Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Best Buddies
I am posting this photo simply because I have two amazing best friends. We parted ways after graduating from Santa Clara, and I miss them everyday. Love you girls! Life is not much without friends to share the ups and downs.
Monday, September 29, 2008
New Digs
Hello Seattle Swift readers! I apologize for my rather lackluster attempt at blogging lately. I recently moved from Crown Hill to the Eastlake neighborhood in Seattle. I have been a North Seattle resident my entire life - I love North Seattle, especially the nicer streets, better parking, better grocery stores, and parks. But I am very excited now to be moving closer to the heart of things in Seattle. I am within walking distance to some of my favorite restaurants and only a short and mostly flat bike ride to the Burke Gilman. Once upon a time I also rowed for Lake Union Crew in summertime, so perhaps I will see about rowing again in my free time. I can even walk to ride the SLUT if I so desire. Anyway, I will be a little out of touch until I am unpacked entirely, but keep checking for updates - I promise to get back to exploring the Northwest ASAP!
Also, as a follow-up to my Tipping Point post, I will admit my initial enthusiasm wore off quickly, and was completely squelched after Sarah Palin's three "interesting" interviews. For those of you anti-Palinite Facebookers (you like my words there?), you'll enjoy this: Sarah Palin's Facebook Page.
Also, as a follow-up to my Tipping Point post, I will admit my initial enthusiasm wore off quickly, and was completely squelched after Sarah Palin's three "interesting" interviews. For those of you anti-Palinite Facebookers (you like my words there?), you'll enjoy this: Sarah Palin's Facebook Page.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Intro to Drawing
At Santa Clara, I focused most of my intellectual and creative efforts on English and history, since I loved the professors and classes so much. Now that I am out of the undergraduate grind, I've been exploring different creative avenues, like graphic design (though I still have a tremendous amount to learn). Wanting to branch out a bit, use my brain, and get away from the computer - I decided to enroll in an Introduction to Drawing class with North Seattle Community College. When I was younger, my Prismacolor colored pencil set was one of my favorite toys - I spent hours drawing elaborate landscapes and people. So I am very excited to get creative again, though I can't promise sharing any drawings here on my blog!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Endangered U.S. Destinations
So my homepage for Internet Explorer is MSN, which is usually a little annoying, but I don't use IE much. Sometimes though, there are useful cover articles with practical tips for saving money or catchy ones like rankings of second-string quarterbacks. Last week, "America's Endangered Destinations" caught my eye. The article features 15 different U.S. sites that are currently threatened by human encroachment and development, sea level rise, and/or global warming. Luckily I have had the opportunity to visit a number of places listed, including Washington's old growth temperate rain forest. The article helped bring the damage we are doing to the environment even closer to home - many treasured areas and ways of life will be destroyed and may be gone even by the time my generation reaches middle age. My children may never have the opportunity to see glaciers in Montana or alligators in the Everglades or the Old North Church on the Freedom Trail in Boston. What will the lives of future generations be like without these places of national identity?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Alicia Keys and Seattle Underground
I was lucky enough to see Alicia Keys in concert for the second time this past weekend. She has an amazing voice and even her backup singers sounded great. She is definitely one of my favorite artists - her range, vocals, and songwriting are all superb. Unfortunately, she didn't sing one of my favorites from her new album, but I did enjoy singing along to "I am superwoman, yes I am, yes she is, still when I'm a mess, I still put on a vest with an S on my chest, oh yes, I'm a superwoman." Empowering!
I also played tourist last Friday and went on the Seattle Underground Tour for the very first time in my long affair with Seattle. The underground itself was not very spectacular, but the history of early Seattle was fascinating. Arthur Denny arrived in November of 1850 at the tide flats of Elliott Bay, where he stayed with 29 family members through the Seattle winter without solid shelter. He must have been a pretty tough guy to have stuck around through the rain and cold and wet in the mud along Elliott Bay without a proper roof and no REI to stock up on rain gear.
