2006.7.29. Artist Point at the end of Hwy 542. Mt Shuksan was as beautiful as every, but Mt Baker was no where to be found. Chilly. Lots of heather blooming.
Watched the annual fireworks competition. Today is China, accompanied by Yellow River Cantata. Fabulous. Back to Seattle the very night. The stupid border only had one station open, even though two guys were there. About 50 cars, took 1.5 hrs!

2006.7.22-23. Spider Meadow & Spider Gap. 3 hrs drive. 2 hr hike to Spider Meadow at mile 5.2. Flowers, not in full bloom yet. Bugs. Camped to the left of the creek (cold water!), with a beautiful view of the valley.
The next day, we went up to the foot of glacier, ~ 2 miles from the north of the meadow. Nice icy cold pool. Water gushing down to the valley. However, the trail up was dry and hot like an oven (still better than Seattle which was 95F that day). Easy walk up the glacier for 0.75 miles (8.2 miles from the trail head). The top faces another valley with Lyman Lakes just under our feet. The tip of Mt Baker is looming above other peaks.
Direction: Hwy 2 -> Hwy 207 (4.3 miles) -> right on Chiwawa Loop -> left again follow Chiwawa loop (towards Fish Lake) for ~10 miles -> gravel for ~10 miles -> right fork to on Phelps Creek for 2 miles.

2006.7.16. Lake Blanca.
As beautiful as ever. Snow still lingers on the trail and around the lake. Reasonable shade all the way. A bit buggy. A couple of blown down trees.

2006.7.15. Rainier.
Stopped by Grove of Patriarchs at SE corner of the Park. Pleasant walk along the shallow and clear Ohanapecosh River. Quite a few large trees up to about 1000 years old. Easiest, 1.5 mile RT, flat.
After lunch, hiked up Naches Peak (6452ft. The left photo was taken from Tipsoo Lake), instead of doing the conventional loop. Lots of flowers along the way (sadly, many killed by my steps): avalanche lily, glacier lily, white anemone.
On the very top, some bright pink penstemon and heather. 360 degree view. Gorgeous. No real trail to follow. Snow at times. Short but steep. Somewhat dangerous.

2006.7.9. Snow Lake. Snow is melting on the lake. Looks like clouds huddling on the water. Very pretty. Possible to walk across some half-melt icy blocks.

2006.7.7. Golden Ear Provincial Park. Rent a canoe for the afternoon at the Annette Lake. I managed to capsize the boat on the way back (against the wind) while little Lucy was on board. The poor thing was scared. We were rescued by a kind stranger who was taking his kids out fishing. The first thing he said to the kids were "now you see why I made you wear life jackets at all time". Among the things I lost to the lake is the car key. Had to hitch a ride to the park entrance to call for help (the only pay phone in the park, ~7km away), as no cell phone signals in the park. I guess I will no longer be entrusted with the kids.

2006.7.6. Whytecliff Park at Horseshoe Bay. Picked some mussels. However, they are all very small.

2006.7.4. afternoon. Bandera. The slope was covered with flowers. Rained for 10 min. Cloudy and partly sunny.

Evening: fireworks on Lake Union.