Michael and Kaylyn's Adventures

30 August 2003

A Wee Bit Of Scenery

A panoramic shot from Hurricane Ridge
See this bigger See this huge

See this bigger See this huge
[30 Aug 2003] Dagnabbit! Michael is just one photo short of being able to combine these two shots into one giant picture.

Snow? In August?

[30 Aug 2003] Hurricane Ridge is in the heart of the Olympic National Park. 5200+ feet above sea level, you're pretty much on top of the world. Oodles of trails give awesome views of the Olympic mountains and the glaciers that live therein. A glacier

Mountains!

[30 Aug 2003] We still find the mountains that surround Seattle on all sides amazing, but this was the first time Michael had actually been up in the mountains. (That's Michael and Andy being dwarfed by the alpine meadows of the Olympic mountains.) Andy and Michael in an alpine meadow

Me Two

[30 Aug 2003] Finally, proof that Michael really did all this and didn't just buy pictures off the 'net. Michael and Andy Michael and Rob

Buffalo Bill

[30 Aug 2003] What would a roadside zoo be without a buffalo? Or two. Or fifty.

Black Beauty

[30 Aug 2003] The black bears weren't nearly as anticful as the Kodiak bears, but still -- those paws are huge! A black bear

Bye Bye

[30 Aug 2003] This one waved goodbye to us when we left. We wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen it! A Kodiak bear waves goodbye

Teddy Bear!

[30 Aug 2003] The best part of the Olympic Game Farm is undoubtedly the Kodiak bears. They can't come right up to your car like the other animals can, but that fence keeping them away isn't so very tall. They like bread just as much as everybody else, and since they are rather more agile than the other animals they are much more fun to watch. A Kodiak bear grabs its feet A Kodiak bear picks up a piece of bread

He's In Prison Garb For A Reason

[30 Aug 2003] Zebras? Yep, the Olympic Game Farm has some. Notice how the windshield is rolled up most of the way, preventing the zebra from sticking its whole head in the car like the musk ox could have done? It seems the zebras have a taste for small children. Since we rather like Rob's son Andy, we rolled up the windows to ensure he didn't get taken for a ride. A zebra eats bread from Andy's hand

A Furry Toaster

[30 Aug 2003] This particular Guy Day involved a trip to Hurricane Ridge, but along the way we stopped at the Olympic Game Farm. This is pretty much your run-of-the-mill roadside zoo, except that this one has big game animals. And you drive through it. And you buy bread to feed the animals. And they take the bread right out of your hands. Like this fellow. A musk ox eats out of Rob's hand

Clouded Horizons

[30 Aug 2003] This summer Michael started going on Guy Days with his friend Rob Straavaldson and Rob's son Andy. (Kaylyn often does a parallel Girl Day with Rob's wife and daughters.) Guy Days are usually spent hiking around one or another of Washington's fabulous state or national parks, and they often involve passing over the Hood Canal floating bridge. (Yes, you heard right: a bridge that floats on the water and is only really connected at either end. Seattle has a bunch of 'em.) This particular day -- which was one of those spectacular Seattle days where there is nary a cloud to be seen and the sky is a beautiful deep blue -- a cloud (yes, one of those that was nowhere to be seen) had completely engulfed a small island. The cloud looked like it was partaking of a mid-morning snack! A cloud takes over an island in the Hood Canal

24 August 2003

Poor Little Lost Window Seat

[24 Aug 2003] The second house we toured had a heavy English influence. The living room was patterned after a hunting lodge, with lots of dark, heavily carved wood. To one side of the entrance the floor is raised several feet -- just the right distance, in fact, to fit a...well, a window seat, really, although it's not anywhere near a window! A window seat in the middle of the room

The Stories It Could Tell

[24 Aug 2003] Nowadays people have a cow when someone remodels an old house, but back when these houses were new their inhabitants didn't give even radical remodels a second thought. The second owner of this house didn't like where the main stairs were, so she moved them. Do so created this interesting space on the second floor. What a cozy place to spend a quiet afternoon reading! A sunken reading nook

Curved Walls + Curved Windows + Curved Doors = Way Cool

[24 Aug 2003] Curved walls are a pretty common occurrence, but having the windows in those walls be curved as well is not so common, and having the doors in those walls also be curved is pretty rare.
This room was pretty dark, unfortunately, so you can't really make out the gorgeous detail of the carvings, nor can you feel the warmth of all that lovely wood. But would we like this dining room in our house? You betcha! Curved doors in a curved wall

Someday This Will Be Our Bathroom

[24 Aug 200] Seattle is chock-full of neat old houses. Usually we can only admire them from the outside, but today we had the chance to check out a couple from the inside. We didn't think to take any exterior shots, but the interiors are plenty cool all by themselves.
Take this bathroom tile, for example: it's not that often you see such intricate detail in a bathroon -- and not just any bathroom, but the one upstairs guests would never see!