Early Seattle sounded like a pretty miserable, soggy, and stinky place. For a long time, the city had no sewer system, and at high tide, not only would raw sewage stream through the downtown streets, but if you flushed your new "crapper" toilet, sewage would spew five to eight feet out of the bowl. Our tour guide told us that the newspaper published the tide schedule on the front page every day so people could plan when to flush their toilets. Yuck!
Another interesting part of early Seattle history is Henry Yesler. Most Seattleites will know about Yesler Way and Yesler Terrace (and how they are both good places to use your car alarm, or avoid entirely) and how Henry Yesler ran a saw mill and used "skid road" to skid the logged old growth trees from downtown Seattle to the shores of Elliot Bay. I also learned on Friday that Yesler was a seriously unpleasant man, but Seattle still elected him mayor three times. In his first term as mayor, Yesler instated the first state lottery. He also won that first state lottery. He sued the city of Seattle for a formidable sum, and then the lawsuit, requiring only the mayor's signature to either accept or deny it, came across Yesler's desk - you can imagine he quickly became a wealthier man.
On June 6, 1889, 25 blocks of downtown Seattle were destroyed in less than a day by a fire started from an overturned glue pot. At this point, city planners recognized the need to raise the level of the city to avoid the problem with the tides. However, business owners were quickly losing profit, and began rebuilding immediately at the original street level. But city planners built the street up 8 to 32 feet over the old roads, with the sidewalks and the ground floor of businesses below at the original street level. Eighteen people died falling from the street in the few years before the city filled the sidewalks and finally businesses raised their storefronts to the second story. So what you see on the Underground Tour are the post-fire ground level storefronts from pre-1900 Seattle. The city also decided after a 1949 earthquake they would dispose of debris and trash in Underground Seattle - so it's pretty messy down there.
Learning about the rather unpleasant beginning to my favorite city was very interesting, and made me appreciate living in current Seattle. If you are in the area - the $15 and 90 minutes are definitely worth it for the tour.
I also played tourist last Friday and went on the Seattle Underground Tour for the very first time in my long affair with Seattle. The underground itself was not very spectacular, but the history of early Seattle was fascinating. Arthur Denny arrived in November of 1850 at the tide flats of Elliott Bay, where he stayed with 29 family members through the Seattle winter without solid shelter. He must have been a pretty tough guy to have stuck around through the rain and cold and wet in the mud along Elliott Bay without a proper roof and no REI to stock up on rain gear.
Early Seattle sounded like a pretty miserable, soggy, and stinky place. For a long time, the city had no sewer system, and at high tide, not only would raw sewage stream through the downtown streets, but if you flushed your new "crapper" toilet, sewage would spew five to eight feet out of the bowl. Our tour guide told us that the newspaper published the tide schedule on the front page every day so people could plan when to flush their toilets. Yuck!
Another interesting part of early Seattle history is Henry Yesler. Most Seattleites will know about Yesler Way and Yesler Terrace (and how they are both good places to use your car alarm, or avoid entirely) and how Henry Yesler ran a saw mill and used "skid road" to skid the logged old growth trees from downtown Seattle to the shores of Elliot Bay. I also learned on Friday that Yesler was a seriously unpleasant man, but Seattle still elected him mayor three times. In his first term as mayor, Yesler instated the first state lottery. He also won that first state lottery. He sued the city of Seattle for a formidable sum, and then the lawsuit, requiring only the mayor's signature to either accept or deny it, came across Yesler's desk - you can imagine he quickly became a wealthier man.
On June 6, 1889, 25 blocks of downtown Seattle were destroyed in less than a day by a fire started from an overturned glue pot. At this point, city planners recognized the need to raise the level of the city to avoid the problem with the tides. However, business owners were quickly losing profit, and began rebuilding immediately at the original street level. But city planners built the street up 8 to 32 feet over the old roads, with the sidewalks and the ground floor of businesses below at the original street level. Eighteen people died falling from the street in the few years before the city filled the sidewalks and finally businesses raised their storefronts to the second story. So what you see on the Underground Tour are the post-fire ground level storefronts from pre-1900 Seattle. The city also decided after a 1949 earthquake they would dispose of debris and trash in Underground Seattle - so it's pretty messy down there.
