Sun In The PNW

Sunrise Over the Puget Sound (Heading to Ken's)

This has been a nice week for me. I took a week of leave to get a break from work and was able to get out and ride a bit. My latest ride was up through the north Cascade mountains and it was spectacular. The area gets a lot of press and it is well deserved. It was another place that I have wanted to visit but haven't driven for some reason. I went with a friend of mine and we left early and got home late. A bit saddle sore, but it was worth it. There was a bit of snow up on the pass and the temperature dropped for a little while, but we mostly enjoyed 70F and sunshine - perfect riding weather because you can comfortably wear a jacket and keep all the protective gear on without becoming uncomfortable. Ken and I stopped for a bit of exploring on the way back through the mountains to get home. Hwy 2 follows a river for a lot of the trip down the western slopes of the Cascades and Ken likes to kayak and raft so he wanted to check out a particular set of rapids. It was nice and didn't take long to hike down to the river. A bit over 14 hours to do 460 miles and a lot of smiles.

Looking out over Diablo Lake in the North Cascades

Looking at Diablo Dam - one of the last you can drive over?

Also got some good news for Danny this past week. He was offered a position in the school district's gifted program and will be going to a different junior high school next year. He is excited and we are very proud. It was a tough decision for him as he had to give up football due to transportation issues. Those who know where we live also know that he walks about 30 seconds to get to school right now, but the new program he is going to do will require him to ride a bus.