It Felt Good >> To Be Out of the Rain

I almost didn't post these pics because I thought I might be boring you all to tears with all these desert trips. But then I looked through them again, and realized they were too pretty not to share. Besides, while it wasn't a new place, it was a new experience, because I went backpacking for the first time!

Here I am, strapping on the old hiking boots. Yes, that's a pink extension in my hair. A little camping is no reason to stop the jazz, amirite?

We got there right as the sun was about to set, so it was amazing and beautiful as we trudged along with our packs. We chose this place because a) it's warm there before the Western part of the state, and b) because we knew the hike to where we wanted to go was only a couple of miles. Perfect for a newbie like me. I've done tons of car camping, and tons of hiking, but I have never strapped on a backpack and walked until I felt like stopping to set up shop. I have to say, it was pretty amazing and I think I'm hooked.

One of the reasons why I had never done it before, was that it takes kind of a long time to acquire the right gear. That shizz is expensive! Sure, you can go out John Muir style with just a crust of bread and a wool blanket, but it's a lot more fun if you have things like a down sleeping bag to keep you warm and dry, and a tiny stove for a hot mug of tea in the morning. Finally, Andy and I have enough for the two of us to go out. We got all of our stuff slowly (4 years or so), through clearance racks, outlet stores, gifts, craigslist, and good ol' plunking cash down. Hopefully it's an investment that will last us for awhile!

This is in the morning, and you can see the waterfall in the background. This was Piko's first time camping, and the reason I know this is because she thought it was scary. She was SO confused when it got dark out and we were still outside. When we called her into the tent, she looked at us like we were insane. Poor lady. I'm not sure she slept too much! We're going to work with her on it though, because we have a lot of trips lined up that she's a part of! Other than that, she had a blast running around and scaring birds.

These are some of the aforementioned birds. They're ducks with little ducklings in tow, and as soon as Piko splashed down into the lake, they swam away. They found a pretty sweet spot though!

Oh, and we saw a rattlesnake. Actually, I heard it and then saw it. I think it was giving us a "hey, I'm here, don't mess with me" warning rattle. Eeeeee! We were in sight of the car though, so it wasn't too scary. Plus, it's already too hot out that way for any return trips until next winter probably.

Rattlesnakes aside, what was most exciting about this trip, was that it was a taste of the summer to come. In just about a month from now, we're setting off for three weeks of road tripping, camping, and hiking. Can't wait!

shanti >> sondra

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In the Desert >> You Can Remember Your Name

Remember how we visited the desert of Eastern Washington recently? Well, we went back. On a drizzly Seattle Saturday, we headed up and over the mountains and found ourselves in a lush, springtime desert. Isn't that amazing? Sometimes I hear people poo-pooing Eastern Washington...those people are nuts, because there's some magic over there. At least that leaves it quieter for the rest of us.

We got to this little hike in the afternoon, so as we walked we hit the "magic hour" and everything had that beautiful glow to it. See these tents? That's going to be us in a few days, because we're heading back to this very spot for our first camping night of the season! So. Excited.

The special part about this place, is that it's a short hike out to a waterfall, which of course is pretty unusual in the desert. There were actually two waterfalls, and this was the smaller one. It just looked so pretty with the light coming through at the end of the day.

Of course the fearless beagle accompanied us. She is so great on the trail, unless there's food involved of course. At one point on this hike, she went up to a guy camping (he invited her over) and proceeded to immediately stick her nose in his dinner. Silly lady.

Thank you for all of the good apartment wishes the other day! While we were indeed given a lease to sign, the person pulled out at the last minute due to some health problems she was dealing with. Sigh. Back to the drawing board on that one...

I hope you are having a lovely weekend! I'm stuck at work both days, so enjoy yours a little extra for me. :)

shanti >> sondra

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I've Been Through >> the Desert on a Horse With No Name

I still haven't shared all the rest of our pictures from the our trip to the desert of Eastern Washington yet. Looking back at these photos, I can feel that we'll be back very, very soon.

We drove up some service roads until we found this little ridge line with a fence along it. We decided that it would be a good place to take a walk and stretch our legs, since it had such a gorgeous view of the river valley below. This is where I collected the sage that I bundled.