Learning about the rather unpleasant beginning to my favorite city was very interesting, and made me appreciate living in current Seattle. If you are in the area - the $15 and 90 minutes are definitely worth it for the tour.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Cascade Pass
I hiked the Cascade Pass trail, and part of the Sahale Arm trail, on Saturday, September 13 with my parents. After a rather dismal hike (or at least muddy) to Surprise Lake, I was excited that the weather was predicted to be low seventies and sunny skies, which was essential for a view hike. Cascade Pass is my first North Cascades hike, which means more driving but also more spectacular views.
After nearly three hours in the car and 23 miles on the narrow, winding Cascade River Road, we arrived at the Cascade Pass trail parking lot. Mt. Johannesburg towers over the parking lot, with its spiked peaks, glaciers, and lofty elevation of 8,200 feet. Throughout much of the hike we could hear the crashing and cracking of ice melting in the hot sun.
As you climb, you get a better view of the Cascade River Valley. Over these peaks some brave hikers scramble to Boston Basin.
The Cascade Pass trail is 3.7 miles each way, with an elevation gain of 1,800 feet. You have to traverse 34 switchbacks (with views of Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, the Triplets, and the North Cascades on the way) before you near Cascade Pass. The trail levels out less than a mile from the Pass, where you emerge from the trees almost 1,800 feet closer to the peaks of Mt. Johannesburg.
You have to cross an impressive scree on the way to Cascade Pass. Not a place I'd like to be during avalanche season. I was smitten with the fall colors already emerging, and tried to capture them wherever possible.
Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, and fall colors.
Cascade Pass is just around the corner!
As if the views could get any better, we finally reached Cascade Pass looking east towards the Stehekin Valley trail. Cascade Pass was used often by Native Americans as a coast-inland trade route. There was not much snow left this late in the season. We stopped for our lunch break at the Pass - there are a number of stone benches conveniently placed near the 5,393 elevation marker.
Fall colors showing in mid-September. These steps climbed to the rather primitive outdoor toilet available at the Pass.
The road to Stehekin. Stehekin is 31.9 miles from the Cascade Pass trailhead. It was fun see the other access point of the Stehekin Valley after the Chelan trip. Maybe next year I will backpack from Cascade Pass to Stehekin.
After lunch, we decided to climb part of the way to the Sahale Arm for a better view. The climb and views were both breathtaking. We gained about 700 feet in a little over half a mile, but we also saw views like this one.
Sahale Mountain, Sahale Arm, and Sahale Glacier. Many hikers passed us with crampons, ice axes, helmets, and other glacier crossing tools. Though I wished for more time to travel closer to Sahale Mountain, I didn't envy their trek across the glacier.
Sahale Arm trail.
Doubtful Lake, about 800 feet below.
Looking back toward Cascade Pass, we spied five mountain goats along the Ptarmigan Traverse trail on the south end of Cascade Pass with my binoculars. The sheer speed at which they moved along the rocky inclines was impressive. I was very excited to finally see mountain goats (since I didn't see any in Chelan), and also happy to use my binoculars! We could see hikers picking their way slowly across the Sahale Glacier as well.
I had to crop off the top of Mt. Sahale, but I think this panorama gives an idea of how specular and expansive the views are.
Looking toward Stehekin Valley. The strenuous climb was well worth it.
The trek back down to civilization. If you look in the far left of this photo, you can see mountains and a glacier. This photo shows the diversity of the last stretch of the trail near Cascade pass. 
I had a wonderful time hiking with both my parents. I have to give credit to my mom, who discovered shortly after beginning the hike back to the car, that her hiking boot sole remained attached to her boot only at the toe. She inventively used a zip lock bag from lunch to hold the boot together for the rest of the over three mile hike to the car.
