Unplanned...

Sometimes unplanned trips work out the best. This weekend we took off for Port Angeles, a quick trip for two nights, for wine club events, some geocaching, and as always, a lot of back roads exploring.

This morning we headed out with mugs of tea, intending to have breakfast at a favorite cafe at the airport south of Port Townsend. Then we wandered the country roads toward the Strait, heading for a few geocaches on our list. We slowed down for a broad corner, and there it was: the Acadia Country Inn. We literally slammed on the brakes and looked at each other. We spent our tenth anniversary in this historic house.



When we stayed there, the house was a bed & breakfast, just one of its many incarnations. Built in 1908, the house and farm began life as a private residence, then a hazelnut and fruit farm, a brewery and speakeasy, a brothel, then a boarding house, bed and breakfast, and a vaudeville circus base camp. Today it's a private residence and event center, and also has a tasting room for wine, cider, and mead.



The first time we stayed here, we had the attic room that included the turret-shaped dormer. The second time, we stayed in the corner room that looks out over a grassy pasture, facing where I was standing today.

Today was a cold and gorgeous day for a drive. The mountains were sporting fresh snow, there was frost on the ground, and the sky was streaked with clouds.

Fallen leaves...

The shoulder of the road was thick with fallen maple leaves, and while DW searched out a perfect spot for a new geocache, I let my camera take me for a walk. The colors were beautiful.



I remember when the salmon habitat restoration dollars were spent on this narrow stream, replacing the old culvert with one large enough to stand in, and laying logs across the gravel beds to slow the stream. It is a beautiful spot, and I'm generally in favor of restoring salmon spawning streams, but I never understood why money was spent here: in the 25 years I've been driving this back road, I have never seen any water in this stream.

Shadows and clouds...

We roamed the hills today, exploring the wheat country that surrounds Walla Walla. It's beautiful here, anytime. But today, the winds were bringing constant change above us: black storm clouds, rain, and occasionally, a glimpse of blue sky.

Winter is being chased out of the valley, storm by storm. The snow that blanketed the Blue Mountains on Thursday was refreshed on Friday and Saturday, but with today's warmer temperatures, the snow is starting to melt.



Spring will be quick, then summer will arrive, with brilliant blue skies and hills of green and gold as the new wheat ripens.



We stopped early today, with a hundred and thirty-two new cache finds under our belt. That called for a tasty beverage and pizza, which we found at The Stone Hut. Relaxing and talking about our time here was the perfect way to end the day.

Back roads in a favorite place...

A drive through the hills, with snow. Discovering new roads, and new views... and a new barn to photograph. Muddy roads and geocaches, then wine tasting and a new-to-us restaurant for a late dinner. A good day.

Patterns...

We roamed the back roads around Walla Walla on a mostly gray day... it rained and snowed and hailed, and every time I got out, I tracked gobs of mud and gravel into the Pilot. But late in the morning, the weather lifted for a time, and gave glimpses of blue and fleecy clouds. I was drawn to the contrasting patterns of the day... rounded hills of winter wheat, green under last year's stubble, highlighting the paths of tractors. The straight grooves of newly graded gravel roads. And those beautiful clouds.

In the valley...

Today we went exploring on some of our favorite back roads in the Snoqualmie Valley, reminiscing about cycling on the nearly deserted farm roads, and touring Carnation Farms as kids, when you got to watch them milk the cows, and the yummy ice cream bars we devoured at the end of the tour. We remembered the years when the Snoqualmie River flooded the valley, and when the only houses were the old farmhouses that were the heart of dairy farms and horse farms. When the valley wasn't threatened by the towns to the west, looking to expand. This valley is beautiful and serene, and it's one of my favorite places.

Carnation Farms still exists, but not as a dairy farm. After nearly 20 years in the hands of Nestle, the farm is once again owned by descendants of the original family. Today the 800+ acre property is a working farm and outdoor classroom, with summer camps and tours of their organic farm, and they host a farm-based education program for grades 5-12. The huge barns are still there on the side of the road, and they're still painted bright white, just like I remember from when I was a child.

A line of trees...

The valley was heavy with mist, the grass green in anticipation of spring.  Ducks chatter on the ponds and river, and the sky is full of geese.

In the battle between winter and spring, spring appears to be winning. But I do not give up... I still hope for cold mornings and frost, and perhaps snow, before it's time to start gardening.

Heading for Bend...

