Thursday, October 7, 2010

We found our thrill

...on Blueberry Hill! Today sixteen Senior Trailblazers headed up to Canyon Ridge, which we have christened Blueberry Hill because of the incredible profusion of blueberries, which we managed to consume until our fingers and mouths had turned several shades of purple. Although they were not as sweet as last year's crop, there were so many of them! And the fall colors, as you can see here, were just outstanding.
If you enlarge this picture, you can see that the red leaves are hiding a spectacular number of blueberries, and if we had not had a destination, we would probably have made ourselves sick standing around and eating them. As it was, we tore ourselves away from the berries to obtain our high point on the ridge below. You can easily see our trail leading to the top of that hill.
I know it looks like I fiddled with the color on this picture, but I didn't. This is what we saw today. Although there were high clouds, we could see Shuksan and Baker, even if partially obscured by clouds, and the Canadian and American border peaks. We could have hiked down a short ways and found ourselves in Canada. In fact, on the way back down to our cars, we saw three Border Patrol personnel heading up the trail. When we stopped for our lunch break around noon, you can clearly see the Canadian and American border peaks in this picture.
The rounded peak in the middle of the picture is the American Border Peak, and the one to its left is the Canadian Border Peak. The border itself is between the two. Those high clouds you see here were with us for the entire day, keeping us cool but dry. The weather for the next few days is expected to be much wetter, as well as windy, so we were all pleased to have our usual Thursday hike, seeing the beautiful fall colors while staying dry. It was just great! Here we are heading back down to our cars after a wonderful day enjoying the High Country.
I have lots more pictures, some of the gorgeous Shuksan and Baker, that I'll add to my Trailblazers link on the right-hand side of this blog, but I don't promise to do it before I've had my dinner and wine. Maybe tomorrow morning before heading to the gym... It was another magnificent day with my BFFs, and there were three new (to me) Trailblazers with us today. The more I think about my choice to retire here, the more amazed I am that Bellingham is so perfect. I am truly blessed.
:-)

23 comments:

  1. wow you were surrounded in beauty and even got a snack out of it...my lips and probably my face would have been purple...

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  2. Magnificent colors DJan. The photo of the blueberries was my favorite. I've noticed the blueberries I've gotten at the grocer's have been a bit sour too. They are so pretty on the bushes with the turning leaves. I wonder how much time you have left for hiking in your area....it looks like a change of weather coming soon.

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  3. The colors are outstanding. I would also fill myself with blueberries. There are a lot more there than I saw in northern Norway. I don’t know if I told you but a while back I was reading a report on the best towns for retiring in the US. Bellingham was in the top ten. That is saying something because there are many many towns in this country.

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  4. We call those huckleberries here in the Northwest. And I have spent many an hour picking them in my younger days, when my dad would take us up into the Oregon Cascades to the secret places he knew from his logging days. We all remember it fondly.
    And those high mountain bushes really do turn wonderful shades of red and gold! What a beautiful day you had!

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  5. Every photo was extremely beautiful, DJan!

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  6. Man! I had no luck with berries in my berry-stomping grounds this year on Mt. Hood. I was on Mt. St. Helens earlier and they were bigger, sweeter, and more plentiful than I'd ever seen anywhere, but we were five miles up at that point and hadn't had any intention of bringing buckets with us. I wonder why the big difference? Love your photos. I must get a little farther north some time.

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  7. You should have taken a bucket with you. Blueberries are expensive in Hawaii. In fact, I have not seen any at my local supermarket lately. You were lucky.

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  8. Beautiful photos as usual. Your hikes are the envy of mountain lovers. I would have brought back bags of blueberries to freeze for winter. They now cost four dollars for about two dozen in the East at this point.

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  9. Yes, I'm more inspired by those pictures than the ones of the high mountains, which always look so stark and forbidding. I love the colours and the blueberries and the comfiness of it all. Much more suited to a lowlander like I am. You have had a wonderful day and we have enjoyed sharing it with you.
    Blessings, Star

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  10. Such beautiful pictures!~~ I just was showing these to my husband and he said we went through your area in 1992!!

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  11. Wow.. what a wonderful place to hike. I was thinking about how cool it would be to have such a lovely area as the border crossing when I remembered that my nearest Canadian/U.S. border crossing is at Niagara Fall about an hour from home. We have beautiful countries, we do.

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  12. I would write: She was born, she lived a very dull life until a very old age and then she died. End of story.

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  13. Whether they are blueberries or huckleberries I don't like them. You are welcome to eat my part.

    I am very curious about Bellingham. Do you ever visit Canada?

    I do believe you picked the perfect spot for your retirement. Not many people can say that but those who can are indeed fortunate.

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  14. What an incredible profusion of color, dear DJ!!!! It takes my breath away!!! Such spectacular photos!!!! I always think, "She can't top this..." AND THEN YOU DO!!!!! You amaze me!!! Hope the wine and dinner were good...Wish I could have joined you!!! Love, Janine XO

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  15. Absolutely incredible scenery. What a great thing to have so many people that enjoy doing what you like to do. I think that is exactly what I hope to attain in retirement.

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  16. Isn't Fall beautiful in our part of the country!

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  17. Wow, you didn't fiddle with the color. The colors are eye popping. Did you take some blueberries home?

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  18. My wife is absolutely crazy over blueberries.

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  19. Oh wow, it looks like you are really getting some color over your way. Our leaves are just starting to turn. Those blueberries look delicious.

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  20. Ah you should have packed out some berries..they are beautiful against the changing leaves. Stunning photos again DJan..you never disappoint. I love your hikes! Thank you for all your prayers during the trying times lately..I so appreciate them and your friendship:)

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  21. I think fall is the prettiest season, and you've captured it beautifully! The colors are amazing.

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  22. These photos are stunning. The red profusion among the blueberries are a delight. Hopefully the bears kept their distance.

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