All in a day; from sea level to the snow line at 1468m

We woke up to a clear morning on the Pacific Coast and I was happily watching Surf Scoters diving in the surf below our Inn. 

After our brunch of Dungeness crab cakes we headed off inland to cross the Cascades Range in central Oregon via the Santiam Pass, some 200 kilometres from the coast. From sea spray to snow in a few hours!

There was a severe winter weather cautionary posted for the pass and Fred went off early to buy chains for our vehicle, in itself an adventure, fortunately they were not needed as the pass is heavily salted and frequently graded. 

The scenic route is charmingly called 'Over the Rivers & Through the Woods Scenic Byway' with towns like Sweet Home and Sisters along the way and it generally follows the route of the historic Santiam Wagon Road. 

Another surprise was that west of the Cascade Range was lush, emerald green with rushing streams and stagnant water everywhere, then up and over the mountains the east is gold tones and dry. 

From Depoe Bay to Santiam Pass, Central Oregon

We are now settled onto our timeshare near Redmond and Bend for the week.

Twixmas

So I was intrigued by an Instagram meme defining 'Twixmas'. 

Here is my version:

An invigorating beach walk in the rain 

A roaring fire while I blog 
Remembering a highlight dinner from last night, a completely delicious ossobucco with mushroom risotto
Sharing a bottle of sauvignon blanc, crisp and dry with a tropical fruit note, with Shawni and Craig
Watching gulls on the beach
Checking into our Marilyn Monroe themed room on the Moolack Shores Inn north of Newport, Oregon

These are the days between Christmas and New Year, cosy tonight, pyjamas on, waiting for a peanut butter sourdough sandwich and coffee, a book next to the bed, the ocean as a background sound and I not sure what the date is.

Tomorrow we make our way across the Cascades towards Bend for a week. And the days will unfold and the New Year is ahead of us.

WildLanterns at Woodlands Zoo, Seattle

An immersive and truly wild wonder at the Woodland Zoo. 

As dusk fell, we layered on clothes and ambled through the exquisitely creative and enormous lantern installations. The lanterns were animated and colourful and the attention to detail quite remarkable; frogs with nictitating eyelids, lizards with tongues popping out, butterfly wings flapping, Pegasus flying, owls rotating their heads, peacocks flaunting their plumes, slumbering bears breathing, underwater otters swimming, monkeys and birds in the trees. Roses, irises, lotus lilies, proteas, and sunflowers a joy to see.

What an enchanting holiday outing!

Christmas excitement and mayhem

Early morning coffee and kids (and adults) all excited. Santa certainly dropped a pile of presents for the Hadfield's, Kersten's and Date's here in Seattle. 

I have loved the build up to Christmas, the planning, the shopping, the provisioning, the cooking, the setting of the table and being here with some of our family. A special time and much gratitude as always for feeling well and strong.

The girls go to the Ballet, our Christmas treat

 

A Seattle tradition, The Nutcracker.

A Christmas treat indeed, a towering Christmas Tree, Clara with her beloved Nutcracker, bunny pulling the Mouse King's tail, a dozen golden angels, a Green Tea Cricket, Mother Ginger showing off her flock of dancing children and a pair of prancing reindeer that take flight. 

The ballet was enchanting, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier performed a quite sublime pas de deux and we loved it all.

It's now Christmas Eve. We all strolled around Green Lake on a mildish, sunny Seattle afternoon.  Shawni and I prepped two delicious soups, a corn and shrimp chowder and a maple roasted butternut soup.  

The evening with excited kids "one more sleep" and with Jason and Elle down from Vancouver was so happy. Our families are far away in South Africa, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands and Singapore and we all felt gratitude for being together here in Seattle in Craig and Shawni's home.

The presents are under the tree and we are quietly going to bed and I think we are last in the world to celebrate!

Christmas Eve in Seattle.

A Sunday afternoon at the Seattle Public Library

The gang headed off to the Lumen Field to watch the Seattle Seahawks NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings for the afternoon which gave me a good excuse to take the little ones to the downtown Seattle library. 

