Climbing Thompson Peak

This past weekend we climbed Thompson Peak with our friends from church Nathan and Michelle Bailey, Joe Raybell, and his cousin Jonah. At an elevation of 10,751 feet, Thompson is the tallest mountain in the Sawtooth Range. This is the first mountain that Stephanie has ever climbed and the first that we have summited together! As mountaineering always is, it's a colossal undertaking but it's so rewarding.













On Friday we drove to Redfish Lake then backpacked to a nameless glacial lake 5 miles west of Redfish. This took three hours and we climbed about 3,000 feet during this leg of the trip. After camping for the night, we summited on Saturday. It took us three hours to summit from camp. It took us 2:40 to descend back to camp. It took us 2:30 to descend from Camp to the parking lot.















Backpacking in with the Sawtooths on the horizon















Here's the moon passing behind Thompson's southern ridge. It cast a brilliant glow on the east ridge of Williams Peak that night.



















Here's our camp in the shadow of Thompson. The peak looks much closer here than it actually is. ;)















Here's the the saddle between Thompson and Williams Peaks. You can see Joe and Jonah just below the small snowfield to the left.



















Stephanie ascending the face to the saddle between Thompson and Williams Peaks















Nathan and Michelle ascending the face to the saddle between Thompson and Williams Peaks















On the summit!















Here you can see the lake we camped by and the route we took to get there.















Looking South from the summit















Little Redfish (left) and Redfish Lakes from the summit















The town of Stanley behind the ridge of Williams Peak



















Stephanie flexing on the descent now that she's conquered the tallest the Sawtooths have to offer. The summit is the peak to the left above her.

Jaime & Darren's Wedding in Seattle

On Thursday night we flew to Seattle to celebrate the wedding of one of Stephanie's Northwestern roommates, Jaime Huling.















On Friday night, Jaime and Darren bought us tickets to the Mariners / White Sox game. Thusly, I experienced my first major league baseball game. The garlic fries were abundant, I got to see a grand slam, and the Mariners were ultimately victorious. It was fun to hang out with the crew from Northwestern; alas, most were rooting for the Sox.















Erin and Steph















Ally, Katie, and Susannah















Jaime and Jenny















I always love driving the Miata when we visit Mukilteo--and the weather was great this weekend.















The ceremony was held in the Seattle Sculpture Park















Stephanie, Jaime, and Darren















Susannah, Ally, and Steph



















Dave is tired of waiting for his Tuscan Scramble at the Maltby Cafe.















On Sunday, Dave and I locked horns on the chessboard. He won the best of 6 series 4-2. A two-win day is a career record for me though!




















We celebrated Kristi's birthday with a barbecue at Dave and Vicki's on Sunday afternoon. Here she is opening her new piggy bank.



















Bill and Florence drove over from their new place in Mukilteo.

Simpsonized

Look familiar?


















You can make your own here.

Visiting Mom & Dad in Gifford

Last weekend we drove up to Gifford to visit Mom & Dad. Ryan, Amy, and Bentley were also there on the first leg of their road trip camping down the Oregon and California Coasts. It was great to be with everyone.

Visiting Andrea in Santa Barbara

On Sunday after Tyson and Sahana's wedding we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Cruz through Monterey and Carmel to stay with Andrea in Santa Barbara. Along the way, we ate at a great Italian restaurant in San Luis Obispo called Palazzo Giuseppe. I had a fantastic calamari-shaped pasta with a red pepper sauce. It was actually a little cold as we were dining al fresco--which was a nice change from our Boise heat.

On Monday morning Andrea took us out to brunch at Jannine's American Bakery in Montecito. After brunch we shopped State Street and saw the Ann Taylor Loft where Andrea works. We ate dinner at Longboards Grill on the Santa Barbara Pier.

On Tuesday morning we met Andrea's friend Andrew and drove to Devereaux Beach where we tried out some surfing. We rode a few waves in on our stomachs and knees but couldn't successfully stand up. It was really fun! I can see how people get hooked.














Brunch at Jannine's














This is a charcoal sketch Andrea did for one of her classes


















Andrea's Ann Taylor Loft














The Santa Barbara Pier

Tyson & Sahana's Wedding in Palo Alto

Last Friday we flew to San Jose for our freinds' wedding. Tyson and Sahana both worked for HP in Boise and now live in Palo Alto. Sahana and Stephanie were roommates in Boise for a couple of years.

Friday night we walked from our hotel in Palo Alto down University Ave to a casual Italian restaurant called Bella Luna. It reminded us of Asiago's in Boise.

On Saturday,We brunched at the Coupa Cafe then drove up to Frisco. We passed Giants Stadium where the legions were massing in hopes of seeing Bonds tie the Home Run record. Alas, it was not to be. Pity.

We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and saw Sausalito, then lunched at Boudin on Fisherman's Wharf. After lunch we walked through the botanical garden in Golden Gate Park.

Tyson and Sahana were married that night at the Mountain Winery which has a great view of all Silicon Valley.


















The Golden Gate shrouded in fog














Golden Gate Park's Botanical Garden














Tyson and his groomsmen


















Roomies reunited

Sunriver

On Saturday we we met Dave and Vicki in Sunriver, Oregon. In addition to breakfasting at the Trout House and playing Seattle Mariners Uno, we logged 50 miles on our mountain bikes--including a 22 mile trek to the Inn of the Seventh Mountain. It was a great time as usual!




























Mount Bachelor over the Deschutes
































Grabbing a burger at the Deschutes Brewery














This was the first road trip for our new Honda Element. I finally have my own version of the General Lee...

Jaime's Bachelorette Party in San Francisco

I spent this weekend in San Francisco celebrating my college roommate Jaime's final month as an unmarried woman and her upcoming marriage in Seattle on August 18th. Three of our Northwestern friends, two of Jaime's cousins, and a bunch of Jaime's law school friends all had a great time enjoying delicious San Francisco cuisine, watching the Mariners beat the Athletics, dancing, and generally catching up or getting to know each other.










Here's Jaime (with the tiara) enjoying some Humboldt Fog cheese. Her cousin, Brieann (holding the tiara) hosted a BBQ at her flat on Friday night. Another cousin, Nicole (on the left), looks on.










My college friend Erin, who lives in Chicago, and I are excited to be sitting together on the BART Saturday morning.










Here's the beginning of another win for the Mariners, against the Oakland Athletics. All of us went to the game on Saturday and enjoyed hot dogs, garlic fries, and microbrews in the sunny bleachers.













Another college friend who lives in San Francisco, Susannah, charming me with her beautiful smile and great sense of humor at Andalu, the exceptionally yummy tapas restaurant we dined at on Saturday night. Believe it or not, we did not plan the dress coordination. Great minds...

Mountain Biking Banner Ridge

This weekend my college roommate Brandon and I did some mountain biking near Idaho City. Last night we camped at Ten Mile Campground (between Idaho City and Mores Creek Summit), then rode a 12 mile loop starting from the Banner Ridge Park-N-Ski Area.

The trails are well maintained and it was great to beat the heat--it was 107F hen we left Boise last night and it was 52F when we started biking this morning.














Ten Mile Campground














The trail head at the Banner Ridge Parn-N-Ski


















Pulling a couple miles of steep, dare I say, extreme double track











































































Banner Ridge Yurt














Steeds at the hitching post