Our first visit to Walters Fruit Ranch in Green Bluff, Washington, near Spokane, was in the spring. The highlight was their peach iced tea, made fresh from peaches grown in their own orchard. It was incredibly delicious and left a memorable impression. During that trip, we sampled several peach varieties, carefully choosing our favorites before purchasing some to take home. While exploring, I also noticed the ranch’s extensive apple orchard and made a mental note to return in the fall for apple picking.

Mount Shuksan and Picture Lake in the Fall

I was staring at Mount Shuksan. The jagged peaks were stunning, and perfectly reflected in Picture Lake. And I realized that the battery in my camera was dead.

Scott and I had arrived Picture Lake in the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forrest shortly after lunch. I knew the afternoon light would be better for what we wanted to photograph, so we took our time getting there. We made our coffee, packed a lunch, and double checked our overnight reservation. There was no rush.

When we got there, the view was spectacular! I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough, and my camera came out immediately. A handful of shots later, my battery was DEAD.

Early Morning Autumn at Tipsoo Lake

I love fall color. We start seeing the maple trees turn red in mid-August. By the end of September, the trees by our road have turned a golden yellow and fall un underway.

We’re not quite there yet, but Saturday Scott and I decided to try and find some fall color. So we headed for a favorite spot in higher elevation that we hoped would give us some great views. We left our house in the dark; coffee in hand; planning to arrive around sunrise and capture the early morning light at Tipsoo Lake.

I love to be at Reflection Lake in Mount Rainier National Park at first light.

On this particular morning, I got up a couple of hours before sunrise and made the trip by myself. It was the middle of the week, and I was hoping to see some fall color, Mount Rainier (of course), and hopefully fewer people..  The skies were crystal clear blue, and it was looking to be a beautiful day. My first stop of the day was Reflection Lake.

Fall is here! Well almost. While I can’t say that I look forward to the gray skies that seem to come with it too often in the PNW, there are lots of things that I absolutely LOVE about fall.

Scott and I love to go on adventures. We love to share the pictures and stories with you. If you only looked at our pictures you might think that everything always goes according to plan, nothing ever goes wrong. This of course is never true. And while we’ve mostly avoided major catastrophes, it’s not unusual to have minor mishaps.

Here are a few we’ve experienced

We arrived at the Nisqually gate at 6:30 AM and already there was a small line of cars waiting to get in. Even with two windows open checking people in. It was going to be a busy day up there.

We skipped Paradise and headed straight for Reflection Lake. Early morning and late evening are the times When the wind tends to be calmer, and therefor most likely to find a great reflection of the mountain on the lake. We didn’t want to miss it, so we headed there first.

Labor Day Weekend – the Unofficial End of Summer

Welcome to the last weekend of summer - unofficially. I hope you have found your summer to be satisfying in the way you needed it to be. If not – I hope you are giving yourself grace knowing that circumstances are often out of our control.

The highlights of my summer include a couple of sleep overs with my  granddaughters, camping on the beach, a day at the lake where I got to spend an entire day with a book outside of cell phone range, listening to baseball games as I work in my garden, picking fresh produce from my garden when I return from a morning run, and hiking  to an awesome viewpoint.

It was a gorgeous sunny day. A perfect day to be at the beach. Scott and I strapped on our packs – made extra heavy with all the camera gear – and headed down the beach. We hoped to find a camping spot near Hole in the Wall, but we weren’t sure what we’d find. Camping spots aren’t reserved. You just find a place that looks good once you’re beyond a certain point.

The spot we found was perfect! Up away and away under trees just enough to feel protected but it still felt like we were right on the beach. Near the sea stacks, which is where we wanted to be to view the stars at night.

The view at the top was AMAZING! And it is appropriately named as you are walking around high up on a rock formation. The rock was grippy though, so I didn’t feel insecure moving about while we were up there.

We explored the rocks, checking out the various viewpoints of Mount Rainier and the surrounding hills. It was just breathtaking!