In Which There Is Spring and Summer Recap!

Ahhh salam and good evening to you! Please, please! Come closer!

Time to jump off my mental health high horse and back into the realm of "How I Love the PNW". It was a beautiful effing summer in Seattle. Dark, cloudy mornings with a cool dampness in the air, gave way to bright, warm afternoons with sun and white fluffy clouds. The air was remarkably clear despite the warmth, and the ability to see the mountains nearly every sunny day was pretty unbelievable.

I've had quite a few visitors. Erin came to see me and she was wonderful for company. Matty and Amy just left this morning (I originally wrote that back in August), and Cousin Jess was around as well. Unfortunately, I get a F+ on taking pictures when company is around. They took most of the pictures, which someday I may find and post.

In consideration of that "someday" statement, I'll post some about my other adventures. Weekend trips! I guess I could start off with my two visits to Paradise.

Decisions, decisions...

Mount Rainier is an active Volcano (capital V, show some god damn respect), the PNW's largest, and it is glaciated year round. If ya'll don't know, it's pretty epic. There is a reason people here just call it "The Mountain." No, not that Mountain. This one. I've taken two trips: a rather ill-planned, slightly terrifying one and an incredibly beautiful, serendipitous one.

First trip, I left after work one night, since Mt. Rainier appears to be in Renton's back yard. NOTE: THIS IS NOT ACCURATE.


Pfffp I could walk to that before sundown!

I left at 10 of 6, knowing that the sun did not fully set until 8:30 or so. "I should have at least a half hour of sunlight before it's too dark to seem," I thought. That probably would have been the case had I realized that it was over 2 hours away, and the sun actually set closer to 8, since that's when it dipped below the mountains to the West, and also, here's a tip for all you nature sprites out there: the forest gets darker, earlier! Also, I should have probably told someone I was going, since I lost cell phone coverage half way there. And, my car was on it's way out of this universe. All cars go to heaven, right?

Paradise is named for it's beauty and uncompromising views of Mt. Rainier. So, it's May, and it's warm outside, Spring is in full bloom in Seattle. It should be about time that things are manage-ably melted, right?

"Nope," says the 17 foot snowbanks.

Well, at least it's safe. the road wouldn't be open if it wasn't, right?

"Here's a big serving of Nope, with a side of you-apparently-know-very-little-about-mountain-climates" says the Extreme Avalanche Danger warning signs.


Goodnight, Cascades

This makes me feel... safe and completely unsafe at the same time.

Well. It was lesson in poor execution of wanderlust, and one of the most terrifying car experiences I've had. Happily, my second trip was really a better one. Me and Zach and Marie decided to wander down to the Mt. Rainier National Park. I've been dying to do the Grove of the Patriarchs' walk, so we hit that up first, then made our way up to paradise. Here are some pretty sweet pics of the day!

Pretty little stream by the Grove.

TWINSIES!

GRAAARRR I'M THE BARK MONSTER!!!

This buck quite liked Zach and I

I also spent a few weeks checking out some of the local parks (because that's how I do PNW best,) and walked around the International District a bit. I won't bore you with too many pictures, because let's face it: too many pictures of greenery and trees all start to look the same, and they never look as cool on photos as they did in real life.


Schmitz Reserve Park. Some of the oldest trees in the city, and a very cool little walk.

AHHHH WTFASDFJJWQETRJADF!!! oh.. oh my god. ok, it's just a tree. Painted like a giant Dinosaur Alligator.Caalm down. But seriously, it scared me half to death. Because it's so.... real...looking... shut up, it was scary, okay?

A little look out park at the end of Magnolia bridge, I walked here and enjoyed the sunset. 

The Gates to the ID

 

Pagoda Park in the ID

The guardians on many, many of the ID's telephone poles. Very cool.

I also took a long weekend and headed out to see my two favorite Spokanians. Miss Katie and Mr. Matt. We did some cool stuff, the coolest of which was just spending time, laughing and having heart to hearts, talking about broken cities and even more broken education systems. We created a performing Trio, in which I opera sing Disney classics, while Katie river-dances and Matt lectures loudly (over my singing) about tactical fishing. Performing arts at it's finest? We think so.

We checked out the Spokane riverfront, went to some rad restaurants, went to yoga, and checked off one of my most wanted things to do in Washington State: Palouse Falls.Check it out!

Spokane reminds me a bit of charming New England. Brick mills and old bridges!

Lower falls. Katie and Matt were not as enthused when they thought this was it.

 
I successfully came away with my first sunburn this year after spending approximately an hour and a half outdoors in the Washington desert! It was totally worth the drive. Thanks, guys, for supporting my insatiable wonder of nature!

I went back East too. I thought, a year is just too long! I needed to see my smallkins and all my loves. 

OMG SEATAC!! I AM SO EXCITED!

Thank you, airports, for finally understanding that water should be free.

I also got to spend some time playing tourist in Boston with Jdogg. So here. Pictures of Boston, where history is magical! 

Uhh.... Well, Tufts isn't known for their literary achievements...

     

The old Statehouse. Golden Unicorn and lion. That's how New Englanders Roll.

Boston is charming. Lots of Iron statues. So quaint.

When I came back, many weekends were full of lakeside beer drinking, waterfall-side beer drinking, and bridge jumping, including the Floating Bridge's ramps to nowhere, where I Zach and I had NO FEAR, jumping 40 feet from the bridge into the swampy lake below. No pictures, but you can see a video of someone else doing it here. I did dislocate my coccyx while trying to spare my broken foot. 

After hurting myself severely enough to need a standing desk for 4 weeks, I decided it was time to cool it a bit. About this time, Ladyhawk starting dying for realz, and I knew it was time to upgrade. You can check out my new ride and my extended summer/fall adventures in the next few posts. 

In Which There is Heartbreak and Hope

Sooo... how about that last blog being up for months??? Things are a bit better. My days are full of constant self-reminding to be thankful, kind and patient not just with others but with myself.I was pretty effected by Robin Williams' suicide a few weeks ago. To personally have experienced being recently close to suicide makes it sting and ache in a way I would never have expected, especially for a person most would consider a stranger. In a way though, he wasn't a stranger. He was a friend who never knew he was my friend. His movies and stand-up were some of my first experiences with comedy, his outlook on life inspired change in me when I was younger. To know that he was in that place where there seems to be no other possible option other than death and he couldn't find a way to ask for help breaks my heart. I won't say he's in a better place now, I won't say rest easy or that his pain has been relieved, because while those things could be true, the real truth is that no matter the situation, suicide is never a good option for depression. If you have the support you need, that pain and despair can be an amazing catalyst for growth, love and connectedness. Severe depression should have more of a commonplace dailogue to help encourage those who are in that place to speak up without fear of judgement, chastising or misunderstanding. The loss of someone I found to be inspirational is a huge motivation for me to keep myself as far away from that place for the rest of my life as possible. Even if coping and managing depression seems hard and overwhleming at times, it's not as hard as a premature and unneccesary endng. Just imagine if Jumanji had ended 3/4 of the way through. Sometimes, the ending is the best part. I'd like to think that life is the same.