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Published: August 3rd 2018
BEAUTIFUL CASCADE MOUNTAINS
Just a little snow left in early July.Early this May I went to a Dive Expo in Seattle…like a Boat Show, but for divers. And I got a lot of follow up advertisement for Live Aboard trips and I fell in love with a boat, La Galigo. A beautiful wooden boat made of iron wood and teak. Interior like Norwegian wood inlay and bright red sails. Wood, and Red Sails. It was a must lust for me. Leaving port in Labuan Bajo in Bali on the ninth of July. I said I Want That! Only thirteen divers. To Komodo Islands. 13. Lucky Thirteen.
Well then, where else? Brunei might be interesting. I only passed through the airport once, but I almost missed my connecting flight I was so enchanted by the lovely sales girls and their modest behavior and sweet smiles. On my way to Sipadan. Ah! Sipadan. Again. And what other unfinished business do I want to attend to? Myanmar. (Get a visa…I got a visa letter. Let’s hope it works.) Good. A few down days in Bali. Denpasar and Ubud. Great names. It’s looking GOOD. That is enough…Planning, that is. Leave on the 6
th of July in the morning. Plenty of time to catch my
WILD FLOWERS
We enjoyed the blooms...this is Columbine, a personal favorite. flights and be in Labuan Bajo on the ninth to catch my boat.
How to not plan a big trip…Well…Packing for my trip to S.E. Asia, and packing for our three day camping trip.
On the third of July my daughter, Lauren, Lisa, and I packed up and went into the Cascades on a hiking trip over the fourth of July, our Independence Day. To celebrate Family. Oh, and because July is still early in the hiking season and you can still have a campfire now…by our August/September trip it will be fire season so no fires will be allowed.
We had perfect weather…well there was a little mist. Oh! And I forgot my hiking boots so we walked in five miles, me in my sandals, tough sandals, but sandals. Oh! And the trail was wet…it’s Washington State after all. Rainy Pass… This poem says it all...
What to Expect in the North Cascades
It rained and rained and rained –
The average fall was well maintained,
And when the tracks were simply bogs,
It started raining cats and dogs,
After a drought of half an hour,
We had a
BIRDSBEAK
I don't often see this beautiful wildflower... most refreshing shower.
And then the most curious thing of all,
A gentle rain began to fall,
Next day was also fairly dry,
Which wetted the party to the skin,
And after that – the rain set in.
Anonymous
But we had an incredible three days. No rain, S’mores by the campfire. Cards in the tent. And we slept in the next morning. Then we decided to hike another fifteen miles to a high lake, and back. What were we thinking? I know…the young ladies were thinking, “Let’s just hike on up to Lake McAllister…it’s a beautiful day and we have lots of energy to burn.” I was thinking, “Oh, my gosh! Lake McAllister!” But Lisa is new to our Cascades, and we couldn’t just sit around when the weather is so amazing. And we didn’t have to carry our heavy backpacks. So we set off.
It was farther than the guidebook said. There were twenty-one switch-backs…hard going up. We hit some snow patches, and had lunch on the rocks next to the lake. The switch-backs whizzed by on the way back down, but still, it
CAMP CHORES
Hanging the food in double plastic. By eliminating odors and keeping provisions out of reach our camp does not attract unwanted wildlife. was a long way. We got back just at dusk and set about fixing dinner. Then we had a little after dinner drink. Then we had a visitor…a very nice young woman, hiking alone, who had managed to fall down and scrape her leg a bit, so really, I had nothing to complain about. We enjoyed the fire, the conversation, and our s’mores.
We were almost too tired for a game of rummy. But we played a while. When I started losing, I popped off to bed.
The next morning we hurried to pack up and hike to the parking lot where we had left our wheels, about five miles. The girls and I met up at the river crossing. I was dragging behind, so when I reached the trail head, I had to take a selfie exit photo, and just around the corner…the parking lot! What did we used to do without cell phones? (Let me be clear, however. Cell phones take great photos, but they do not work in the North Cascades…there is no cell service for about two hours…till we get back down to civilization…which includes hot tea and diet coke at the
HOME SWEET HOME
This larger tent is fun for card games and visiting. Lauren and I split the weight, I carry the poles, she carries the tent. am-pm at Newhalem).
We stopped in Burlington for Mexican food, then Lisa was a good sport and took me by my Reg Doc, Roy Gresham’s, so I could pick up my dive regulator that had just been serviced. We dropped off Lauren and Lisa took me back to my car. I drove to Seattle to pick up my new travel BCD, more dive equipment. I stopped at Costco to pick up my new glasses and finally got home to finish packing. It took me the rest of the night so once again I was starting out my trip with no sleep.
On the way to the airport my airline called to tell me the first flight had been postponed three hours. Missed my first connection to Denpasar, Bali. The airline said, “Not to worry.” They would fix it.
Hmmm. Not so much…
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Missed conncetions
The dive show shounds great. Wish I'd known you were in Seattle we could have met. Enjoy your diving. We will be following along.