I had read about the 11 floor library building which is a stand-out architectural gem of steel, glass and form in the city.  Its innovative 4-story Book Spiral, distinctive spaces and murals are an attraction.

An eye-catching mural!

And an eye-catching striking building - the SPL or Seattle Public Library, designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. 

The book spiral creates strange interior perspectives!

Having fun exploring the interior and playing in the Children's Room.

Four more sleeps; Snowflake Land Holiday Parade in Bellevue

The household is in countdown mode to Christmas. School is done for the year, wrapping is happening behind the scenes, the ham is bought, menu planning underway, and we joined the thousands of happy families in the heart of downtown Bellevue to be part of the 20th Snowflake Parade.

Navigating the traffic, the parking and the crowds, worth it for the music, 'snow', lights the festive spirit and the fun floats.

Winter walks along Lake Washington, Seattle

Almost our backyard, a quick drive down to Lake Washington to walk and bird.

Fresh air and endless vistas.

"Bench with a view"
Magnuson Park, an all year round destination for sport and leisure.
Cascade Mountains framing the view.

Tundra Swans on the Lake

Gregarious Cedar Waxwings feeding happily on the red berries.

Dungeness Spit, longest sand spit in North America

A moody day, light rain and we almost gave this a miss, so pleased we persevered. 

The 7 mile spit which juts north into the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a marvel of nature and reminded me of another spit which seems a lifetime ago, Farewell Spit on the South Island of New Zealand. The difference though was we could walk that sandy spit but Dungeness is too difficult to navigate, pebbles and a menacing tide.

Dungeness Spit, Olympic Peninsula, Washington 

The fascinating culmination of natural forces!

Natural sculptures.

A wild and beautiful place to experience..

The impressive Olympic Mountains making a brief appearance.

Sequim Historic Railroad Bridge all lit up for the season

Historic Railroad Bridge in Sequim ablaze with lovely lights

 

Such a unique evening stroll.

The sun is setting by 4.30pm so the holiday lights make such a difference to our experience of the dark. Some decorations are subtle and others gaudy in the extreme but mostly they are a pleasure to see.

We popped out from our Eagles Nest room to walk the bridge at the Dungeness River Nature Centre which is a festive season attraction. The enormous wooden beams of the old bridge seemed to float above us, lit up by the full moon and the myriad of colourful lights. 

Strait of Juan de Fuca and Surfbirds

I have been deeply curious about the 'other' side of the Puget Sound, the Olympic Peninsula. The eastern slopes of the snow-covered Olympic Mountain range seem to rise straight out of the Sound and they are a beautiful part of the Seattle scenery on a clear day. To the west of the Peninsula is the Pacific Ocean and some of the wettest places in the lower 48 states!

Interestingly though, Sequim and surrounds along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, lie in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and get about 18 inches of rain a year as opposed to a high of 100 inches per year along the west coast. 

Luckily for Fred and me it was dry as we ventured out along the Bluff Trail at Salt Creek to bird. 

Wild beauty of the coastline along the Olympic Peninsula 

Salt Creek, walking the Bluff Trail.

Focusing on a bird we did not recognise, stout, short yellow legs, white belly, dark spots along the sides, orange on the bill and hugging the rocky outer coastline which is being being pounded by surf.

Some research and we realised we were watching aptly named Surfbirds in their winter haunt having come down from high in the mountains of Alaska!

Completely wonderful and my world list is now 2021.

Surfbird! 

Not to be confused with the dapper Black Turnstones also wintering here along the rocky Pacific shores.

Fleurs de Villes, Noel: Pacific Place, Seattle

 

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"
Floral celebrations and wonderful creativity.

Another opportunity to get into the magical Seattle holiday spirit. Enormous floral installations at Palace Place in Downtown Seattle. Roses, orchids, proteas, hydrangeas, amaryllis, chrysanthemums, mosses and trees, all shaped onto mannequin, wreaths, reindeer and Christmas trees.

