Crazy Winter Weather

The Pacific Northwest recently experienced nearly two weeks of below-freezing temperatures and wind storms, combined with the most snow we've seen since 1996. We finally had a white Christmas, though.

The Sammamish area, east of Seattle, got hit with some of the worst conditions.
First, we felt the chilling 14-degree mornings. Schools closed due to a "threat" of snow (no actual snow on the ground) the Wednesday before winter break began and stayed closed after the snow finally came Thursday, Dec. 18.

The snow days made for some nice sledding and leisure time. Most people had a perfectly legitimate excuse to work from home or simply not go in at all.

It's now 43 degrees and wet. All the slippery snow is slush, but it's nice to have the roads back and drivable again.

Here's the view of Beaver Lake Friday, Dec. 19, after the initial snow.



See the Sammamish Review and Issaquah Press Web sites for more snow photos and video.

www.sammamishreview.com

www.issaquahpress.com



— Christopher

Cool experience at a state football championship

Check out my new multimedia work from the 2008 Washington state 4A Football Championship game between Skyline High School and Issaquah High School.

This video is the first for the Issaquah Press and I got to be the guy to make it.



Skyline won 20-15 and completed its second straight undefeated season. This was its second state championship in a row, as well. Last year, the Spartans won the 3A title game against O'Dea.

Stories and photos from the game are available at:

www.sammamishreview.com

and

www.issaquahpress.com


— Christopher

Cool travel video

I want to go here right now:


Ibo Island - Sand Spit from Free to Adventure on Vimeo.

Travel Video

Just found a funny clip from the Travel Channel. Thought I'd share it.


Anthony Bourdain ATV Wipe-Out from TravelChannelTV on Vimeo.


Not sure I'd want to eat at this restaurant. A little odd for me.


Anthony Bourdain - "Hospital Chic" from TravelChannelTV on Vimeo.

Dramatic Weather in East King County

The clouds finally lifted a bit today and allowed people in flood-prone areas of eastern King County to clean up after the rivers crested earlier today. I happened to be driving home from work when the majestic clouds opened up over downtown Issaquah.

This is from the Highlands area on the Plateau.

More that I never published

These photos come from my take on the Ruth Mountain trip in early August. Most of them are from the summit at 7,100 feet. The sunset photo is from our camp about 300 vertical feet from the summit.








Above is a spot on Icy Peak, where we stopped to fill our Nalgenes with snow melt straight from the snowbank. After six hours of tough climbing, that was the coldest, most refreshing break.

Photos that never got posted

Here are some photos that have yet to make it on this blog only because I was too tired or too busy to post.

The first ones are from the Wooden Boat Festival in September...

Hang gliding off the Butte

Redmond, Wash. resident Tom Johns is gets a running start to launch himself off the top of Chelan Butte Oct. 12 in Eastern Washington. He said he has been hang gliding for years and has participated in day-long races. Chelan Butte has been an incredibly popular launch point for avid flyers over the years. Gliders take flight off the mountain and gain lift from the thermals coming off the ground, according to Johns' wife Lori Johns. People have been known to catch thermals and wind currents all the way to Oregon, about 150 miles away.



— Christopher

Photojournalist Wins TED Prize

A photographer friend of mine from Western Washington University posted this video to his photo blog recently. World-famous photojournalist James Nachtwey is one of those photojournalists who inspires anyone who seriously wants to become a professional visual journalist. I studied Nachtwey's work as a student and continue to use some of his ideas in my work.

You can also click the title of this entry to see the presentation.



-- Christopher

Lake Chelan for a Weekend

Sorry for the long periods without material. I am not doing as much serious travel as I was last year. Despite recently finding legitimate jobs that we both love, Julie and I have still done some short trips out and about. The hope is to keep material coming. Mostly a photo or two at a time as we travel around our home, beautiful Washington state. Not going to run out of blog postings anytime soon. If you still check this, keep reading and viewing from time to time.

We recently spent the weekend in Chelan, where our family has a condo on the lake. I grew up going to the lake and spending time in town and at Chelan Butte. The drive to eastern Washington from Seattle is magnificent — I've rediscovered the absolute splendor of it after being away in other parts of the world over the past few years. The apples are the best in the world — it is the apple capital of the world, really. Some are the size of your head — almost.


Apples for sale in crates at a small Saturday market in Chelan. Locally grown apples run about $4 for a 5-pound bag. Quite a deal.


Manson, Wash. resident and long-time farmer Juan Laberrigue, 62, smiles as he prepares to close up shop on a late Saturday morning in October. He sells pumpkins and apples on the weekends and has been farming for 40 years.