It’s been a little bit less than a year since we’ve been there, and the weather was nice so we decided to head out there.
Last time it started snowing, so we were unable to see how far you could actually drive up. We made it to up the ski area but that was it.

This year we first stopped at the Visitor Center and the park ranger told us that we definitely needed to go to Artist Point. On clear days there are stunning vistas of some of the most breathtaking scenery in northwest Washington. There’s a very accessible path around dazzling Picture Lake with views of Mt. Shuksan brilliantly reflected in its waters. On the other side you can see the top of Mount Baker.

Mt. Shuksan Reflection

Artist Point’s elevation is 1600m while Baker is about 3286 meters high in total. Definitely worth mentioning, it’s an active volcano… It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint Helens.

Below a little video of Mount Saint Helens. This what could happen to Baker…

We definitely had a wonderful day, and Grizzly loved the lakes and the snow! Some pictures we took on our hikes:

Calm pond on the Mount Baker meadows

Under the glacier

American Pika

Fun fact:
Mount Baker Ski Area is one of the snowiest places in the world. It set the world record for snowfall in a single season, 95 feet or 28.96m

Thursday after work we met up with a friend of ours in downtown Vancouver, had a lovely walk on the seawall, ate some great takeaway Shawarma (it took me some time to actually figure out that it was Shoarma…) on the beach and finished it all of with a Marble Slab ice cream (Best ice cream ever).

English Bay in Downtown Vancouver

Last weekend we decided to due a quick day trip to Seattle. The morning started out great with some deer standing near our house (it seems to be deer season, we’ve seen about 10 of them around our house in one week), drove over to Seattle and did a quick visit to the city. We only stayed in Seattle for 2 hours and decided to drive to Bellevue where we saw Bill Gates’ house and ended the day with a great fondue menu at The Melting Pot.

Mount Rainier rising up behind the Seattle Thunderbirds’ home, Qwest field.

Below are some more pictures of when my parents where visiting and we visited Cypress Mountain. It was strange to see the Vancouver 2010 Olympic half pipe in summer. This winter, we’ll be more or less at the exact same spot as we got tickets for the woman’s halfpipe event.

My parents, Ine and Grizzly posing in front of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Halfpipe on Cypress Mountain.

My father on the Cypress mountain viewpoint overlooking the lower mainland and the Georgia Straight.

In a few days we’ll have some new visitors, so we definitely have more to look forward to!

They visited the BC Royal Museum and stayed in a wonderful hotel to get some rest after the busy days they had last week.

On Saturday Kris and I had to wake up early and take the ferry to Victoria to pick up the girls and head to Olympic National park with another ferry.

When waking up on Saturday we heard a coyote for the first time in our lives. It was amazing!! It was different than I expected and even a little bit scary.

On the ferry to Victoria we saw some seals again which made it a nice trip. But, I have to say that I saw more than enough boats for one day (since I suffer from seasickness once in a while…).

This is a panorama picture taken by Kris when we were on the ferry to Victoria)

Leaving Vanvouver

Active pass

We arrived at the Olympic National Park, WA around 1pm. We immediately went to the visitor center to get some more information, and to get a National Park stamp (for my national park passport). Ooh and I also got Kris a stuffed squirrel for his Valentine:P

We drove to the Olympic Hoh Rain forest. It was a long drive, but really worth it. We did a small hike and we saw a few deer and a bald eagle.

Olympic National Park Entrance

Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park

A Bald Eagle in Olympic National park. (Credits to Ine)

Anyway, after the hike we drove to our hotel in Port Townsend.
We didn’t really now what to expect because when we booked the hotel we didn’t really have to much options to find a hotel, everything was fully booked.

I was scared to arrive in a hotel with cockroaches but it was nothing like that:). No just kidding, I didn’t expect it to be that bad, but I was a little bit scared though.

The hotel was a typical American motel with a complimentary breakfast. The view from the rooms was stunning. We woke up with a view on the harbor and the mountains.

Sunrise over Port Townsend, Washington

We’ve went to visit a Native Art Gallery on Sunday and Kris bought me a late Valentines gift: a wooden carved bear. It’s really cool to hang on the wall in our new place. (I will take some pictures of it, as soon as I find the right spot for it).

Sine we didn’t have too much time (because we had to get back to the airport to drop of Helena and Eefje), we had a quick brunch in a casino owned by first nation people.

Seven Cedars Casino

Quite an experience. It wasn’t Vegas, but it was a good imitation of it though. It was a nice brunch buffet and only 12 dollars including sodas. All three of us girls loved the chocolate mousse!

Helena and Eefje just left, so it’s quiet again around here:).
I started packing today, and on Wednesday we get access to our storage room, so we can actually start emptying the apartment.

We do want to get everything (well almost everything) out of here by the end of next weekend. So busy times ahead of us (again…).

On Friday we’re going to a night club with some friends (we don’t want to be to boring and only be busy with moving this weekend…so it’s time for some amusement too!!!).

Again, if you don’t see too many post passing by in the next couple of days, we’re really sorry… As from the 1ste of March, we will have internet in our new place, and we will be able to keep ourselves busy with some more day trips and blog posting.

That was it for today, I hope you all enjoy your week!