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Fall way

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I applied a bit of an Orton-ish effect to this.

These are from our meander through the Chinese Garden and Arboretum at South Seattle College this past week. Lucky we got there when we did, winter is closing in a bit early.

For Alive and Trekking’s Which Way Challenge and Weekly Prompts’ Autumn Stroll.

Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

Magic Mountain

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Better than any ride at Disneyland! The lupines along this portion of the trail were amazing.

These are some photos of the upper (higher elevation) portion of the lakes loop trail starting at Paradise. We had a misty but bright morning the day we hiked the loop.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

I think I can’t, but then I do

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The Golden Gate Trail is the skinny zigzag up the side of the hill.

One of the more breathtaking (and, for me, breathless) loop trails that I hike at Mount Rainier is to go up Golden Gate trail to the skyline trail to Panorama Point.

Skyline Trail is well named.

The lower skyline trail is permanently closed, except for those adept with ice axes. So up one goes even farther.

There is a spot on the Upper Skyline Trail that has much better views than Panorama Point does:

But Panorama Point has a potty (as well as crowds of the many folk who hike directly to and from it starting at the visitor center.

I never go into this hike thinking I will make it, I give myself permission before I start to just go as far as I can and enjoy the beauty that I see, but I always do.

If you ever get a chance to go to Paradise, this is a great loop since many do not go beyond the there and back to Panorama Point, so you have less crowded trails. By hiking up Golden Gate in the morning you get shade for the steepest uphill. When you get above the tree line there is usually a nice breeze for the (not entirely insignificant) remainder of the uphill. There is some scree scramble but not too bad. If it helps you to gauge: I hike in hiking shoes (not boots), carry a mono-pod/hiking stick and don’t have exceptionally good balance. I am a bit nervous, but have never had a problem.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Challenge

Snapshots from a Happy Life

Which way to the Apricots?

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Last Sunday we took an outing to get apricots in Eastern Washington. An almost annual trek. Almost because time goes so quickly that I miss the brief period when you can get them some years.

Our little trip took us through a lot of the landscapes of Washington State. From an island in Puget Sound, through the Cascade mountains to areas of Eastern Washington that are both fertile and arid. All beautiful, but each with its own personality.

Even though it was only a day trip the summer heat led us to leave the dogs at dad’s so they could have a day on the beach instead of a hot car ride. He lives on an island.

Tahlequah ferry dock and a paddle boarder.
Two ways to go places: Paddle board and ferry.
View of and from the Tahlequah-Point Defiance ferry.
View from the deck of the ferry as we set off.
At a stop light in Enumclaw it looks like you will be driving straight at Mount Rainier.
This road headed straight to the mountain (Rainier).
A road in Eastern Washington with dry landscape.
The other side of the mountain is very dry (and hot).
Yakima Canyon road runs beside the very blue Yakima river, but the surrounding hills are very dry.
Even beside a full river there isn’t much green.

Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

China, Guilin

Rainy Day Walk-about in Guilin

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A solid wood tea table and "chairs" made of sliced tree crosssections beside an elegant Chinese screen and door. This is the lobby of the Aroma Tea House in Guilin, China.
A woman with an umbrella walking on a wet walkway paved with stone being swept by an orange vested worker wearing a broad brimmed woven bamboo hat, in Guilin, China.
A group of people singing in a floating pavilion with a dragon head on Rong Lake in Guilin, China.
A wet pathway of alternating square cut stone and embedded pebbles running along the edge of the lakes in Guilin, China.
Lovely bas-relief art, inspired by the local landscape, adorns this boat and pedestrian underpass, a very busy street runs above it. Guilin, China.
The sun and moon pagodas on Rong Lake in Guilin, China, on a gray, rainy day.
People with umbrellas fishing in the lake in Guilin, China.
An ornate gate along the path around the lakes in Guilin, China.
A large puddle reflects the moon pagoda and a walker with an umbrella, in Guilin, China.
Variety of paths and a boardwalk over a small stream in Guilin, China.

No matter how I try, I can’t seem to be systematic about publishing photos. These are from my May trip to Guilin, in China, during their rainy season. The last full day we were there we wandered around the lakes in the middle of town in the rain. We were wet through and through, but we didn’t want to waste any time in that lovely city.

Some other posts from that trip are: Rainy Season on the Li River, Which Way to the Karst?, Sun and Moon Illuminated and Illuminating, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 1, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 2, Misty Vistas.

Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge