Our moving day went rather smoothly, as did the trip north to Vancouver, WA where we spent the night relaxing at a motel. The weather in the valley (between the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Coastal Range to the west) was rather warm. We were used to mid-60's nearly every day on the coast and it was 102 in Portland that day.
We were allowed to enjoy 97 degrees on the 15th when we moved into our quaint (defined as very much smaller than we were used to) house on a tree-lined street in Longview about 6 blocks from the Columbia River. It's also about three blocks from the city's main park - Lake Sacajewea Park - an evening stroller's dream. But it was still 30 degrees hotter than we were used to and that kept us from being irritated at anything, no wait.... reverse that.
When we were packing, we made a pact that this was going to be a more relaxed move and we when we started getting upset over meaningless topics, we were going to stop unpacking and do something else for awhile. The peace treaty took a beating on Unpacking Day #1 when we were still at it after 9 hours and hadn't taken time for supper. Hmmm, what to do, go out and sit at an air conditioned restaurant and eat Chinese? or heat up the already overheated kitchen by turning on the oven and baking a pizza?
Timing, they say, is everything. In the relaxed mode on this Saturday morning (today's temp-62 degrees) with no pending plans, other than to rest from a week of teaching. I'd say that the above decision would line up in the no-brainer category. I believe that you would agree. But the adrenaline must have been flowing because despite agreeing that there was no way in h---, umm, the hot place that we were dwelling in at the time... were we going to use an electric oven inside. It took about another half hour of heated discussion as to how to stop unpacking and get ready to go and get into the car and find Teriyaki Chicken.
Fast forward to Labor Day Weekend. We are now rather used to the area around us and have found a place for most everything. It's time for some exploring. This is the reason we moved to Washington the first time. It's the reason we moved to Washington the second time - exploration.
Our first wanderings took us to Mt. St. Helen's on the first Friday evening after our move. This was also the first evening that it wasn't raining all that week. Yes, It does rain all the time in the Pacific Northwest. If you don't believe that, read my friend, John's blog about visiting here and north of here last spring. (If you are NOT planning to move to Washington, then the story changes. We have two seasons rainy and dry. Please, don't read this added stuff if you are thinking of moving to Washington for the outstanding mild temperatures year round, no snow shoveling, and unbelievable natural surroundings).Getting back to Mt. St. Helens, our favorite shortened-volcano-due-to-activity. We took a hike up near Johnston's Ridge and came across a family of blue grouse, which we watched, close-up, for about 30 minutes. It was fascinating hearing the mother chirp continually to her chicks who were scavaging in the underbrush nearby. She stayed very close to us, or rather, didn't retreat from about 3 yards from us, for most of that time period. Fascinating. We have often been blessed with amazing encounters with wildlife while living in the Northwest. This was another in a long line of brief glimpses into what the Good Lord had in mind for us when he first created this place, I'm sure.
South of Mt. St. Helens is the Lewis River which has been dammed up to make a few reservoirs which lend themselves to camping, fishing, boating, and just plain gorgeous
sunset reflections. Also along the south of the valcano can be found numerous waterfalls. The above pic is of Big Creek Falls, about 50 miles to the east of where we live (see the blog entry below this one for where I teach). Just a half mile away from this 4 star waterfall (see the Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest) is place where this particular hiking path dead ends. The dead part is that it's on a cliff that must be about 2-300 feet above the river valley floor where the fall won't kill you but the the sudden stop might. The view from here is a marvelous 190 degree panorama that must be killer (stay back while looking) during the fall color routine. Once again, the Lord's creation is breath-taking, no pun intended.
