Winter in Portland

It's been a mild start to winter in Portland. So much so, we barely needed coats for our recent hike along the Oregon Coast between Ecola State Park and Canon Beach. Click here for photos.

Portland did finally see its first snowfall this week... a few inches and colder temperatures, but we're already warming up.  This album includes photos from our winter adventures to date - skiing, urban hikes, water color painting class and just generally getting out and about.  

Last weekend was the annual Portland Winter Lights Festival, which is always lovely. Click here for photos from some of the festival installations. We also stopped by OMSI to see their amazing Exquisite Creatures exhibit. Click here for photos of Portland artist and naturalist, Chris Marley's amazing creations. 

Looking ahead to March, Fig is going all in for Conclave to win an academy award this year. 

 

Christmas in Bend

We spent Christmas week in Central Oregon. Click here for photos from our various hikes, walks, and snow-shoeing treks around Bend. The photo above was taken at Tumalo Falls, which is accessible by snow-shoe or cross country skis in the winter months. We did a bit of both. 

Grace's mom, Sarah, pictured below, joined us for much of the week. Lots of delicious meals were shared, games played and movies watched.

On our way back to Portland, we hiked around Smith Rock near Terrebonne, a lovely spot we last visited back in 2013. Some then/now photos follow:

Fall Outings

From checking out the larches in Washington State, as pictured above, to the waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park, as pictured below, we've had a great Fall here in the Pacific NW.  Click here for photos that include trips to Boise, Vashon Island, SoCal and more. 

Cloudy Pass

Jake and Emily are spending the week together hiking in the North Cascades. Click here for photos from their 24-mile backpacking adventure from Holden Village to Cloudy Pass. It lived up to its name.

Prior to Emily's trip north to see Jake, we had a chance to continue a family tradition of seeing Cirque du Soleil when they come to Portland. The sky in the photos below was yellow from wildfire smoke. Fortunately, the air quality was better in Holden Village for the twin's hike.

Hood to Coast

Congrats to Drew, Grace and their team for running this year's Hood to Coast Relay Race, which started at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and ended 198 miles later on the beach in Seaside. Click here for photos. 

Meanwhile here in Portland, we had a fun reunion with our good friends Tim and Di while they were visiting from New Mexico.

Hiking Around in Washington State

Spent last week with Jake exploring some new - and revisiting favorite - spots around the Olympic Peninsula and in the Mt. Baker National Forest just east of Seattle. Click here for photos. We timed the tides wrong to make it to the Sequim Lighthouse, but still took a walk along the Dungeness Spit Trail, pictured below, a place we last visited in 2010.

A highlight of our week was a reunion with Jake's friend Teis and his family at their new home on Bainbridge Island. 

Drew and Grace were recently in Holden Village and are pictured below with Jake and Grace's mom Sarah, hiking to Hart Lake. 

Drew, Emily and Grace were also in Seattle recently helping see their friend Emma off for her first Seattle to Portland bike race.

For more photos of our summer so far, click the following links: 

• Portland 
• Holden
• Sri Lanka*

* Pat will be back in September, in time to enjoy fall in Oregon. 

Summer

We're on heat wave #2 and its barely July. The first was when Drew, Grace and I visited Indiana timed with temperatures in the high 90s. Now Portland is experiencing similarly high temperatures. Click here for photos from our trip tn Aurora, where Uncle John's pool provided a great break from the heat. 

And here are two additional albums of summer so far in Portland and Holden Village, including a video clip of Jake seeing a bear while hiking.