Two Days, Four Places, Three (Then Four) Old Friends

On Monday we did at least three things. First thing, we heading up to Hurricane Ridge. It was overcast in town, and layers of cloud and fog as we drove up,

Dungeness Spit from the Road Up. Not All That Clear, But I Stubbornly Showed It To Them Anyway (Click for larger image.)

...and on top, OMG, there was glory. The Bailey Range was on full display, with Mount Olympus behind.

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We walked a tiny bit here, a tiny bit there, without ever in fact leaving the plowed-out parking lot area. Carloads of people arrived to snowbunny, donned masses of gear, and snowshoed off. A snowshoeing class for small children spent forever getting started, the ranger patiently refastening the tiny plastic shoeshoes over and over, calling the kids (who were more interestied in sliding around and falling down) to gather round and pay attention over and over.

Part 2. On the way back into town we picked up sandwiches and went down to the harbor to watch IVS Kwaito load. KF took so many photos and little movies that the workmen got paranoid. She explained she was assembling a presentation for her two-year-old grandson, who Loves Trucks.

December 19, 2011. (Click for larger image.)

Hey, I'm not a two-year-old boy, and I too love the kind of Trucks And Things that work the harbor. While KF was zeroed in on Kwaito, suddenly behind the waiting log trucks one of the big yacht lifts appeared, rolling away from Platypus Marine and out onto a pair of tracks; and lowered the boat into the water. Oh. Aha. That's how it's done.

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Part 3. There was not so much daylight left, but we headed off to walk in the woods a little, along Barnes Creek on the trail to Marymere Falls. It's not the rainforest, but we weren't getting to the rainforest on this visit. And there are some fairly big dudes in there.

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And on Tuesday, sea voyage to another country: the three of us went to Victoria to visit with WC. One of the rewards of being sort of Old is there can be Really Old Friends. We had a good time. Went inside the Empress, and the Parliament Building; spent a whole lot of time photographing ducks and swans at Esquimalt Lagoon, had a nice lunch in Metchosin and then back to the Lagoon. Then back onto the ferry, sea voyage home again.

The Empress Rules Victoria's Inner Harbor. As seen from the ferry... (Click for larger image.)Me and WC and AM on the lawn of the Parliament Building (Click for larger image.)