Wall Art from the Archives

September 11, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 13 Comments

I’ve got six months of gestation left before this kiddo comes. I don’t even know what we’re having yet but as far as I can tell from the sonograms, it’s a human. Whew! That being said, I’ve been thinking a lot about (gender neutral) baby room stuff. I know, gag. The baby room decor from major baby retailers has left an emphatic scowl on my face. I’m just not impressed. Aside from basic linens and an essential item here and there, I’ve decided I really don’t want to pull decor straight off a shelf. Goodness, I’m already way over thinking this…

In an unrelated turn of events, I went through all my old photos from the last 5 years last night. I have boxes upon boxes of film negatives, data CDs and prints from my earlier years of film photography. Scavenging through the photos, reliving my early college days was more fun than I thought it would be. But I thought to myself; what am I supposed to do with all these images?

Then it hit me. Why not pull some of my favorite nature prints from those old backpacking trips and make them into wall art for the future baby’s room? They’re certainly gender neutral enough! Suddenly my archive browsing brought on by boredom had a direction.

I’m still pulling prints from both the film and digital archives, but so far these are some of my favorites. I really like the soft light of the outdoors from a Colorado trip I took awhile back. I may take some filters to them in Lightroom or edit them otherwise. Not sure yet, but I’m sure I’ll be too excited not to share when the end product is at hand.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on which images you think might look nice either enlarged or on canvas!

Glacier Basin Trail – Mt. Rainier National Park

July 8, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 5 Comments

Today’s seven mile hike was wonderfully scenic, albeit a bit more snowy than we expected.

Earlier this week, Jay and I scouted out the Glacier Basin Trail from my favorite hiking guide for hiking Mt. Rainier National Park. We even checked on the trail conditions to make sure it was a reasonable expectation to reach our goal of seeing the Glacier Basin Camp.

In short, two valuable lessons were learned.

Lesson #1: When the trail forecast calls for 30% snowy conditions, it’s bound to be the highest elevation of the hike.

It was, and none of us had gaiters, trekking poles or crampons to help us trapeze the snowy trail. We managed, but it was a bit more difficult without these essential mountaineering items.

I hypothesize that with this gear, I would not have spent as much time sprawled out on the snow. Snow is cold, even in July.

Lesson #2: Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!

I should have learned the sunscreen lesson on my whale watching tour last weekend, but alack. We all have red farmer’s tans on our left arms and now sit around the living room with taut, stinging sunburnt faces.

On a side note, summer has finally hit Tacoma (today it was 82). Since our house isn’t equipped with an AC, as the local climate doesn’t really call for it, the obvious solution for our mandatory sunburn cool-down is a big batch of Sunday evening margaritas. Call it a post-Mountain Margarita and make it a tradition. We just did.

Regardless of our snowy slip ‘n’ slide defined hike, a great time was had by all.

Mt. Rainier National Park is never a disappointment. The season should remain fair for another 8 weeks or so. Hopefully we’ll get in several more hikes, with sunscreen, before fall!

Whale Watching in the San Juan Islands

July 3, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

Whale Watching in the San Juan Islands has been on my to-do list since I moved to Washington. So when Jordan came to visit last weekend, I finally had the chance. The 2.5 hour drive North from Tacoma to Bellingham went by relatively quickly, probably because the area is so beautiful. I remember the scenery well from our trip to Mt. Vernon for the Tulip Festival earlier this year.

Jordan and I were out on the water with our fellow tourists all day. The day started out grey and cloudy, but the sun broke through and shone down brightly. It was still cold. After a few hours, we were both beating ourselves up for being underdressed and neglecting to bring sunscreen. Outside of a flu setting, I had no idea it was possible to be freezing cold and hot at the same time. The wind cut through us like a knife while the hot sun bared down on our shoulders and faces. It was a strange dichotomy, truly. And talk about gnarly, the ocean wind did quite a number on my hair.

Otherwise, it was a beautifully scenic and informative tour. I had no idea here were so many Islands that compromised the San Juans!

It took several hours to arrive at the waters surrounding Henry Island, where both migrating, and native Orca pods fed on salmon. Relief swept the boat when the tour guide announced the first dorsal fin sighting toward the bay. We all crowded around the side of the boat snapping photos or scoping out the sights through binoculars. It was a spectacle.

Now, when my husband and I went to Discovery Kingdom on our California Sojourn a month ago, the Orca show was spirited. The star of the show caught some serious air, comparable to the dolphins we saw later that day. Well, these Orcas were in hunting mode, not performance mode. They tended to skim the surface of the water, only bobbing up once or twice to show us more than their face and dorsal fin.

Still, they did not disappoint.

Our tour of the Islands was not limited to Whale Watching. I counted four bald eagle sightings, one even plucked a fish right from the water! I failed to get any lasting images on my Canon, the eagles are a bit too quick and small for a girl lacking sea legs. Some of that water was mighty choppy.

We also spotted some wild rams on an island just south of Canadian waters. It was exciting! And for the first time I saw how fresh water mixes with ocean water. I had no idea their densities were so disparate.

If ever you find yourself with the opportunity to Whale Watch in the San Juan islands, I highly recommend it. Hopefully you’ll miss the rain like we did!

And many thanks to Elizabeth for recommending Jalapeños in Bellingham! Dinner there was delicious.