All in all, the Cascade Pass trail was one incredible hike. This was my first real mountain hike - I felt so small yet powerful standing at 6,000 feet looking across miles of mountains and valleys. After such a hike, it feels strange to hear the roar of cars on pavement instead of ice and snow cascading down mountain sides. To smell exhaust fumes instead of crisp mountain air and heather. I am already eager for more hiking and look forward to taking another brief moment from the chaos of everyday city life.
After nearly three hours in the car and 23 miles on the narrow, winding Cascade River Road, we arrived at the Cascade Pass trail parking lot. Mt. Johannesburg towers over the parking lot, with its spiked peaks, glaciers, and lofty elevation of 8,200 feet. Throughout much of the hike we could hear the crashing and cracking of ice melting in the hot sun.
As you climb, you get a better view of the Cascade River Valley. Over these peaks some brave hikers scramble to Boston Basin.
The Cascade Pass trail is 3.7 miles each way, with an elevation gain of 1,800 feet. You have to traverse 34 switchbacks (with views of Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, the Triplets, and the North Cascades on the way) before you near Cascade Pass. The trail levels out less than a mile from the Pass, where you emerge from the trees almost 1,800 feet closer to the peaks of Mt. Johannesburg.
You have to cross an impressive scree on the way to Cascade Pass. Not a place I'd like to be during avalanche season. I was smitten with the fall colors already emerging, and tried to capture them wherever possible.
Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, and fall colors.
Cascade Pass is just around the corner!
As if the views could get any better, we finally reached Cascade Pass looking east towards the Stehekin Valley trail. Cascade Pass was used often by Native Americans as a coast-inland trade route. There was not much snow left this late in the season. We stopped for our lunch break at the Pass - there are a number of stone benches conveniently placed near the 5,393 elevation marker.
Fall colors showing in mid-September. These steps climbed to the rather primitive outdoor toilet available at the Pass.
The road to Stehekin. Stehekin is 31.9 miles from the Cascade Pass trailhead. It was fun see the other access point of the Stehekin Valley after the Chelan trip. Maybe next year I will backpack from Cascade Pass to Stehekin.
After lunch, we decided to climb part of the way to the Sahale Arm for a better view. The climb and views were both breathtaking. We gained about 700 feet in a little over half a mile, but we also saw views like this one.
Sahale Mountain, Sahale Arm, and Sahale Glacier. Many hikers passed us with crampons, ice axes, helmets, and other glacier crossing tools. Though I wished for more time to travel closer to Sahale Mountain, I didn't envy their trek across the glacier.
Sahale Arm trail.
Doubtful Lake, about 800 feet below.
Looking back toward Cascade Pass, we spied five mountain goats along the Ptarmigan Traverse trail on the south end of Cascade Pass with my binoculars. The sheer speed at which they moved along the rocky inclines was impressive. I was very excited to finally see mountain goats (since I didn't see any in Chelan), and also happy to use my binoculars! We could see hikers picking their way slowly across the Sahale Glacier as well.
I had to crop off the top of Mt. Sahale, but I think this panorama gives an idea of how specular and expansive the views are.
Looking toward Stehekin Valley. The strenuous climb was well worth it.
The trek back down to civilization. If you look in the far left of this photo, you can see mountains and a glacier. This photo shows the diversity of the last stretch of the trail near Cascade pass. 
I had a wonderful time hiking with both my parents. I have to give credit to my mom, who discovered shortly after beginning the hike back to the car, that her hiking boot sole remained attached to her boot only at the toe. She inventively used a zip lock bag from lunch to hold the boot together for the rest of the over three mile hike to the car.All in all, the Cascade Pass trail was one incredible hike. This was my first real mountain hike - I felt so small yet powerful standing at 6,000 feet looking across miles of mountains and valleys. After such a hike, it feels strange to hear the roar of cars on pavement instead of ice and snow cascading down mountain sides. To smell exhaust fumes instead of crisp mountain air and heather. I am already eager for more hiking and look forward to taking another brief moment from the chaos of everyday city life.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Cool Cat
There are a number of cool car shows around the Seattle area. Most recently, I went to the small Elks Car Show in Ballard and the Edmonds Car Show - "Hot Autumn Nites" - on September 6. Another one is the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance, which I missed this year since the Edmonds car show was pretty impressive. I love classic American cars, and like to tell stories of my dad's 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS (same color as the one below from the Edmonds car show) he had when I was still a babe in arms. 