We came to Bend for a lot of reasons... time with friends, a last chance to see snow in the mountains, some geocaching, some golf (for our friends), and beer. Some of my favorite beers are made right here in Bend.

But at home in the condo, it's home-cooked food and good wine. We both raided our cellars for some special bottles to share. I'm pretty sure we brought way too much!

The best barns are horse barns...

We're thinking of another visit to one of our favorite towns in SE Washington, Walla Walla. It's home to a thriving wine industry, is on the edge of the Palouse wheat country, and has some of my favorite houses and barns. It also has hundreds of geocaches, if you're into that (like DW and I are). There are twisty back roads for the sports car, mountains and rushing rivers, snow in the winter and heat in the summer. It's one of our favorite places.

A few years ago we discovered the Kibler barns, a barn unlike any I'd ever seen. So when we got home, I did a bit of research.



The Kibler family left an enduring legacy in the Walla Walla Valley, through the agricultural structures they built. Four barns were built from similar plans, each constructed for members of the extended family, and two of the Kibler Barns remain in the family to this day. The white barn on the original farmstead, built in 1918, was accepted in the first round of nominations to the Washington Heritage Barn register (along with my brother-in-law's family barn on Vashon Island).





As much as I love barns, I also love farmhouses. It's great that this wonderful farm has an equally wonderful farmhouse.



My favorite of the four Kibler barns is across the green wheat fields from the 1870 Kibler Farm. It's the biggest of the Kibler barns, painted red with white trim, and was built to stable 48 draft horses. Can't you just imagine this barn full of huge horses at the end of the day? The grooms rubbing each horse down after the day's work, tossing hay down from the loft into each manger, bedding each stall with fresh straw, the horses munching their evening hay.



Some might disagree, but I think the best barns are horse barns.

Linking up today with Tom's Barn Collective.

Foggy mornings...

Fog and cold mornings, frost on the grass, almost eerily silent. It's tough to get up early on cold winter mornings, but it's all worthwhile when I find something like this.

Just a couple of days after I took this photograph, the weather has turned soggy again. All the rain is flooding the creeks, and my pond is four times its normal size. From frosty pastures to reflections in the blink of an eye... that's winter in the Northwest.

Franklin ghosts...

Twice a year the local historical society does a guided tour of one of the many coal mining townsites in this part of the county. Franklin was a busy place in its heydey, with a thousand residents who lived and worked and played together on the steep hillside that hid some of the best coal deposits in the state.

There are a few structures remaining from the many mines that stretched across this hillside, 400 feet above the Green River Gorge. And nothing remains from the hotel, school, saloons, various halls, and houses except a few concrete foundations.

Two cemeteries, one at each end, are tended: one is still in use, and stands alongside the county road. The other is wild and old, with slick paths that go from one headstone to the next.

It wasn't the best weather for a steep hike up the hillsides to the remaining structures, but we learned a lot about the history of Franklin, and even snagged a geocache along the way.

We saw no ghosts today... maybe the cold rain kept them away.

Road by road...

    Pasture in Hobart

Today I followed a road I'd never noticed before, navigating by touch and sight and curiosity...
and found a row of trees along a ridge, rising tall above a pasture, waiting for spring, and leaves, and new life.

But winter isn't over, and the dark ridge of mountains may soon be snow covered, competing with the white winter sky, giving the trees even more contrast for their silhouette.

Reflections...

A few days ago we spent an entire day exploring the Snoqualmie Valley, and our route took us along the old highway into North Bend, and past the old Weyerhaeuser mill pond.

I remember taking this old road when it was the only route over the pass, but more than that, it was one of the best back-country roads to get me out into farm country. And whenever we went out for a Sunday drive after church, that was always my goal. Farms, barns, horses... that's what I was passionate about from the time I was old enough to know what a horse was.

A lot of those farms and old barns are still there today. The winding river still winds its way through the Snoqualmie Valley, but because the river floods the valley, much of the farmland is still green with pastures and not covered with houses. Thank goodness for that.

The mill pond was still used to float logs for the mill that once stood here. The mill itself is gone, but the pond remains, and it makes a perfect reflecting pool for Mount Si.

Drops of ice...

On a day that began with icy roads and freezing fog, and ended with watching the last light of the day washing over the face of Mt. Si, there were lots of things that stood out as amazing.

Being surrounded by mountains covered in the first real snow of the season, sparkling in the sunshine. Finding a hidden view of the mountains reflected in an oxbow lake. Walking along the the Snoqualmie River, with a snowy Mt. Si in the background.