Inspired by this gorgeous gifting style, well beyond my capability though - my theme is brown craft paper and red ribbons.

Ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, Seattle

There is something magical about walking onto a ferry and sailing away from solid land. A quick google search suggested a good spot for fish and chips was on Bainbridge Island. So we hustled and made the ferry just before it left. 

A winter perfect afternoon in Seattle, blues skies, a calm sea, Mount Rainier showing its looming size and the Olympic Mountain Range the backdrop to our trip. Loved it all and the return was just as special, seeing Seattle all lit up at dusk.

Our first venture onto the Puget Sound, ferry trip to Bainbridge Island.

About the fish and chips, a foot long piece of fish but not worth the hype.

Extravaganza of bears and gingerbread creations, Downtown Seattle on a Sunday afternoon

Remarkable creativity of the Gingerbread Village

Gingerbread Village has been a Seattle tradition at the Sheraton for more than 30 years and a support for Type 1 Diabetes, which made me think of my Nan who died of this debilitating disease.

We joined the tradition on Sunday afternoon. 

The 1 Line Train took us to downtown Seattle, we headed for Ivan's clam chowder at the wharf and watched the crazy gulls and ferries on the Puget Sound, then ambled around town enjoying the holiday season lights. 

After some time queueing, we were in awe of these fabulously intricate gingerbread creations at the Sheraton. They are not houses but feats of confectionary engineering, with light effects and movable parts too. 

The theme this year was iconic destinations - London, Paris, Taj Mahal and Sydney and we all voted for the London scene with Sydney a close second.

The Fairmont Hotel was also on our afternoon agenda for gorgeous Xmas trees and the Teddy Bear Suite. We all instinctively hugged and cuddled bears!

The Fairmont Hotel itself was a joy to experience, it is a landmark in the vibrant heart of Seattle and has great charm and style.

Festive spirit is building, next on my agenda is some floral displays.

Sumptuous Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmpnt Hotel

An evening of lights: Downtown Denver

Mile High Tree, Denver Downtown

Our weekend in Denver started with an evening exploring the downtown holiday and Christmas lights. 

How easy it is to step out and walk without the iciness of snow and the evening temperature was a manageable 3 degrees C. 

We started at the 110 foot tall Mile High Tree at the Civic Centre Park which is claimed to be the tallest ever Christmas tree. The LED lights created a wonderful spectacle with loads of people milling around and going into the evening market. 

The real eye-opening experience was the technical wizardry of 400 drones lighting up Denver skyline. 

The Mile High Drone Show creates holiday themed animations using drones. We watched from the Sculpture Park and had a perfect view.

Ambling along 16th Street Mall down to the illuminated Union Station we watched people strolling, ice-skating, dining and felt the start of the festive season.

Mile High Drone Show, Downtown Denver

Two eye-catching 60 foot high Mile High City icons.
Giant Blue Bear curiously peeking into the Colorado Convention Centre is called "I See What You Mean"
"Dancers" sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky

Icicles and Hot Tubs: Granby, Colorado

There is nothing quite like combining outdoor swimming and freezing temperatures, which is just what Kirstie and I did one day in Granby. The pool is heated to 84 degrees F which is just doable.

Even more heady is the steamy outdoor hot tub. At 104 degrees F the rising steam kept our heads warm too. 

So beautiful to watch the sun setting pink on the snowy mountains.

It's Thanksgiving, 27 November 2024

A day of preparation and new ingredients

Our Thanksgiving menu:

Roasting a 10 lb turkey, basting with butter and Old Bay seasoning. Old Bay is a celery salt, with red and black peppers and paprika.