Some other family cars include a 63 Impala, 66 Caprice, and Pontiac GTO. Someday down the road hopefully I will have my own classic car to cruise on sunny summer afternoons. But for now, marveling at car shows will suffice.
P.S. I hiked Cascade Pass on Sept. 13 - it was amazing. I took 300+ photos so I am still choosing the best photos for my blog post coming soon!
Some other family cars include a 63 Impala, 66 Caprice, and Pontiac GTO. Someday down the road hopefully I will have my own classic car to cruise on sunny summer afternoons. But for now, marveling at car shows will suffice.P.S. I hiked Cascade Pass on Sept. 13 - it was amazing. I took 300+ photos so I am still choosing the best photos for my blog post coming soon!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Northwest Photos
These photos are just too good not to share. Seattle Times today has a "Pix From My Weekend" compilation with 99 photos sent to them by readers from around the Puget Sound and Washington coast region. There are some absolutely amazing photos. They really make me want to get a tripod and digital body for my Nikon SLR camera.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Surprise Lake
Over Labor Day weekend, I hiked the Surprise Lake Trail in the Alpine Lakes Region of the Washington Cascades. The Surprise Lake trail head begins a few miles past Skykomish on the way to Steven's Pass on Highway 2. The National Weather Service was predicting "unseasonably cool" weather in the mountains for Labor Day weekend, so we were prepared with warm clothes, hats, gloves, and rain coats. The trail is approximately 4.7 miles each way, with another 1 mile past Surprise Lake to a smaller Glacier Lake.
The trail begins under power lines that you can hear hissing and crackling. After a short time, however, you enter dense forest. The air was a crisp 50 degrees and fog lingered among the cedar trees along the trail. After a short distance, the trail converges with Surprise Creek and then parallels the creek for about a mile. At one point, you have to use a fallen tree as a bridge to cross the creek.
The entire length of the trail is green and lush. We also encountered a number of large house-size boulders on the climb to Surprise Lake. Many of these even had trees growing out of the top of them.
At about two and half miles along the trail begins steep switchbacks and more difficult climbing. Much of the upper trail is rocky and requires careful stepping and concentration. Also about this time on our hike the precipitation started to turn from a fine mist to real big ol' fat rain, so we stopped to put on our raincoats. We were optimistic that the rain would clear and we'd see some mountain views - but unfortunately the rain only increased in intensity over the rest of the day. We met some backpackers on their way down who said that it snowed overnight at Surprise Lake - on August 31!
After a difficult climb, we reached Surprise Lake just in time for lunch. Surprise Lake is a long lake, so we were only able to see one end. The water was clean and clear - no algae, life, or fish growing in the frigid alpine lake. I was a little disappointed since the fog was pretty much socked in and we couldn't tell if there were any mountain views around the lake. It was a nippy 38 degrees at the lake, so we ate our lunch quickly before getting on the move again. 
We decided to hike the extra one mile to Glacier Lake, which turned out to be a great decision. After gaining a little elevation, the Glacier Lake trail traverses a boulder field with even larger boulders than the lowland area of the hike. We stopped for a few photos then scrambled down the steep hillside for a view of Glacier Lake. Still raining, we stopped only for a moment, took a few photos, saw a number of pikas, then set off on the journey back the car. The jaunt to Glacier Lake was my favorite part of the hike.
A true mountaineer braving the cold and rain at Glacier Lake.
The hike back down turned out to be tremendously more difficult than the hike up. With the continuous rain and quite a few Labor Day weekend hikers, the trail was muddy and slippery. My summer hiking boots weren't particularly well-suited for the wet and muddy trail, but we took our time and each of us only slipped once (quite a feat considering the condition of the trail). With the extra distance to Glacier Lake, we hiked 10 and half miles in all and were feeling a bit weary by the end of the hike.
