Ranger Falls

This is Ranger Falls, en route to Green Lake from the Carbon River entrance to Mount Rainier National Forest. I'll be back at this location with a tri-pod and earlier in the morning sometime next week. This is at 1/4 of second, hand-held against a mossy rock! Not bad. (There are 20 others that are blurry!) I checked out the Ipsut campground, almost got to Chenuis Falls and then went exploring on the Green Lake trail. I rode my bike from trail to trail, about 10 miles of biking and 2.5 running.

M on the TKD Offensive

I don't think you get any points for kicking your opponents butt in Tae Kwon Do, but there has to be some intimidation factor there!

Mountain Biking with the Boy

More pics from our break when mountain biking at the State Patrol Trails in Kennewick.

Mountain Biking

This was his first real mountain bike ride. We rode about 50 minutes on a great trail in Kennewick. Here we where taking a break toward the end. He's got great balance on the bike and was really gritting it out on the uphills! I was very proud. It has worked out really well for him to ride his Mom's bike, it's very nice and makes things a bit easier. The bike is pretty big for him, but as he gets bigger the bike will just get better and better for him!

Columbia Cup Hydroplane Race

Karen and I, and the boys went to the hydro races in the Tri-Cities this year. I haven't been in years, but I was the biggest fan growing up. It was great to remind myself of the boat racing culture and see the monster roostertails. The boys were impressed too. Dave Williams, driver of the U-48 Miss Lakeridge Paving, was really nice, took time out of a busy day, in which he was qualifying and racing, to sign autographs for my boys and take this picture. He did a lot to make my boys fans, and I really appreciated him taking a minute to connect with us. Thanks Dave, you are one of the good ones!
-Adam

Waterfall on the Way to Green Lake

Carbon River area.

Breakin' Boards Camping

The boys broke some boards at Squaw Rock Campground over the weekend. We built a really great rock dam on the creek next to the river also.

Blue Jays

I think this is a blue jay. He really liked peanuts from our campsite!

Third Degree Burn at the Pit

Tim's band at the Pit in Auburn, it was a fun night and they got hired back for next year.

White River Tennis Camp

Drills at tennis camp.

Lake Padden Indie Series Race

This was my favorite from the set at the Bellingham race.

Indie Series, Bellingham

More from Lake Padden's Indie Series race.

Padden Pedal 2008

This was one of my favorite shots from my set in Bellingham over the weekend. The Padden Pedal course was the same as last year and left me wanting to ride it myself.

Carbon River Entrance to Ipsut

We rode and walked for a really long time and never made it to the Green Lake trail. maybe we'll make it next time!

Mt. Peak

We hit Mt. Peak with the Gid today. It was a great trip, nice hot day, the boys got a workout.

Swallows Fly Free

Yesterday morning the first of the chicks took off for their first flight and by the end of the day they were all flying around like crazy. My best count is 6 chicks. They took off in flight like it was what they were born to do, they would fly around the yard, zipping and swooping, you could tell they were lovin' life and pretty proud of themselves...then they would try to land...they were not born to do that! It was like a blooper real of bird crash landings. They crashed into the birdhouses, fell behind the birdhouses, missed the eve of the house, got stuck behind the hose rack, it was all pretty funny to watch. The parents were very protective yesterday, I was sitting in one of my normal spots and one the parents landed on my shoulder and fluttered like mad, no pecking or scratching but it was definitely making a statement. This morning the birds were too scattered to get good pictures of them together. The chicks still seem to be dependent of the parents for food. They appear to follow the parents around trying to get bugs from them. They seem to be pretty aggressive in this action. They are all pretty active around the house, I wonder how long until they start leaving?

Point Defiance Zoo

The Point Defiance Zoo was pretty spectacular today, the animals were out and lively. Here are a few of the best pictures from the day.

Violet-Green Swallows Feeding

The chicks are putting their heads out now as their parents swoop in and swoop out. I've been observing these Violet-Green Swallows for quite a while now. They seem to have to chase off other Swallows pretty often. One of the parent is on look-out much of the time too. Maybe he's resting! They are a very hard working couple though. They swoop in and out, non-stop all day long. One chick seems to capitalize on the opening to the house, I don't really see the one ever move!

Swarming Bee's

Evidently, bee's swarm when looking for a new home, make a few attempts at a new home before finding something that is suitable. They swarmed in my backyard today and are attempting to make a home in my oak tree! A beekeeper that I called said they are peaceful and will move on in a day or two. I hope so. The picture shows the mass of bee's. The branch on the tree is about an inch in diameter. It is something to see!
-Adam

Fireworks

Tae Kwon Do at Enumclaw Parade

The boys were excited to be in the parade. All the kids got a chance to break a board en route. Board-breaking was a real crowd pleaser!

Carbon River Area Trails

The boys and I took a trip out to the Carbon River entrance to the Mt. Rainier National Park. We walked down the dirt road past the gate (which is closed to washout) then took a right onto a trail toward Green Lake. It was pretty steep up, someday we'll come back and do the whole trail to Green Lake. We ran out of time and had to head back.

Buckley Parade

We had a great time at the Buckley Parade, watching all the cool trucks and the kids liked the candy!

Old Mac Truck

This was at the Buckley Parade.

Smile!

Sometimes it's hard to get boys to sit still and smile...