Amanda and our friend Stacy picked me up downtown on Friday and we took off to the east to go camp and hike in the Teanaway valley Northeast of Cle Elum. This beautiful valley was full of recreation this weekend with the revellers ranging from families, to ski tourers to big groups of dudes with trucks and motorcycles. We were frankly overwhealmed by the number of people in the Valley, but were able to find a nice spot at the Beverley Campground.

On Saturday we took off directly from our campsite and followed a delightful trail about 4 miles to a rock outcropping with the above view. The trail was nice following a small creek it’s entire journey from where it enters Beverley Creek all the way up to it’s source.  We had to cross the creek several times which required de-booting.  The snow became too much at about 5000 ft, but that was just as we came over the ridge and found this lookout so we were happy to stop and enjoy our lunch of cheese, sausage and crackers

This area is full of beauty everywhere you look.  From the towering white mountains down to little flowers like this one that we saw poking through the layer of snow-compacted leaves.

Sunday morning found us with sore legs and thinking of showers so we jumped back in the car and made good time back to Seattle.  After cleaning up our gear and bodies we found ourselves getting bored … after a little bit of poking around online we found that some friends were bike camping at Manchester State park on the Kitsap Peninsula.  So … we jumped in the car and headed for the Ferry.

We got on the 7:40 ferry from Fauntleroy which had us crossing Puget Sound at sunset, one of the great pleasures of living in this part of the world. After grabbing some food at Fred Meyer we found our way in to the campground and enjoyed a campfire with our friends.

After a leisurely trip home and a nap on Monday I took off on my bike to an impromptu Memorial Day BBQ. We met up at Myrtle Edwards park and soaked up the sun in one of the city’s most beautiful places.

It was a fun and diverse weekend that’s left my soul  sustained and my body tired. Hurray for a three day weekend.

As always you can see a bunch more photos at my flickr

Saturday morning my Father, my friend Andrew and I loaded on the Dorothy Rose for a fantastic one night trip out to Sucia. We left Cap Sante Marina at roughly 11:00 on Saturday and took about 5 hours to motor north and into Echo Bay.  The trip north along Lummi Island is stunningly beautiful.  Lummi rises much more steeply from the water than the other islands in the San Juans and the misty afternoon made it feel like we were in a truly magical land.

Upon setting the anchor in Echo Bay, Andrew and I took to the shore for a walk to the north eastern corner of the island. After a spirited hour of walking we’d gone to the end and back leaving us quite ready for our dinner.

Back on the boat we enjoyed some delicious steaks that were supposedly cut from cows raised with the highest of social and environmental standards. The steaks were accompanied by some delicious rolls from La Vie En Rose bakery in Anacortes and a great bottle of Shiraz that we’d picked up at Compass Wines.

The trip home found us in sunshine and a healthy 20kt breeze.  Naturally the breeze was right on our bow so we spent much of the day close hauled, rail under even with a first reef on.   Such conditions make for exciting sailing, but they also make for excellent napping in the leeward bunks.

Later in the afternoon the wind calmed to 5-10kts and I was able to enjoy a nap on deck under full sail, quite a treat in June.

Sucia is a wonderful destination for a number of reasons. Anchorages are plentiful and one can always find a place in large Echo Bay.  There are several smaller nooks that hold fewer boats but provide truly excellent scenery.

Shoreside one can enjoy a variety of trails all over the sizeable island.