Though the weather wasn't great, I'm glad I finally made it on the Surprise Lake hike and pushed myself to do a more difficult trail. Next up: Cascade Pass!
The trail begins under power lines that you can hear hissing and crackling. After a short time, however, you enter dense forest. The air was a crisp 50 degrees and fog lingered among the cedar trees along the trail. After a short distance, the trail converges with Surprise Creek and then parallels the creek for about a mile. At one point, you have to use a fallen tree as a bridge to cross the creek.
The entire length of the trail is green and lush. We also encountered a number of large house-size boulders on the climb to Surprise Lake. Many of these even had trees growing out of the top of them.
At about two and half miles along the trail begins steep switchbacks and more difficult climbing. Much of the upper trail is rocky and requires careful stepping and concentration. Also about this time on our hike the precipitation started to turn from a fine mist to real big ol' fat rain, so we stopped to put on our raincoats. We were optimistic that the rain would clear and we'd see some mountain views - but unfortunately the rain only increased in intensity over the rest of the day. We met some backpackers on their way down who said that it snowed overnight at Surprise Lake - on August 31!
After a difficult climb, we reached Surprise Lake just in time for lunch. Surprise Lake is a long lake, so we were only able to see one end. The water was clean and clear - no algae, life, or fish growing in the frigid alpine lake. I was a little disappointed since the fog was pretty much socked in and we couldn't tell if there were any mountain views around the lake. It was a nippy 38 degrees at the lake, so we ate our lunch quickly before getting on the move again. 
We decided to hike the extra one mile to Glacier Lake, which turned out to be a great decision. After gaining a little elevation, the Glacier Lake trail traverses a boulder field with even larger boulders than the lowland area of the hike. We stopped for a few photos then scrambled down the steep hillside for a view of Glacier Lake. Still raining, we stopped only for a moment, took a few photos, saw a number of pikas, then set off on the journey back the car. The jaunt to Glacier Lake was my favorite part of the hike.
A true mountaineer braving the cold and rain at Glacier Lake.
The hike back down turned out to be tremendously more difficult than the hike up. With the continuous rain and quite a few Labor Day weekend hikers, the trail was muddy and slippery. My summer hiking boots weren't particularly well-suited for the wet and muddy trail, but we took our time and each of us only slipped once (quite a feat considering the condition of the trail). With the extra distance to Glacier Lake, we hiked 10 and half miles in all and were feeling a bit weary by the end of the hike.Though the weather wasn't great, I'm glad I finally made it on the Surprise Lake hike and pushed myself to do a more difficult trail. Next up: Cascade Pass!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I Heart Number Eight
Last Friday I went to the Seahawks versus Raiders preseason game at Qwest Field. Though I am already longing for the warm summer nights that I know are gone - I was thrilled to finally pull my #8 Hasselbeck Seahawks jersey from my closet where it has been hanging since that fateful day of blizzard conditions in Greenbay on January 7, 2008.
At Friday's game, I cheered, clapped, shouted, booed, speculated, and hoped this year would be better than the last. Since Mother Nature is taking away sun and summertime, maybe she'll grant Seattle a run game or a stronger offensive line or a healthy receiving corps or a dynamite Hasselbeck. Maybe! And isn't that the joy of the beginning of any sports season? Who knows where we will be in 17 weeks! Ah the excitement... Best of luck to the other doomed teams - I'll see you out there with my foam finger, Hawks jersey, and battle cry!
At Friday's game, I cheered, clapped, shouted, booed, speculated, and hoped this year would be better than the last. Since Mother Nature is taking away sun and summertime, maybe she'll grant Seattle a run game or a stronger offensive line or a healthy receiving corps or a dynamite Hasselbeck. Maybe! And isn't that the joy of the beginning of any sports season? Who knows where we will be in 17 weeks! Ah the excitement... Best of luck to the other doomed teams - I'll see you out there with my foam finger, Hawks jersey, and battle cry!
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