The San Juans, Seattle, and Other Places

Glacier National Park

Royal Basin, the Olympic Pennisula

Our 2009 visit to Washington now draws to a close, and I sit in our blessedly cool hotel room (its 98 outside) in Missoula, Montana, and contemplate our adventures over the last year. WOW! What a year it has been! We've done things we've never done before, seen things we'll never see again, and reconnected with the things that are really important. WE are so blessed to be able be able to enjoy this country....

Nikki hangs in there as a Navy wife, with Michaels deployment coming to an end VERY soon. She's learned the nuances of home care and maintenance, doggie dissassters, and all the other things that come with being in charge and on your own, while hubby honorably defends our country so that the rest of us can take advantage of what it has to offer.

Pete and I spent much of our time in Washington hanging out and filling in, but we did have many wonderful adventures.....

Renee and Nikki finish the Chuckanut 10k in Bellingham

Nikki and I ran/walked the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon/Half Marathon on June 27th, in wonderful and fun downtown Tukwilla to Seattle. On the 11th of July we participated in the Chuckanut 10k.. Who would have thunk? The training was long and sometimes incredibly hard and boring, but the race days are so much fun! We'd both like to continue to improve and participate, and Nikki has geared up to participate in the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC in October, Renee has decided just to train for a year or so and see what happens.

Pete paddles past Speiden Islands Northern Tip

We paddled the Wasp Islands, Jones Island, Speiden Island, and Stuart Island in the San Juan Islands for a few days.... we put to use our navigational and paddling skills as we braved currents , ferries, and rain in the most beautiful paddling in the nation. We again, did not find any Orca that we could get close to, but we had many encounters with other wildlife, including a mother harbor seal , that woke us up at 4 in the morning for a fishing lesson with her pup, right outside our tent door in Reed Harbor. We paddled much in slack tides, as the currents were against us for most of the trip, and some of the short crossing were dreadfully long.... but this is the best!

We close this trip with the trip to Glacier National Park, where the crowds were bad, but the park is AWESOME. We plan to come back here someday, but not until a September, so the weather won't be so hot and the crowds will be smaller. We didn't find any Grizzly, but plenty of Mountain Goat, Massive, open skies and mountain views like never before....

Thanks to those of you that listened, and shared with our adventure. We'll be home in Minnesota for a year or so.... give or take a winter break or two... miss you all, and so glad to be on our way home!