On the Floating Duck

After the Science Fiction Museum we dicided to have a tour of Seattle on the amphibious duck tour. We drove around Seattle seeing all the major highlights then we drove into Lake Union which is right in the middle of Seattle. It is connected on the east side by Lake Washington and on the west side it is connected to Puget Sound by a canal and locks. The lake is also a runway for a airline (Kenmore Air), that uses mostly floatplanes. There is a good picture of the whole lake from the Space Needle, just click on the picture to see more.

The Space Needle and Other Tourist Hotspots

The Space Needle is such a unique landmark that it seemed mandatory as a visitor to go to the top of it. Everybody asks, "Did you go to the Space Needle? You have to go to the space needle." It's not the highest building in Seattle, (the highest is the Bank of America Building) but it has an exceptional view. It's located a little bit outside the downtown area so there is a clear view of Seattle's tallest buildings, the bodies of water and the mountains. It was a clear day in Seattle but when we looked back from where we came from, Mt. Rainier, it was covered in clouds again. There is a restaurant in the Needle but we decided not to go, mainly because we are not willing to pay $24 for a simple hamburger.

Melting Candy?

This weird looking building is the Science Fiction Museum and the Experience Music Project, which is a rock-and-roll museum. We decided to go to the Science Fiction Museum. To the right of the building there are two large white vehicles that look like busses. These are the amphibious ducks we went on for a tour of Seattle.

Patrick the Starfish

This little guy reminded me of Patrick, Spongebob's friend. We saw other starfish clinging to rocks when we stopped at a beach on the Olympic Peninsula. This was probably our last chance to see the Pacific Ocean on this trip. We were lucky the past few days by not having rain in a temperate rain forest but today it was gray and raining. We drove around the peninsula to the east side hoping we would be able to use our kayak at Seal Rock Campground.

Out with the old, In with the new

While we were in Portland, we decided to upgrade our kayak. We bought a 16-foot tandem kayak with an open cockpit to replace our 12-foot long tandem sit-on-top kayak. Here is a picture of both kayaks, with the new one being strapped to the rack. We had to get a new and better rack to support this new boat. We were really excited to use our new kayak.

Playing Around

Jihelah is being whipped around by the host, John, with an oversize rubber band. The party was a celebration of John and Adelle's completion of this year's edition of "The American Alpine Journal". Congratulations to them! We met many of Osher and Feliza's friends at the party. They were all very interesting and welcoming.

Michelle, Naomi, Feliza, Jihelah, and Ed

We're taking a break from our bike ride at a vista looking over the Columbia River. There is a paved biking trail that goes from Hood River to the next town to the east called Mosier. Osher took this picture with our camera.

Helping out on the farm

Outside the town of Hood River, I'm helping Osher (a.k.a. Lee) build a chicken coop. I only met Osher and his family once before at our wedding, but it was good to stay with them and get to know them better. Like us, they also enjoy traveling. They have been all around the world with their kids.

Red Barn

We're staying here a few days. The cousin put us up in the barn. Said don't mess with the chickens. Real Nice!

Posting to the Blog

After being eaten alive in the morning by mosquitos, and after driving all over Astoria, and after tasting some wine at a local vineyard, and after eating a great meal at the Golden Valley Brewery, Michelle updates the weblog at the Baker Street Bed and Breakfast.

A lovely visitor to our campsite.

After Eugene we stayed at Rock Creek camp, which was beautiful but very wet. It rained during the night, soaking everything. We managed to stay dry and we had the tent dryed out at the next campsite.

Waking up next to a creek

The sound of the creek is very relaxing, and waking up with the creek right in front of the tent is pretty cool too.

The Thing from the Deep

Finally, after days of rain and snow the sun came out. We are at a place warm enough to go swimming.

Reno, Nevada

We drove from Mono Lake to Reno, Nevada. We weren't planning on visiting Reno but we needed to do laundry and a shower would be nice. We wanted to check out the city a little while we are here.

Don't forget to click on the pictures to see more of us, and check out the slideshow option in flickr.

Us at Mono Lake

Here we are at Mono Lake. We decided not to kayak in the lake because the salinity is 3 times more than the ocean. The water feels slimy and leaves a residue on the skin. The bird season doesn't start until late June, at which time many species of migratory birds stop at the lake for refueling. The strange looking towers behind us are called tufa towers. For more information about the lake click on this link.

Attack of the Alkali Flies

Swarms of flies inhabit the shores of Mono Lake. They may look menacing but they are actually quite harmless.

Our Camp at Lee Vining Creek

This is where we stayed near Mono Lake. This picture is our campsite taken from across Lee Vining Creek. We were visited by some deer at dusk.

Yosemite Valley

This is our last attempt at getting us both in the picture at the same time while standing in front of Yosemite Valley. In the distance you can see Bridalveil falls. The Merced River is running through the valley. We wanted to drive from Yosemite to the east side to get to Mono Lake, but the Tioga pass was closed due to snow. So instead we drove northwest to Highway 108 through Pinecrest.

Mist of Bridalveil Falls

We walked the trail to the Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite. I used my underwater camera casing to take pictures in the mist of Bridalveil Falls. Everyone near the falls was getting soaked.

Us At Yosemite Falls

We drove from Fresno to Yosemite National Park. The park camping areas were all full. We camped at Sweetwater campground in the Stanislaus National Forest on the west side of Yosemite. It was a great camping site other than the many mosquitos hungry for our blood. After a peaceful night sleep, we drove back into Yosemite to see all the beautiful locations.