Thursday, March 27, 2008

My Mom and Dad's Honeymoon Cottage?



BIG ISLAND VACATION, PART ONE: So we've settled in for a three night stay here in greater Volcano Village, a small town just outside the entrance to Volcanoes National Park. Elevation here is 4000 feet and it's been heavily misting off and on since we got here last night. Spent most of today exploring the easily accessible areas of the massive park, including visits to numerous steam vents and lava tubes, the Visitor Center and a run down to the ocean.

A highlight (for me at least) was a visit to Kilauea Military Camp, which was set up almost 60 years ago as a rest camp for military personnel. The significance is that my Dad spent his honeymoon in one of the many cabins, all of which are still standing today. (Sidenote: Mom and Dad's honeymoon was in February, I was born in November of the same year. Could I have been conceived in this very cottage?) Through a little research and some help from Dad, I think we were able to locate the exact cabin in question (see photos, which upon close inspection show that the chimney stones are identical, though the cabin exterior has changed), which was very cool. The whole complex seems caught in a timewarp, with the original PX, theatre, bowling alley, chapel and cafeteria still in good condition and still being used on a regular basis.

The big news on this side of the island is a new, and very powerful, vent that has opened nearby, that is emitting a great deal of sulphur dioxide, threatening an evacuation of the Village if the prevailing wind changes.

The temperature at this elevation has been in the 50s and 60s, the house we're in is very comfortable with 3 bedrooms and 3 TVs and wireless Internet. The property is very lush, almost jungle-like with numerous birds (including the goose-like Nene, Hawaii's state bird) and other critters roaming about. There is still quite a bit of visible snow on the top of the volcanoes, which I'm told, is unusual for this late in the season.

We'll be leaving for a 6 nite stay in a waterfront condo in Kona on Saturday. We'll go to the famous lava flows tomorrow.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Ultimate Season Starts with Double-header



The Ballard High School season got off to a fine start Saturday morning March 15th, with decisive wins over Everett High and Garfield. Marymoor park was cold and wet but there was no wind and the Field Turf made playing conditions excellent. Savanna started both games and played well, throwing several scoring points, including one that she curved well out of bounds to get around some sideline defenders, only to come back into play for a nice point. The team is led by some excellent junior and senior boys, but Savanna and her best frisbee friend and fellow freshman, Sarah, more than held their own.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Rock Climbing in Upper Yakima Canyon


It's been a while since I've done any real rock climbing, and though the little 700' scramble I did yesterday in the upper Yakima Canyon probably doesn't really qualify as real rock climbing, it's close enough for me and makes for a better headline.

Between Cle Elum and Ellensburg, along the beautiful Yakima River, runs highway 970, a lonely but well-kempt stretch of roadway where in the space of 25 miles the landscape goes from alpine forest to arid plain, with a knockout, but compact, bit of river canyon thrown in for good measure. Along this mini-canyon, which stretches in its truest form for no more than 10 miles, you'll see bald and gold eagles, hawks, turkey vultures and all sorts of land creatures from elk to marmots, who love living in the sunny, south-facing broken rocks just north of the highway.

To the south runs the Burlington Northern train tracks, the river, and over the southern ridge, just out of sight, the busy I-90 freeway. But in the canyon, all is quiet, excepting the wind which generally blows west to easy, bending the pines in distinctive arches and blasting the ridge tops free of virtually all vegetation.

Most of the land to the north is undeveloped, private ranchland, into which it's probably not recommended to venture too deep. But the land adjacent to the highway is pretty much a free-for-all, with the best rock mounds and the best views from the steep, rocky ridges, intersected with plenty of interesting ravines and gulches.

I found a likely looking spot on a lonely bit of highway, where the ridge summitted in an interesting point of large boulders, and where adjacently laid a narrow ravine where the going might be a little bit easier getting down. I visualized a path to the top and worked my way up through loose, rotten rocks, the way never getting dangerously steep, but steep enough and tricky enough to be challenging, even a little frightening. A mis-step might not have meant catastrophe, but easily could have resulted in a nasty fall. Handholds and footholds could not be trusted, and as so often is the case, after getting about three-quarters the way up, I realized there was absolutely going to have to be another route down.

Amongst the sun-flooded, wind-blasted rocks, bits of dirt showed some Spring Beauty flowers emerging, but otherwise all was still sterile on this late winter afternoon. After a little more than an hour, I made it to the top where the wind nearly blew me down. I sat on the precipice of the rock-stack for a few minutes, just to catch my breath and then headed west along the ridge to the ravine, where I founded a spring issuing forth a healthy bit of clear, cool water, which shortly thereafter was swallowed up by the dry earth.

I worked my way down the gulley, fighting through all manner of bushes and short trees, until I reached the base of the cliffs and the short walk back to the car.