The End of April

The month of April has seen the entire gamut of weather.......including rain, fog, high wind and power outages, sunshine and warmth, snow and blizzard conditions and everything inbetween.  Everytime you went outside, you practically had to plan for every weather contingency and be prepared for anything.  I've heard people say, "If you don't like the weather here, just wait 10 minutes.....it will change."

And this last week of April was no different......we had rain, fog, sunshine, wind and snow.  My mother, Thelma Lindsay came up to spent this last week with us, so she can attest to our weird changing weather.

On Monday, April 22, Ron and I drove over to Selah, just outside of Yakima, and met my mother.  She knew a person in Selah that she could leave her car with. ( A few days prior to this, we had a pretty good snow storm over Snoqualmie Pass and we didn't want mom driving over it......the snowstorm even shut down the freeway.)  I had my regular days of teaching, so we couldn't go and do anything those days, but finally on Friday April 26, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Bowman Bay.

 

The sky was overcast to start out with, but gradually the sun burned off, and it got quite warm.  We decided to hike around Bowman Bay to Rosario Beach Underwater Marine Park, which was about a two mile round trip hike.

 

Mom will be 85 years old in June, and she still loves to get out for a hike and is always game for a new adventure.  She's starting to slow down a little, but I can finally keep up with her!

 

As the sun came out, the water looked more and more emerald color.....that's because of the water from the Skagit River that dumps into Skagit Bay, not too far from Bowman Bay.  The water has that emerald color because of all the silt that is in the glacier and snow runoff.

 

 

Mom really liked this tree stump, so we all had to take turns to get our picture taken on the stump.

 

There is a really cool statue carving at the Rosario Beach Marine Park....it is two sided, and has plaques that tell of an Indian legend.

 

Most of the trail around the bay was pretty easy....there were just a couple of spots that were a bit steep and rocky.

Several years ago, a group of students came to this Marine Park (about 1200 people) and they completely stripped the tidepools of all the sealife in one day.  I think this was back in 1989 or there abouts.  It is still trying to recover.  The parks department has placed a rope long a path that you can walk on the rocks and look at the marine life in the tidepools.  They are trying to keep people in certain areas, so the marine life has a chance to recover.  It's taking a very, very long time.

 

(Carolyn and Thelma with the marine park in the background.)

 

I always love the color of the water in this area......emerald green.

 

From the trail around the bay, you can see the Olympic Penninsula.  Ron is pointing out Hurricane Ridge to mom.

 

There is a very nice dock at the marine park.  One year, (many years ago) when Ron was the Teacher's Quorum Advisor, he brought the boys here on an overnighter.  He remembers how he showed them all how to make sling shots and they had a blast slinging stones into the bay.

 



 

At this time of year, the Scotch Broom is in full bloom.  It is everywhere.....along the freeway, on practically every hillside.  It's beautiful and bright.....but it plays havoc with people with spring allergies.

 

There weren't too many people at Bowman Bay, even though it was a beautiful day.....probably because kids are still in school.

 

The picnic area near the campground, is gorgeous when they lawn is freshly cut.....especially against the blue/green of the water.  Do we live in a beautiful area or what?

 

After we finished our picnic and hike around Bowman Bay, we drove over the Deception Pass bridge....it's always beautiful, and always busy.  People who have never seen Deception Pass before, just have to stop and stare.....with their mouths open, because of the beauty.  All the water that goes into Skagit Bay, has to flow through Deception Pass, so when the tide is changing, it can move extremely fast, and the undercurrents are incredible.  I've seen huge boats that can't make any headway through the pass when the tide is really moving fast. 

 

 

 

See what I mean about emerald colored water......

 

Ron, standing at the lookout viewpoint at Deception Pass. Coronet Bay is the background....there is a really nice boat ramp, general store and marina.  We used to take the kids to the general store and buy a little pecan pie when we brought the boat in there for gas. 

 

On the way home, we drove through Skagit Valley to see if there were any tulips left.  We only found one field that had not been harvested, so mom and I got out to take some pictures, (while Ron snoozed in the truck.)  It's hard to describe the breathtaking color, if you haven't seen a field of tulips in person.

 

 

The field below, where mom is standing, has been partially picked, but the red ones in the distance were thick with tulips.

 

 

Saturday evening, I held a recital for my piano and violin students.  We ended up having it at our church building, which was a last minute change in plans.  (logistical problems of hauling chairs from Burlington to Everett, so we changed venues.)  All but 5 of my students played, and they did a really great job.  Most of them were pretty nervous, but they all survived and played well.  Most of them have been working on their songs for over three months......I bet that their parents will be glad NOT to have to hear those songs again!  I had bought some beautiful tulips from Skagit Valley to put on the refreshment table at the recital.  I spent all Saturday morning baking cookies!

 

 

My birthday was Sunday.  Michael and Emmy and kids had sent me a beautiful necklace, so I wore it both Saturday night at the recital and Sunday to church.  I talked to Michael on the phone on Saturday, and Stephen called on Sunday.  Jenni took me to dinner (at the Space Needle no less!) last week.

 

Below, Jenni and I at the Space Needle, for a girls night out.

 

 

Remember I stated earlier about all the changing weather this month.....well, here was another change.  There was a snow storm over Snoqualmie Pass, and the reports said "Chains required."   That stopped a lot of truckers, and casual travelers.  There was a line of cars and trucks at the bottom of the Pass.  (I'm so glad that we didn't let my mom try to drive all the way.)  So on Monday, April 29, we loaded up and started to drive mom back to Selah where here truck was parked.  The trees were totally covered in snow and it was a beautiful sight, even though we had to deal with trucks and slush and spray.  We never enjoy driving over Snoqualmie Pass, because it is the main trucking route, and it seems like 19 out of 20 vehicles are semi trucks.

 

It was actually beautiful and not too bad until we got past the top of the Pass.......

 

 

.....then it got pretty miserable for driving......snow blowing sideways, truck spray so you couldn't see, plus fog.  As soon as we got to Ellensburg, the skies were clear.....even though the wind was blowing like crazy.  Anyway, we got mom all settled, and she drove home to Pendleton with sunny skies and a tail wind.

 

Ron and I decided to drive back over Stevens Pass, even though we heard reports of snow and ice in spots.....we figured that there wouldn't be as many semi trucks.  To our pleasant surprise, it was beautiful practically all the way home to Camano Island.....the roads were bare and dry, the skies were mostly sunny and the traffic was next to nothing.  We ran into one tiny spot, where we started to get a few rain drops on the windshield, and that was all. 

 

Today, is the last day of April, and we have lots of sunshine, but the temperature is still rather chilly.  It's supposed to get up in the 70's for the next couple of days.  Sounds good to me.