Thanksgiving Family Dinner '09

So this was the first year that we were not able to be with our family for Thanksgiving :( Therefore we needed to celebrate here to help fill a little more at home. We decided to invite everyone who was going to be in town to come join us in the Java room here at our AMLI apartment complex. There ended up being about 16-18 people who showed up! Everyone brought a dish to share which lead to WAY too much food. Wait, scratch that. You can not have too much food on Thanksgiving. But it was enough for 2nds, 3rds, 4ths and multiple leftovers.

We even had two turkeys! One was a regular turkey, while the other was a spicy deep fried turkey. Both were as delicious as you would expect. There were 3 types of stuffing, green bean casserole, bread, cranberry sauce, macaroni bake, mashed potatoes, corn, salad peaches, wine and of course 2% milk.

After 2 hours of glutinous sinning we played an intense game of Apples to Apples. After that we went back for more food with what little stomach space was left. There were many casualties of the night, myself included. It was a day to remember with good times had by all!

First Snowboarding Trip of the Season!

So one of the major reasons for moving out to Seattle was to take advantage of the close proximity mountains. After conquering Mt. Si, it was time to climb Crystal Mountain... and ride down it with my snowboard! Heck Yes!

Crystal Mountain is located 6 miles NE of Mt. Rainier. Crystal is the largest ski area in Washington featuring a total of 2,600 acres (2,300 lift serviced acres). The base of the mountain begins at 4,400 feet and summits at 7,012 feet. It takes two lifts and roughly 7 minutes to get to the top while its longest run is 2.5 miles long. The first lift takes you into the middle of the clouds, while the second takes above them. Reaching the summit we were greeted with clear blue skies and the most amazing view of Mt. Rainier. It is so close that you feel like you could touch it. It also feels like you are at the same height as it although the summit is another 4,000 feet. Unfortunately I didn't want to bring my camera up there but my friend Andy took a couple. I also posted a link below the pictures for User Submitted photos of the mountain. Take a scroll through there to see some wonderful shots.

http://www.skicrystal.com/Media-Gallery#/Photos/523/Public-Submissions

We were able to hit up some fresh powder in the back country. Although I must admit, I took a pretty big beating that day and was to left recuperating the rest of the weekend. But I am ready to go this Saturday to Steven's Pass to check out what else Washington has to offer.

As part of my preparation for snowboarding I needed some key items. First being snow tires. I happened to run across a closeout deal on TireRack.com for some incredible awesome Blizzak snow tires. The are normally $170/tire but I got them for $65/tire. Plus I got a $50 rebate for a total $470 savings). I also found a pair of used Mitsubish rims to mount them on. They are painted gloss black and I got a heck of a deal on them. The final ingredient was a roof rack to hold the boards. I decided on the Yakima rack and have no regrets. Not only does it look awesome, it is snug as a bug (you heard me). Here are the pictures I took:

Anyone that wants to come shredding is welcome! There is plenty of room!

The Revenge of Mt. Si

Wow, I am doing terrible with these updates. My bad. Anyways, my good friend William Thomas Mansfield The Fourth (Willy T. IV) came out to visit a couple weeks ago. This was his first time out to Seattle so of course we had to show him a good time. He said he was interested in doing some hiking so I figured Little Mount Si. might be a fun hike [See Yay, Friends Part 2]. On our way to the Trailhead we looked up to the top of Large Mt. Si and made a last minute decision to just go all the way to the top. If you remember I had attempted this 4 mile, 4,000 foot hike back in July [See Yay, Friends Part 1a] and it just about killed me "My body was on the point of shutting down, fainting, puking, etc". I needed my revenge...

Going at a little slower pace and taking frequent breaks was the key this time. The hardest part wasn't running out of breath/energy but just walking the trail itself. We began the hike in 50 degree typical fall weather. At about the 3 mile mark we begin seeing snow in the woods. After another 1/4 mile the snow has completely covered the trail, welcoming us to winter. Not anticipating the snow, I had worn an old pair of skateboarding shoes with absolutely no tracking. This made it near impossible to traverse the snow/ice trail.

After crawling hands and knees up the the last half mile we finally reached the summit. What a sight it was! Covered in snow and over looking the Snoqualmie mountain range (The Central Cascade Mountains), we were taken back by the landscape that stood in front of us. You could literally draw a line in the trees where the snow began.

It turns out that this lookout was a popular spot for Snow Birds. They were apparently very familiar and comfortable with all of the people that visit Mt. Si. Some girls were feeding them directly out of their hands. They had no fear of us at all and would come within a foot of us for some sweet photos.

We then continued our way up the rocks to a snow covered cliff edge overlooking the Southern Valley. Traversing just inches from certain death to the rocky point was adrenaline inducing. The sights to see from here were breathtaking.

Since we were already on the top of a Mountain we figured why not throw a Frisbee Disc off the top and see how far it would go? So with all of his might and finesse Willy T. IV threw that frisbee as far as he could. It was a beautiful shot that seemed to float forever before dropping more than half way down the mountain side only to be lost in a sea of trees.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience that was MUCH more enjoyable than last time. I am so glad I got my revenge and will be doing it again, and again. Willy T, it was nice to have you out here! We had a great time and expect that you did too. You are welcome any time!