It's actually pretty crazy to see how much the landscape has changed since I took these pictures. Here in Seattle, all of the trees have started leafing out, and everything is green, green, green.

We also visited a petrified forest near here, which we were pretty excited about. Although it has nothing to do with actual petrified forests, we love the movie. Isn't the wood beautiful, how it colors and changes with time and geologic processes? There were just huge hunks of it all around. Crazy to think about how long it has existed on the Earth! Sometimes, the Earth just blows my mind!

Also crazy to think about? The people who made these petroglyphs. I've seen several petroglyph sites all over the West and Hawaii, and I'd say these are some of the best preserved and most detailed ones that I've seen. Aren't they beautiful? I just love thinking about the people who left these, why they would have left them, and what they would think of me standing there gawking at them now. I wonder what people thousands of year from now will consider our "petroglyphs." This blog, perhaps? ;) Lawd, I hope not.

I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak a trip out to the deserts of Nevada or Utah for a few days into one of our summer junkets. To Google Maps I go!

shanti >> sondra

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A Walk >> In the Woods

Has anyone else ever read that book? It is HILARIOUS. It's about a middle aged, out of shape guy who decides to through-hike the Appalachian Trail. I know I relate to Bill Bryson in that book lately! I don't feel at the top of my fitness game lately (especially cardio-wise), so this hike we took last week was a tough one. It didn't help that is was essentially straight up, with LOTS of elevation gain over a fairly short distance. Oh, well. I trouped along until I gave up, and then we turned back and got some banh mis. Mmmmmmmmmm.... Nothing a good sandwich can't fix. :)

It wasn't an especially beautiful day for a hike, but I tried to notice the small things. I thought this pine cone was so cool! I loved the pattern in it.

We're heading out for a snowshoeing adventure tomorrow -- with the destination being a hot spring, so I better bring my A game! I'll bring my camera and share that junket later this week. I can't believe I leave for India a week from today. Tomorrow I'll be knee deep in snow, and a week from then I'll be in 90-100 degree heat, hanging with monkeys. (I was told there'd be monkeys. And elephants. Just hangin' around. Whaaaaaa?! So. Excited!)

shanti >> sondra

To Baker Lake >> I Took My Cake

Last week, we took a little day trip to do some hiking. I originally wanted to go out to the Olympic Peninsula  but we're trying to save some money and it involved either an expensive ferry ride or else staying overnight. So, we went up to Baker Lake where we've been near before, and enjoyed some sunshine and fresh air.

It was grey and cloudy in Seattle, but when we got far enough north we were rewarded with blue skies, and temps that felt like early spring.

The hike basically followed above the shoreline, and it wasn't anything too remarkable, but it was nice to get out and do something active. I packed along some of the cake I had made earlier in the week, and I had a good time taking pictures of the light through the trees.

I don't think I'll ever NOT enjoy taking pictures directly into the sun. There's just something about the way it makes all of the greenery glow....mmmmmmmm! Magical.

We finished the day with pizza and drinks in Bellingham, which is the best way to end any day spent hiking. Or wait, that's actually the best way to end ANY day!

Have you taken any trips out to the great outdoors lately?

shanti >> sondra

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On the Trail >> The Great Northern

On Saturday Andy and I took our first hike here in Washington. Well, our first hike together. He actually already spent a week out climbing and hiking Mt. Baker, but it was my first time to strap on the old hiking boots. When we woke up on Saturday morning, it was cool and cloudy, which made me very happy. I'm sure I will eat my words on this, but I cannot wait for it to be all cold and rainy out.

I grabbed a chai latte and we headed for Snow Lake, which is only about about an hour from Seattle and is one of the most popular trails around. Even on this cool, foggy day the trail was packed with hikers. I prefer empty trails, but we managed to keep our distance most of the time and it wasn't so bad. Even though we couldn't see the mountains or views from anywhere, the misty trees were so pretty, and everything had this ethereal, dreamy look to it.

We made it all the way to the lake, which you couldn't even see until you were practically on it; it blended right into the sky and mist. After a few minutes sitting by the shore and eating some dried fruit, we were cold already from not moving so we headed back.

Of course, by the time we got back to the car we were STARVING, so we stopped off in Snowqualmie for some fortification. You know what else is in Snowqualmie? The Great Northern Lodge. If there are any Twin Peaks fans out there (and if you've never watched it, GO right now to Netflix and stream it!), you'll recognize the lodge and the falls.

