Pass Lake and Tursi Trail

Our group today, minus me and one in the loo

I was a little bit shocked at the size of our Trailblazer group today: eighteen of us showed up for a Fidalgo Island hike from Bowman Bay, just down the road from the Deception Pass bridge. I asked someone why we had such a large group today, and he said, "because it isn't raining." Yep, that's why. Although earlier in the week it was supposed to be a bit rainy today, by the time we got to Thursday, the weather had changed to partly sunny with no chance of rain.

Pass Lake through the trees

We hiked the Pass Lake trail until it diverged onto the Tursi trail. Then we followed that trail all the way to its end. On the way, we passed an old mine, which Al says was a gold mine that didn't go anywhere.

Bob after taking a quick look

The hole is only fifteen feet or so deep, and then stops. Others were more brave than I, who stayed quite a ways back from the opening just in case something might have taken up residence in there. We continued on.

Exploring an old foundation

Someone had a nice house here once upon a time, with a lovely view towards the west and a partial view of Pass Lake down below. We hiked on down the trail to the end.

The beginning of the Tursi trail

The trail comes out onto Donnell Road and some farm houses. We then turned around and retraced our steps until we returned once again to the old foundation, where we had lunch.

Tom, Chris and Bob

By this time it was almost noon, so we had a very nice lunch in both filtered and direct sunshine. It was very mild, but since we had been hiking and were a little sweaty, we had to put on more clothes to keep warm in spite of having some sun. It is the end of November, after all.

Moss on hillside

I am not sure what this white moss is, but I thought it was lovely and reminded me of flowers. Winter landscapes can be quite attractive in a different way than in summer.

Pretty mushrooms

Mushrooms were abundant, since it has been quite wet lately. We saw plenty of them, along with some mud, but not as bad as in previous years. There has been some trail work since then, with a few bridges and a new trail.

Bowman Bay

We returned to Bowman Bay, where we had begun our hike, and we figure we covered somewhere around seven miles (depending on whose device to believe), and around 1,800 feet of elevation gain and loss. There were more clouds than sun by the end of our excursion, but nobody minded the weather. We piled into our cars and headed back home after a fine day outdoors. Did I say there was no rain?
:-)

Fall is coming along nicely

Front porch and leaves a-droppin'

I've seen what is going on around the US in terms of weather these days. A huge blizzard moved through the middle of the country, and cold air and record-setting snows hit the northeast. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have had lots and lots of rain during the past week, more than usual, but incredibly mild temperatures. Go figure.

When I woke this morning, it was almost 60°F (15°C) with strong winds and rain. We have several windstorms during the fall and winter months, so this was no surprise, but it's the first for this season. Almost all the leaves have fallen from the trees, as you can see, but without a cold snap, I still have flowers on my front porch. They'll wilt and dry up once we have a hard freeze. So far, they are still doing well.

The days are very short now, moving towards the winter solstice, after which the days will begin to lengthen. By the end of January, I usually notice the slow return of the light. For now, I'm still enjoying our wonderful mild weather.
:-)

I love Bellingham

Picture by Edmund Lowe

This morning the ladies and I walked twice around Lake Padden, and I neglected to take any pictures. I went on Facebook to the "I Love Bellingham" page to find something that would show the beautiful place I live. This picture of the ferry between the mainland and Lummi Island, with Mt. Baker in the background, shows what a beautiful place Bellingham is.

Granted, it rains a lot, and the days are very short in the winter months, but the beauty is unparalleled. I am grateful that I live here, and that I can go outdoors in all weather, with the appropriate gear, and enjoy myself. Right now I am happily looking out the front window while sitting with my trusty laptop and writing this post. I am feeling lots of gratitude right now, perfect for this long Thanksgiving weekend.
:-)

Thanksgiving 2018

Pumpkin pie, anyone?

This morning, I met my friend John at a local grocery store that's open 24/7 and was not closed for the holiday, as our usual coffee shop always is. We were able to get some good coffee and spend time visiting before heading off in different directions. He's going off to have Thanksgiving dinner with a lady friend at one of the local casinos.

Then I headed off to the yoga studio, which is closed except for a benefit class taught by Ingela, who owns Yoga Northwest. For a donation of $20, she held an hour-and-a-half class, which was pretty hard in some ways but very beneficial. The benefit is for Homes Now, Not Later, a local group of volunteers working together to provide homes and shelter for the homeless in Bellingham and Whatcom County. On the way to the class, I saw three different homeless people. One was asleep on the floor at the post office, and two were bundled up, carrying their belongings with them in shopping carts.

Hubby and I are not having any meat in our Thanksgiving feast this year. Instead, I made ratatouille in the Crock Pot last night, and we'll nosh on it all day, with some crusty artisanal bread and a salad. We were going to have a sit-down meal, but instead we agreed that it would be more fun just to eat a little, all day long. Here's a picture of some ratatouille that looks a lot like what I made.

