Urban Adventure: Washington D.C.

In our 8 years of marriage, we have never taken a 'non-outdoor adventure' trip together. We've taken all kinds of fun trips: skiing into yurts in Oregon, camping & climbing in Southern Idaho, ice climbing in Colorado, flyfishing (and camping) in Montana, backpacking in Washington state, and so on. So when my dear friend Arielle announced that she was to be married in Washington D.C., we thought it was due time for us to take a different kind of vacation.

The idea was to stay in a comfy hotel, explore the city, help out with the wedding, and enjoy the special day. We stayed for a full week, but there is so much to see and do in D.C. that we couldn't fit it all in, believe it or not! Here are a few highlights:

Old Town- We stayed in Alexandria, or Old Town. It is quaint but lively, with original cobblestone streets and narrow, old houses. This is a very cool neighborhood and a great place to stay in D.C., with easy access to the rest of the city via the Metro.

Our super posh hotel

Museums- It is truly amazing how much time could be spent visiting museums in D.C. Many of them are free, all are extremely interesting and worthwhile. We looked through the Museum of American History, the Museum of Natural History, the National Archives, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Art Museum, and the Crime & Punishment Museum. (italics = favorites)

Memorials- Our camera died the day we visited most of the memorials, so we're sad to have no pics. At the Vietnam Veteran's memorial, we were astonished by the enormity of the wall, which is inscribed with 58,256 names of those who gave their lives in service in the Vietnam War. We also really enjoyed the Lincoln Memorial. Brandon got to spend some time in the Arlington Cemetery. He was impressed by its size, the sheer number of men & women who have sacrificed much in their lives of service for our freedom.

Thanks to our Navy family & friends...part of the Navy Memorial

Washington Monument, in the snow

Good Food- D.C. is known for its food...but we struggled a bit in this category. There were almost too many options to pick from. Plus, we are accustomed to less expensive -but still high quality- restaurant options. In D.C., we ended up paying too much for less than amazing food a couple times...so we decided to check out Ben's Chili Bowl, on recommendation from Arielle & Doug.

a line out the door, music bumping loud, chili dogs & pump cheese fries

...a great place for cheap, grease-bomb food and people-watching!

Government Buildings- We couldn't get in to see the White House, the House or Congress. But we admired all of the buildings from the outside. Unfortunately, the camera died just after a visit to the Capital...so again, only a few pics.

The Supreme Court

in front of The Supreme Court, the Capital behind us

The inside of the Capital dome

We love the Metro!...maybe it'll catch on in Seattle?

In Search of Ice and Snow- Banff '09

Whenever Canada has a low snow year, they typically have a thick ice (waterfall) year. And so, given the low snow conditions consistent across the West, we headed to the Banff area for some ice climbing. We threw in the skis, just in case.

Our first venture was into the Ghost, a remote and beautiful canyon with several ice climbs. Since we haven't really had the ice tools out in a couple of years, we started with an easy classic climb that we were familiar with. This House of Sky is a rambling climb, with short 'steps' of ice that just go on & on. With two other parties on the climb, it was more crowded than we would've preferred but it was still fun.

[See the steps of ice below B]

After a few days of indulging in good food, the requisite trip to the Upper Hot Springs, and some general touristy wandering, we left Banff and headed up the Icefields Parkway to Num-ti-jah Lodge on Bow Lake.

At 2pm, we strapped on all of our gear and headed across the frozen lake to Bow Falls. Given our late start time, we agreed that we might need to do only one of the four pitches...but this is never how it goes with us. After the first pitch, we justified doing the next pitch, and then it only made sense to complete the climb.

[Bow Falls climb mid-photo]

I topped out at 6pm, the dusk light waning quickly. A party of two had gone before us that afternoon; since they didn't rappel down the route, we assumed there must be a good walk-off trail. Part of that assumption was correct...they had made a walk-off trail, but it wasn't any good. We spent the next two+ hours post-holing through deep snow, falling in up to my waist and then crawling out again. At one point, while sliding down a snow-covered cliff, the water bottle popped out of my pack, which we only figured out later when we were super thirsty.

[The small speck on the top pitch is a climber.]

Finally, we arrived at the end of the frozen lake, which meant easy, flat walking for the next 1/2 hour until we arrived back at the lodge. Exhausted, hungry, and dehydrated, we hoped the lodge staff would take pity on us and feed us a meal, despite the fact that we were now nearly two hours past their scheduled dinner hour. Thankfully, they did. We ate well and then slept really well.

This adventure had opposite effects on the both of us: I was exhausted and needed some rest, Brandon was energized and wanted to get out for more. So we took a day off to hang around the lodge, reading, enjoying the views, and playing games.

[From the Lodge, Bow Falls reaching up to Bow Glacier.]

[Num-ti-jah Lodge]

We headed out for one last climb the next day (Shades of Beauty), but only did one pitch as the top two pitches weren't well-formed.




Most of the climbs we saw were like this, with nowhere near the flow of previous years. The ice was thick enough but the routes were narrow and often chandeliered. And so...we headed to Rogers Pass, hoping to find some snow. We enjoyed seeing the pass, where they have tremendous avalanches that crash down from tall Selkirk peaks and over the avalanche sheds that protect the roadway...quite an engineering feat. The skiing was not great, mostly survival skiing over death cookies and tracked-out snow.



And so, the search continues. We're hoping the snow will come to us in a spring dump. Do your snow dance!!!

Finally!

It's snowing.

I.O.U.S.A.

We recently watched CNN's airing of a new documentary called I.O.U.S.A. There is already controversy as to the credibility of this documentary; regardless, it is an important film to watch. From the website, "I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. " In a grass-roots effort to educate the American public on our current financial crisis, this film is being played in several venues across the states. Check out the 30-minute version on http://www.iousathemovie.com/. At this site, you can also find local screenings of the full-length film. Also, read more, detailed information at http://www.pgpf.org/.

Summit Slide

Our day started out interestingly. At 4am, I could hear several snowplows working near our home. This is a normal sound but not after you've listened to a downpour of rain on your metal roof all night. We looked out and saw that there was a river where the road normally was. The pass was closed due to a natural avalanche, they were predicting major flooding in Snoqualmie Valley, and so on.

After a walk around the neighborhood to see the weather damage (the road was washed away), we stopped for coffee at our neighbors. While we were casually sipping coffee and talking, the Hyak ski hill completely slid away. It is hard to understand...what was once a ski hill covered in over 10 feet of snow (which we were skiing just two days ago) is now a mud slope. The slide knocked three steel chairlift poles out and carried them down the hill. Then it hit a couple slopeside houses, knocking one completely off of its foundation.

Everyone got out safe and unharmed but shocked. We are praying for all of you in the flood zone. Stay safe and as dry as possible.

We ski up this hill for exercise several times a week...hmmm.

The beer can -I mean, water tower- still stands.

Brandon walking across the debris pile.

House knocked off its foundation.

Norm was just sitting down in front of the fire when his house was hit.

The house was formerly attached to the garage.

I always thought I'd enjoy soaking in this hot tub
...maybe not.

The WSDOT got some good pics that show the slide closer up, if you feel like looking at more of the recent drama up here at Rainqualmie Pass:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157612242253091/show/