Panther Creek Hike

We were driving around looking for trailheads to explore and  happened upon part of the pacific northwest trail. To get there we had to pass through Carson WA, a little town that reminded me of a mini Arcadia in a way. We saw signs for a mushroom buyer at a gas station there so we know where to take our excess bounty next time! Just past carson was wind river valley and this area is full of trails. It was honestly hard to pick one, so we settled on one that had easily accessible parking. The section of the PNW trail we hiked winds down through old growth forest to Panther Creek. The light coming down through the leaves made everything seem like a fantasy painting. It was colder the closer we got to the water but it was worth being chilly to see the wonderful sights of the creek and the adorable bridge that crossed it.

 Panther creek Photos click here!

First time up Beacon Rock

We stopped by it before, this time we decided to take it all the way to the top, literally! Its a one mile hike up to the summit of this volcanic "neck" (the hardened lava core of a prehistoric volcano) and even though it's rated as "easy", for two out of shapers like us it was a challenge. We took it slow and made a few stops to catch our breath but we did eventually get there. We were put to shame by several 60 and 70 somethings who were going up and down the trail face like it was a cake walk! The views of the gorge were so spectacular. I couldn't believe how windy it got higher up the rock, my hat got knocked off at one point but luckily I was able to catch it. Since we went in the middle of the week there weren't very many people in the park, in fact we were alone when we reached the summit so it felt extra special.

 Click here to see pics of the hike

Video of the half way point

video of the summit!

video of how windy the summit was

Ash Goes Mushroom Hunting!

The wonderful gentleman who gave us the chanterelle mushrooms offered to take ash and i out to pick some more with he and his son. I had to work but ash took photos of her adventure and will post a blog below about it too:

View the pics!


Ash's Blog: I got up early and went mushroom hunting with our internet guy and his step-son. His son's name was Johnny and he was the cutest little red headed child I had ever seen in my life and smart as a whip. I was immediately given a bright orange vest to wear as it is hunting season here. We drove just up the road from our house and traversed some really rocky, steep roads, but all in 2wd. Bill was searching deep within the forest from the road trying to spot those beautiful pumpkin colored tops. After about ten minutes he saw some and we stopped the car and went out hunting. We were accompanied by their dog shadow who couldn't wait to step all over the mushrooms. Bill said "where there is some, there's more." We didn't have to search far and we came across several pods of them all clustered together. Johnny and I dashed to retrieve them, falling onto our hands and knees and crawling under and over brush to get to some of them. This sequence of events happened several times, until eventually all of our bags were full and we couldn't carry any more. . .about 15 pounds worth. Johnny and I were completely covered from head to toe in forest foliage and we couldn't have been happier. We even found a salamander! I couldn't wait to come home and show Kris all I had gathered and to take her the next day.

Hike Down to Beach Park

We have had a few beautiful clear days in a row so we have taken the opportunity to get out and about the neighborhood and revisit some of the places we saw last week. This time we crossed the street down past the apple tree to the little river beach. It was raining last time we went there so we took the opportunity to explore more while the weather was clear. There was a whole slew of trails and little scenic spots we'd missed before, as well as being able to see much farther down the gorge. While we were hiking around the trails we saw tons of wild mushrooms, an italian plum tree, and lots of wild flowers. I took video of the view from the beach too!

 Click Here to see the pics!

View movie number 1

View Movie number 2

All backed up

Hey everyone, Im sorry to have kept you waiting, I know its been a few days since we updated but it's been incredibly busy around here! We have lots to share so we will break it down into several blogs to make it easier to navigate. First thing's first, Our stuff arrived safe and sound! Our moving company came through and all in all I'd say it was a satisfactory experience, we would recommend them to anyone in need of good movers. Here's the mover guy that unloaded our stuff, he was nice enough to let us take his picture:

Everything came through safe and sound with the exception of two plates and ash's wood chest that she's had since she was a baby. We got some wood glue and she thinks she can repair it so all should be well with that. I'd say that considering the long distance and many hands our belongings passed through I'm surprised more stuff didn't get damaged. We were really scared when we saw our TV's box, it was all beat up as smooshed, but thankfully I'd packed it really well so it was fine inside (thanks again leanne for the great packing materials!):

After living in an empty house for a week it was strange to have our belongings back again, we just loaded them into our 2nd bedroom and will be slowly unpacking it all over the next week or so.:

Our first furniture in the new house are the papasan chairs, as you can see our cat Remus really likes them:

and since I can't let the moment pass, here's another kitty photo, this time it's Blythe looking out the same window that's behind Remus in the pic above:

Ok enough gratuitous kitty moments, There's more exciting things to see!

Stevenson and such

We are still getting settled in and have been really busy but have still managed to sneak in some time to see sights here and there. Every day I discover new things that make me stop and stare in awe. I've been cleaning, shopping, doing laundry, you know all those mundane normal activities, but now that I have such beautiful scenery around me I don't mind it nearly as much lol. The people in stevenson have all been so nice and friendly... they have no problem stopping to chat with you for however long you want. people don't seem to be in any big hurry, i have been told everyone that's here wants to be here, most of them are from all over the place and have moved to stevenson to enjoy its natural wonders, so they are all generally happy folks. Our little grocery store down the street is really cute and the folks who work there are very helpful. We went in on Halloween and the staff were all in costume, passing out snacks to kids who were in costume. Our neighbor who had just met us invited us to come over to her pumpkin carving party, unfortunately ash and I were vacuuming and shampooing the carpet that evening so we couldn't make it but we though it really nice for the invite. Today I drove to portland to pick up this really awesome mid century modern coffee table and end table for the living room. They are very unique and I will be sure to post pics of them in our living room once we get it painted and furnished. When I got back ash made us breakfast and then we went for a walk across the street to this little place the internet install tech told us about (the one who gave us 5lbs of chanterelle mushrooms he'd picked from the forest close by). If you cross the street and follow this tiny street down you come to a tunnel then a bridge that winds over a cute little creek. Along the path were more blackberry bushes than you could ever harvest and a wild apple tree that ash and I picked two sweet delicious apples from and ate right there under the tree. We walked all the way down to the river "beach" and played on the river shore. It was drizzling but we didn't care, it was so much fun. I still cant believe how many interesting things there are to do so close to our house. here's some pics from yesterday and today: CLICK HERE

~kris

PS: thanks for the vacuum mom!!!

My impressions

Okay so my impressions will be a lot shorter as Kris said pretty much everything. I just want to add some things here and there. First I want to extend the thank you to my parents. Dad and Glenda thank you for taking in and accepting my partner as if she were your own. You allowed us to stay with you rent free, utility free and even cooked most of our meals for us. Without you this move would've been near impossible to do as soon as we did. You took us in when no one else would. Glenda you love and patience saved me from my hatred as a child and without you I would be a totally different person. Dad, I will always be a daddy's girl. We have been through a lot together, and even when we had nothing you still gave it all to me. You taught me invaluable life lessons, spent countless amounts of time with me, and have always been there for me.  I want to thank you for being the kind of people that I look up to: honest, caring to a fault, generous to a fault and non-judgmental. I appreciate you and love you more than I could put into words.
Now, my impressions on Stevenson, WA. It is so awesome here. The people are so nice. I had to walk 100ft from  my car to the post office and back the other day and by the time I left 4 people had said hello to me. People look you in the eye here. They have crows the size of chihuahuas and a squash in the visitor's center that is almost 5 feet tall. Even the drive to the recycling/transfer station is scenic. We are not exaggerating when we say that there is not a single ugly thing about this town. If you go to their website you can view the live cams  http://www.cityofstevenson.com/index1.html

Make sure to check out all of the pictures. They really don't do the majesty of this place any justice, but at least you can get an idea. ~ash