Snagged off the internet

I won't make my usual number of steps today, since there's no hike, no buses, no gym, and other than the great yoga class, no exercise. I'll be lucky to burn more calories than I eat. But hey, that's the way you're supposed to do Thanksgiving, isn't it? I have so many wonderful elements in my life that give me plenty to be thankful for. I wish you the best Thanksgiving ever!
:-)

Brave new world

So many to choose from

Last year at this time, I was just getting ready for my first cataract surgery. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I've worn glasses for many years and had become quite comfortable with progressive lenses that allow me to see in the distance as well as up close with just a tilt of my head. I'll bet many of you use them, too.

Gradually, the cataracts had gotten bad enough that they couldn't be corrected completely, especially in my left eye. So, my eye doctor told me I would need to have cataract surgery to see well once again. At about this time last year, I had the first eye done, and a few weeks later, in mid-December, the second eye was operated on.

Other than the seemingly endless eye drops, several times a day, the procedures both went extremely well. Even with advanced AMD (age-related macular degeneration), my eyesight increased to be almost 20/20, with corrective lenses. I opted to have near-vision lenses implanted and need to wear glasses for distance. The missing vision I suffer from in both eyes is able to be compensated for by the other eye, and I have still not lost any central focal vision.

I purchased some progressive lenses once again, since I found that it's easier to see both near and far with glasses. But for everyday, like now while I'm writing this post on my laptop, I don't need any glasses. I can also look up and see the TV across the room with pretty good clarity. (I would need to put on my glasses to see perfectly.)

A year ago, I couldn't have read anything on this page, or even seen much of anything on the TV without glasses, before the cataract surgery. Once in a while I'll forget how much better I can see today. It's truly a brave new world out there.
:-)

Another sunny Saturday

Me with beautiful Bliss

This morning we had a huge group of ladies, 24 in all, to walk from the Farmers' Market to Zuanich Park at Bellingham Bay. It's a fairly straightforward, easy walk, with no big hills like Cindy (our leader) will sometimes challenge us with. Afterwards, several of us went to The Bagelry for coffee and, you guessed it, bagels.

Lily had to work today, so she didn't join us, or we would have been 25! She will work every day between now and Thanksgiving, when she will have four days off in a row, so she will join us next week. I miss my surrogate daughter when she's not with us.

We are moving into the time of year when the holidays get in the way of my regular routine. This year, I'm determined to enjoy every single moment of each day, rain or shine. Today was one of the easiest ones to appreciate, with abundant sunshine and great company.
:-)

Oyster Dome, Lily and Lizard Lakes

Leslie amongst bigleaf maple leaves

Fourteen Senior Trailblazers met at Chuckanut Drive to begin our usual Thursday hike. Well, actually eleven of us were at the Senior Center to carpool, and the other three joined us at the trailhead. The destination would be determined by the weather and our leader, Melanie. If the rain didn't get too bad, we'd go up to Oyster Dome and then head over to Lily and Lizard Lakes. At the beginning, we were rain free (just a spit or two, nothing much) and set out on the steep trail, which starts right off the highway.

Stopping for a brief photo op

As we made our way upwards, we enjoyed the mild temperature and the lack of rain, thinking that maybe we'd make it the whole way without any. But nope, by the time we reached the junction that would take us either up to Oyster Dome or off to the lakes, it had begun.

Huddle to talk about options

At this point, we decided to skip going up the rest of the way to Oyster Dome, because there would be no view and we had all seen it before anyway. Al also told us about a medical procedure he will undergo at the end of the month, so we were all listening intently.

The way to Lily Lake

And then off we went to Lily Lake. The rain was light, but it gave me a chance to try out my new raincoat, which performed admirably in the light rain. I'm sure I'll get a chance to wear it in heavier rain, but not today.

Lily Lake

There was still some rain when we got to Lily Lake, and the fog was dense, so we decided to trek on over the Lizard Lake, not a long distance but over a small hill. Everyone was in a good mood and happy to be out in the Chuckanuts with our good friends.

Lizard Lake

By the time we got to Lizard Lake, the rain had lessened considerably, although it wasn't gone by any means. You can see some recent beaver work in the foreground. After a lunch break, we decided to head back to Lily Lake and take Max's Shortcut to Samish Overlook, rather than take the shorter route back the way we had come.

Tuning fork?

On the way, Bob pointed out this interesting tree with a distinct fork in it. We discussed what might have caused it. We will never know, but it created a lovely picture in the fog.

Samish Flats

By the time we reached Samish Overlook, the clouds had lessened and the rain had stopped. We were able to take the short distance back to the cars (well, maybe a couple of miles isn't quite short) rain free. We covered almost ten miles and 2,600 feet up and down, quite a good workout. Starting out at sunrise and finishing as the sun was setting, we were reminded once again about how short the days are growing as the nights are growing longer, on our way to the winter solstice.

But it could not have been a better way to spend a late autumn day, in a beautiful place with fine company. Next week is Thanksgiving, so there will be no hike, and we will be stuffing ourselves along with the rest of the country. But today, we were virtuous.
:-)