During Joseph's trip we went to the Exit 38 off of I-90 climbing area east of Seattle.  Joseph used my shoes and his mom's belt.  We figured these disadvantages would counter his youth and athleticism so we could all climb at about the same level. 

We all double checked our rigging for safety.

Joseph pulls a nice 5.7 climb while being belayed by his mom.

Mocha and Bandit think is just all so boring.

Joseph gears up for his next climb, a 5.8.

It was a hard enough climb that I had time to scramble up and get a picture of him at the top.

I am  on belay for a couple of climbs.  This one had some interesting moves on it.

I got my turns also....

This is the crux of the 5.8, I needed a little help getting past this spot.

The hike in/out was along a very pretty little river.

And we stopped off at Snoqualmie Falls for some sight seeing.

 

During Joseph's visit with us in Seattle we decided to do the Woodinville Wine Tour.  Woodinville has a lot of bike trails.  So we went to a shop and rented some bicycles.  After our previous bike rental experience we looked for ones with "comfort seats".  Alas, there was only one. 

The trail was very pretty and not difficult to ride.  Some hills but nothing killer.  Barbara and I are somewhat inexperienced in trail riding and may have annoyed some of the regulars who really wanted to ride fast. 

But we eventually reached some of the wineries and of course had to stop for a glass, or two.

The next day, Barbara's Birthday, we into Seattle and did some site seeing.  First stop was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Building. 

Joseph had his picture taken with Bill Gates, kinda.

 



Being Saturday of the July 4 weekend the place was mobbed.  We couldn't get a reservation on the Duck Tour until very late, the line to the Space Needle was very long.  So we opted to just cruise around and sight see. 

We found the Waterfront Area....

Which led us into the famous Pikes Place Fish Co.

They were not selling much fish, the price was very high. 

We did manage to get tickets for Seattle Underground tour.  Of course there was a several hour backup even for this so we felt pretty fortunate.   Then we did the tour, it started off with a little standup comedy/history skit that lasted about 10 minutes, then they trotted us down to the basement for the rest of the tour. 

 

 

We were a little disappointed, Grandpa Woods basement was more interesting.

It was fun just to be around Joseph and to rediscover what an impressive young man he has become.  We had Salmon on Cedar Plank around our urban campfires.

And then we celebrated Barbara's birthday with cake and candles, guy style.

Crystal Mountain Hike

Near Mt. Rainier National Park is a ski resort, Crystal Mountain.  In the summer time they allow you to ride the gondola up to the top of the mountain. 

Here they boast of the "best view of Mt. Rainier."

So of course we have to take a few photo's.

Our son Joseph flew in from Orlando for his mom's birthday and to have a little vacation time from work.

We opted to take the 9 mile hike back down the mountain.  One person commented that we had color coordinated Florida Gator jackets, dogs also. So off down the hill we go.  Joseph helps Bandit over some rough rocks.

Even on the 4th of July we still get to trudge through snow.

The trail is narrow and traverses a steep ski hill.

Photo opp at the switchback.

And then more traversing.

Mocha does a little hunting along the way. 

Bandit does not have too much trouble in the snow, but then he has 4 paw drive.

There are several snow melt ponds around.

You can't help but stop once in a while and just look around. 

Creeks are still running full with snow melt.  So sometimes you have to take a little hop to get over them.

When Bandit gets tired or encounters something he doesn't like he just sets down, then makes a very sad dog face.  Works every time.

At the six mile point is a pretty little lake.

We lost the main trail in the snow drifts, so improvised by walking down some of the cat trails for the ski resort.  They were quite rocky.

The pups starting getting pretty tired so Joseph helped them out with a little ride.

At last we start to see signs of civilization again.

And finally we reach the ski area.  3 hours, 9 miles of steep downhill walking.  We were sore for 4 days.

Wenatchee, near Leavenworth WA

From Spokane we ambled over to Lake Wenatchee State Park near the Bavarian style town of Leavenworth, WA.  It was a nice little town and found some excellent beer and pretzels.

While there we used the motorcycles to scout out floating the Wenatchee River.



 

Some people use a more basic model. 

 

We found some of the river a little too rough for our abilities.

Most of the river is pretty tame.

At last we are ready, Barbara dresses for the task at hand.  The water was quite refreshing.

We stopped on the way to scout out some fish traps.  It was nice they put up a warning sign, but I never did find the danger.

This bridge is about the half way mark.

We are not the only ones on the river, here is a guided tour stopping at a little water fall along the way.

You would almost think I knew what I was doing.

The only hard part was a hidden hydraulic. We came around a corner and got sucked into it.  It felt like a giant hand had grabbed the back of the kayak and was trying to pull us back into the rocks.  We did some wild paddling and got free.   No pictures of that, way too busy.

And finally we reach the takeout place.

It was an excellent day on the water.