Sides: 

a traditional Green Bean Casserole, steamed fresh green beans, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup and French's Crispy Fried Onions. Mix beans with the soup, mix in half the onions, bake for about 1/2 hour. Just before serving sprinkle the rest of the crispy onions over the bake.

a Sweet Potato Casserole, cook and mash the sweet potatoes, the topping is a brown sugar, flour, butter and pecan nut crumble.

a Pork Sausage and Apple Stuffing is baked separately from the turkey. The dried cubed bread is mixed with the cooked sausages and onion, the herbs and celery, grated apples and dried cranberries, fresh parsley and finally the stock before baking in a casserole dish.

Dessert is pecan pie and ice cream with the seasonal Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Collection.

As a nod to all our South African roots we had a bobotie and green salad as a starter.

Meeting up around a turkey, Craig and Shawni with Tenille and Mike from Pittsburg.
Fred loved carving the bird which Mike had perfectly prepared.

As Tenille said it was a 'who would have thought moment' for her. She and Shawni were flat mates for many years in Cape Town during their university years, and here they are married, with children and having Thanksgiving dinner together in Granby, Colorado.  She and Mike have been in the US for 12 years and are so pleased to have Craig and Shawni move across to Seattle from New Zealand. 

It was a treat to have Tenille sharing her traditional Thanksgiving recipes and bringing a true sense of this special American holiday to all of us.

For Fred and I our first Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for and I appreciate being around this table at this moment in my life.

White wonderland: beautiful and intimidating

 

As much as I am loving this experience of snow here in Granby, Colorado it is completely intimidating.
I am nervous driving even though Fred is handling the conditions very well.
Thank goodness for the graders who are keeping the roads passable.

Its been snowing slowly and steadily all day and I love how it builds up on the buildings and the trees are looking like Christmas!

The scene from our unit here at Mountainside at Silver Creek when we arrived, we are now a white wonderland.

We all braved the snow conditions and drove down to the lodge to enjoy the indoor and outdoor spa's. 

I had such fun swimming with Kirstie in the outdoor pool, which is heated to 82 degrees F, while the snow was falling around us. The pleasure of the hot tub at 101 degrees F was 'delicious'. 

We are now bunkered down and watching snow falling. I'm doing food prep for dinner. We are a group of 10 - so lots of meal planning from Shawni and Tenielle as well as the shopping just in case we get snowed-in. Did not think I would be writing about that!

Fred enjoying the photo opportunities.

Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Centre

We needed to pivot after our day was truncated on Pikes Peak and we booked an afternoon tour to experience the grey wolves, the incredibly rare red wolf, coyotes, red and silver foxes and singing dogs - yes, from New Guinea.  The facts about how we have treated wolves are not pretty to hear and the Centre pulls no punches in telling their story.

The tour ends with a collective human and wolf calling moment, just incredible to see a wolf with snout up in the air and howling!

Some of the pack here at the Centre.

Current wolf numbers in North America
Also a rating per state on how legislation attempts to protect their wildlife.

Driving a "11er rather than a 14er: Pikes Peak Highway

The start of the 19km to the summit

So plans do not always come together and today was one of those days. 

After the highlight of being in Utah at the Arches National Park other ideas for the weekend felt like slim pickings. 

Fred then mentioned Pikes Peak, Ian showing him the crazy race up this mountain in Colorado, donuts at 14000 ft and our plans were made.

Nowhere did we factor in snow. The weather forecast was good, the website confirmed that the Pikes Peak Highway was open. 

Our turning point

We arrived. Sure it's open but only to mile 13, the summit with its crazy switchbacks is closed for the winter, snowed in. 

The toll gate attendant mentioned that the summer queues to get up the highway stretch back for a mile. We almost had the highway to ourselves today and got a senior discount - this is called counting blessings.

We drove what we could, took in the splendour and managed the feeling of disappointment reasonably well. 

We got to an elevation of 11440 feet, the air was thin, it was really cold too - so we have done an 11er but have not joined the 14er club here in the Rockies!

And we could see why the Pikes Peak Highway was closed to the summit. This is a hairpin bend coming towards mile 12!

The drive is still impressive, en route up the Highway the views are endless.

Up above the treeline and into the raggedness of the southern Rocky's.