We're huge Twin Peaks fans, so this was a very exciting stop for us! Then it was on to the Snowqualmie Falls Brewery for beers and snacks...because that's how all good hikes end. All in all, it was a great way to say hello to Autumn, and to get a little more acquainted with our new home. It's amazing how close the outdoors is to us here. It has me dreaming about little cabins tucked away in the mountains, with smoke puffing out of the chimney. Ahhhhhh...

shanti >> sondra

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On the Road >> Mt. Shasta

I totally forgot about these pictures until I was looking for something else on my camera the other day. I'm so glad I found them, because it was a really pretty hike! We'll actually be driving right by this same spot on Friday morning on our way to our new home.

Earlier this summer, Andy hiked to the top of Mt. Shasta with a friend. He's starting to get into more serious mountaineering, the kind that involves ice axes and crampons and whatnot, and I'm out on that. I love hiking, but climbing on ice is another beast. Anyway, when we drove up to Seattle to apartment hunt, the drive took us right past where he had hiked, and he wanted to show me the area. We just went up a couple of miles to the base camp where most climbers stay before they summit, but it was a good taste of the what the mountain looks like. The picture above is the little cabin where the local ranger lives. Doesn't it look like the most magical place to live???

The best part about reaching the base camp, was that there was pure, fresh mountain water that you could drink. No chemicals, no filtration, and icy cold. It was heavenly. The hike back down featured views such as this:

aaaaaand this:

Pretty nice way to stretch your legs on a long car ride, huh? :)

shanti >> sondra

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Adventure File >> Death Valley

Last week I went down to Las Vegas for a fun weekend with friends. I had never been there before, and I thought it wouldn't be my cup of tea, but it was actually really fun. Lots of time by the pool, tasty food and libations, and great company. On the way down, we camped overnight in Death Valley. We had planned on going down there a couple of times before, but convinced ourselves into going other places the other times. We planned it so we would arrive after dark, hike a bit on the morning, and then drive on to Vegas by noon. This (unsurprisingly) still made for a very hot trip in late June.

We saw wild burros, bees going nuts for water, and lots and lots of sand. I'm actually really glad that we drove through when it was so hot; it's Death Valley, it's supposed to be hot! I was stoic and declined the AC the whole way. I also took some pics with my Holga which I'll share when I finally get the roll developed.

I'm really glad that we finally made it down there. Empty places are some of my favorite places. So peaceful and strange!

Join the kula!

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.adventure file. yosemite.

Last week we took a little trip to Yosemite and Mono Lake. It is so strange to think that this is the last time that we might see these things (we are moving to Seattle in September, for those not in the know). Well, the last time we might see them for awhile at least.

Needless to say, it was a beautiful, relaxing, and memorable couple of days. We spent the time hiking, walking around the little town of Lee Vining, and making s'mores around the campfire. There's something about getting out of town that just makes time crawl. The unfamiliar experiences just make you have to slow down. Breathe. Enjoy. Be in the moment. Just like being on your yoga mat forces you to do these things, so does vacation. Yoga in action. I love it! Other ways yoga lessons found their way from my mat and into life:

• Drawing upon all those balancing poses to cross streams on rocks and fallen branches.
• Gathering up my courage to leap across creeks that I was pretty sure I could jump across. (I could!)
• Taking a few minutes to sit and listen to the sounds of nature, feel the cool breeze on my neck, and soak in the loveliness of the world.

Whether you have an epic road trip planned for this summer, or can only get away for a picnic in the park, see how in the moment you can be. Turn your phone off, go barefoot in the grass, and get in touch with the here and now. 

.shanti.

.walk the labyrinth.

I thought this was a particularly good image to start this new blog off with. Ya'know, an image of a path leading to unknown ends? A little dramatic, are we?

 I don't know if this was created to be a meditation labyrinth or not, but it certainly makes a beautiful one, either way. My husband and I came across this on a recent hike in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, and it would make for a wonderful walking meditation.

And if you ever find yourself in San Francisco on a Tuesday night, stop by Grace Cathedral and check out Yoga on the Labyrinth. Beautiful. Delightful. Heart melting. 

.shanti.