Today we took the perfect hike (suggested by one of the long-time employees at Alta Crystal), through a variety of terrains (forest, meadow, tundra, barren rock) in perfect weather, with perfect views of Mt. Rainier and the incredible Emmons glacier on the east side of the mountain. So much gorgeousness, it’s hard to describe! The only downsides were a very narrow section of the trail with a sheer drop-off and shale like rock surface—Dave’s height issues kicked in; heck, even I had a few “issues”! And then we passed through so many meadow areas of dried out, de [View Full Entry]

---

---

Word for the day is “fog”. We woke to find the little valley we were staying in socked in, where the day before there had been beautiful blue sky… Actually—knock on wood—we’ve had great weather up on this trip so far. We hoped for an early burn-off so we could get good views of Mt. St. Helens later in the morning. But at that point, we settled for a quick hike to the nearby mud flow still left from the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980, which the Eco-Park’s owner had suggested was a good intro to the Mt. St. Helens [View Full Entry]

---

---

We checked out of the Timberline Lodge and drove to nearby Trillium Lake, which we’d heard was a photo opportunity waiting to happen. It did not disappoint, and we shot many a postcard-like photo of the lake with Mt. Hood rising above it in the distance. We took the 2 mile trail around it, and enjoyed the relatively solo trek through forests and meadows surrounding the little lake. Then we headed north, and as we came down in elevation, we entered the beautiful rolling hills of an agricultural area chock full of apple orchards and vineyards. Eventually we reached the Columbia [View Full Entry]

---

---

Our fairly uncomfortable bed, in our nonetheless charming room, afforded us the opportunity to get up early enough to watch the sunrise over Crater Lake and take many photos. After breakfast we headed north through the middle of Oregon towards Mt. Hood. We were surprised to realize that central Oregon is considered high desert, and with its sagebrush and mesas and canyons, it reminded us of parts of New Mexico, especially when we drove through the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. After 5 hours on the road, we arrived at the Timberline Lodge. The huge crane blocking the front entrance and t [View Full Entry]

---

---

I’m composing this first blog entry sitting on the window seat in our room at the Crater Lake Lodge, watching dusk arrive. The sky above the rim of the lake is tinged with pink and the normally vivid blue water has turned a steely gray. We just came up to our room from enjoying a glass of Tolosa Pinot and watching the changing light from the rocking chairs which line the patio behind the Lodge… Sounds so slow and peaceful, right? But of course that impression betrays the pace and the ups and downs (mostly ups) of the past three days. [View Full Entry]

---

---

It's been two weeks since we returned from our trip, long enough for discussions of highlights to take place and long-term memories to settle in (while mentally deleting most of the "special family moments"). Each of us has put together a "Top 10" list, which I will include in this entry for your entertainment... I've also included some of our favorite photos from the trip, although we have yet to comb through the hundreds the four of us took! But, in addition, I must touch on my reflections on traveling as a family for three weeks in slightly different but not [View Full Entry]

---

---

With our new relaxed attitude we got an even later start today for our grand finale--The Orsay Museum--home to a wonderful collection of Impressionist masterpieces, and something I'd been anticipating the whole week. It did not disappoint--and what a fantastic building! The museum is actually a former train station, built in 1900, saved from the wrecking ball in the 1970's, and turned into a museum in which to consolidate the scattered Parisian collections of art from about 1850 to 1915. I finally got to see some of my favorite works of art by Manet, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, etc. An [View Full Entry]

---

---

Last night we had a "family meeting" and concluded we needed to regroup--change our schedule and pace, in an effort to preserve our sanity for our last two days. We decided to abandon our Friday's activities (none of which were "must sees" for any of us) and split Thursday's original plan into the next two days. That way we thought we'd get to pick up some things we'd skipped earlier and do it all at a less frenetic pace (right). We headed out later in the morning than usual--part of the new plan--after first enjoying the most heavenly croissants and pains [View Full Entry]

---

---

The day started with a visit to another iconic Parisian landmark--the Arc du Triomphe. After a trip up to the top for more views of the city, we headed down the Champs Elysees towards the Place de la Concorde. Lots of interesting stores to window shop in--from Peugeot's race cars on display to Cartier and Louis Vuitton to the usual suspects--McDonald's, Addidas, Disney, Virgin Megastore, etc. Closer to the Place de la Concorde, the bleachers and reviewing stands from the Bastille Day parade were still being taken down, and this restricted our access to the Egyptian obelisk in the center. W [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today we started off at the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, and the quintessential tourist experience. By 10 AM the crowds were already intense, so we decided to walk the 668 stairs of the first 2 levels, rather than waiting in extremely long lines for the elevator from the bottom directly to the top. Dave, with his height issues, stopped after the first level, but the rest of us took the elevator from the second level to the top. All of this involved many lines and much time, but it was completely worth it. The Tower was much more impressive [View Full Entry]

---

---