Apple pecan pancakes. Yummy!

Washington Coast

Lake Quinault Camping/Picnic area.

This is lake Quinault with the Olympic Mountain range in the background.  It had a really nice camping area, and picnic sites that were right on the water.  We actually started this trip at my parents home, close to Bremerton.  Then traveled to Aberdeen, and drove up the coast a bit to get to this lake.  Such beautiful scenery!  My Aunt & Uncle, Cousin & her husband, came up from Texas for a cruise to Alaska.  They were joined by my cousins daughter, husband, and their two children when they came back.  If I am counting right, there were 11 people and 3 cars on this trip.  It was such fun, if a little tiring.  My Texas family, my mom and sister, all had a great time visiting.  It was a memorable trip, with lots of stories from my mom and her sister about their childhood. 

Kalaloch Beach taken from path.

This is Kalaloch beach.  It has a lot of sand and driftwood, and the ocean for as far as you can see!  The kids got their feet wet here, but the undertow was strong so there was no swimming. 

Looking back at path to beach.

The path to the beach, with the gazebo at the top.  This stop has a lodge, with a gift shop and small cabins we rented when I was young.  It's about the halfway point of the drive.

Texas family getting their feet wet in Pacific Ocean.

What fun to watch the kids stick their feet into the ocean.  Children are always so fun to have on a trip like this!

Standing by the Lodge at Kalaloch Beach, looking at a small inlet.

Path to Ruby Beach, with ocean in background.

We grow big trees in Washington State.

Path continues down to the beach.

View of ocean through the trees.

Ruby Beach with islands off the coast.

The path to Ruby Beach was longer than the others, and a lot steeper.  The views were really awesome though! 

I must go for now, many things to catch up on.  I will have some pictures from the Hoh Rain Forest, and from Hurricane Ridge in my next post.  I wish we had time to stop at Crescent Lake, it's beautiful too!  We did drive by it, but it was getting dark and we all were ready for our hotel beds for the night!  This was a two day trip, but really should have been done in at the very least 3 days.  For more information about this area try the National Park Service website.

It's JUNE! Summertime is here....

Or is it?  I woke up this morning and it just never occurred to me that when you live in the mountains you might wake up to this:

Yes, that is an apple tree with flowers finally starting to bloom, covered in slushy snow.

I sometimes forget about living in the mountains, but occasionally it is made clear to me that living at 3800 feet above sea level is different than where I grew up.

That is slushy snow falling in the background of the picture, the type that chills you right down to the bone.  There was so much of it that it made the picture look out of focus.

I think you can just ask the kitties what they think about this snow.  They have spent the morning trying to keep warm!

Or the Australian Shepherd who takes his job very seriously and has to monitor the outside kitties when they leave the yard...

That is one sad wet looking puppy dog!  He won't leave his post to come dry out on the porch, till all his kitties are back home on the front porch.

Note:  This is a blog post, if you want to see the rest of my posts click on this link:  http://journeywithbaking.blogspot.com/

Getting to big for the rocking chair. Spilling out both ends!

He is so cute!