Everything was beautiful on this cold morning. As I slid across a bridge on the Snoqualmie Valley trail and walked down the slope toward the river, I was surrounded by snowberry bushes glinting with moisture. As I brushed against one, expecting to be showered with icy cold water, I realized that the branches were actually covered in droplets of crystal clear ice.

Restoration...

Another sign of fall... campgrounds and roads near Mt. Rainier start closing down, so they don't have to be maintained during the snowy season. It's frustrating for us, because we like to hike until the snow comes, and many trails are already out of reach.

La Wis Wis is one campground we wanted to visit before winter, and the road is already closed. So we decided to get up at first light (and before breakfast) and walk in. It's a short walk, only a half mile or so from the road. And downhill. Oh, joy... I'd much rather climb on the walk in, and have the downhill on the way out.

As soon as we got to the campground though, I'd forgotten all about that hike back to the highway. This is a beautiful, historic place with buildings made from logs, huge Western Red Cedar trees, and a crystal-clear stream that flows right through the picnic area.

The leaves are nearly down from the trees, making a thick carpet on the ground.

Before we started the long hill back to the highway, we walked over to see the original ranger station that's being restored to the original blueprints from 1937.

In spite of the early hour, and the cold morning, and the unceasing rain... I was glad we made the effort to hike to this beautiful place. And I was never more ready for breakfast.

Cold rain...

The weather has really taken a turn for the worse, but we're heading back to Mt. Rainier in spite of the weather.

East of Federation Forest, as we headed off to circumnavigate the national park, we looked both ways then hopped the guard rail and down into this forest of ancient trees. The patriarch has fallen, taking a fair number of big trees with it, to lie undisturbed between trail and river. You can climb up on the stump (which would hold my round dining room table and 6 chairs), but even more impressive is standing beside the tree.



Next stop, in even harder (and colder) rain, was the Box Canyon, which is in the park from Stevens Canyon entrance. We always stop here to walk the trail and look down at the Muddy Fork of the Cowlitz River. from this bridge, the surface of the river is about 130 feet below, and the canyon is less than 18 feet wide.



As you walk the loop, the huge rock to the right is scoured with deep glacial scratches. We crossed the bridge and decided to keep on walking the loop, even though that meant scrambling over a couple of downed trees. Thoroughly wet by this time, we ran back to the Pilot.



The last stop was at what is probably my favorite waterfall, Christine Falls. It's another place in the park where we always stop, and rarely do we get to see it without fifty people in the way of my photo. The weather worked to our advantage today. Christine Falls is a two-drop falls and is very pretty, but what makes it a beautiful view is the frame made by the stone bridge that crosses the river. I know the view so well, but I never get tired of it.





Wet, but happy with our day, we headed for Buckley and a burger and beer at The Firehouse. Relaxing in this packed bar and grill was the perfect way to end a long day.

Content at 63...

I turned this age at the end of another long road trip, my favorite way to travel. A few thousand miles of stunning scenery, a few hundred geocaches, a thousand or so photographs... just the two of us on the road. That's my kind of vacation.

In my twenties, when anything was possible, if anyone had told me how good I'd feel at this age, I would have laughed. And never believed it could be true.

But it is.

Home stretch...

We cached our way north to Waitsburg, heading west to Naches for lunch, then White Pass. We watched climbers on the basalt cliffs, checked out preparations for feeding elk this winter, did our own rock scramble on a hill above Rimrock Lake, and had a burger and beer after a long, after-dark drive all the way to Buckley. Long day, fun day.

Round and round...

The Dahmen Barn near Uniontown, Washington was built in 1935, and it's still in the Dahmen family. It has been completely restored, and the owner has spent more than 30 years building the fence, made from more than 1000 wheels from every type of vehicle you can imagine, from antique farm equipment to a baby buggy. It's off the beaten path, but so worth the drive... even in the rain.

Sod cabin...

Our last day in Colorado. It's been a different trip than our usual road trip to the Rockies. Last year we traveled all over, visiting the national park and climbing up into the mountains, and chasing fall colors. This year we stayed close, spending time with family and exploring Montrose.

This morning we said our goodbyes and headed out, but first we took a detour through town to find a geocache we couldn't do yesterday. The entire twisty road down along the Uncompahgre River was being worked on, and the road crew was camped out right by the cache. It wasn't a total loss... we parked right next to an old homesteader's log cabin, still standing with a lushly growing sod roof.