite and thought it was raining all night because of the constant pouring of falling leaves on our tent. Then we drove across the Gorge and took pictures of the beautiful waterfalls there. The more interesting bit was walking across the bridge decking and watching what was below. Mom, I took this picture just for you.
So, I was expecting cold temperatures and fall foilage but guess what folks, global warming has not reached the northern part of our state. It's blanketed in the real white stuff up there. The first hike we went one was a quick 2 mile round trip to Rainy Lake . . . through the snow. It was spectacularly beautiful and warranted a rousing rendition of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland". Then we did a 4 mile (6 miles? Really, I walk around G-Lake faster than that . . . had to have been farther) up to Blue Lake through the snow. I uh, would like to add all sorts of witty dialogue about how Whitney wants to be called Pepper from now on and about appropriate trail etiquette (stand aside if you're moving so slow even the banana slugs are passing you) but here is a trip where the pictures speak for themselves.