Walking around Bellevue....

It was a neon blizzard! And we hope that is the only form of snowflakes we see all winter THIS year in western Washington! :)

Tonight Debbie and I went for a walk with Myrna around downtown Bellevue. A little shopping, a little sight-seeing.....a little rain. It was quite nice.

Our first photo together since we arrived in the North Seattle/Bellevue field last week. It's great to work with Debbie and I look forward to our friendship growing.

We enjoyed the festive feeling in the air with the lights coming on and the shoppers out---without any frost in the air!

Fancy stores and restaurants line Bellevue Way and, though the economy has not been very good, still the shoppers are beginning to think about Christmas already and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!

Co-Workers -- and our little Friend!

Out on Whidbey Island we have a special friend, Kai Gallagher. He's 4 yrs old and such a bright spot in all the lives around him. We thoroughly enjoyed staying a weekend with his grandma Marlene and mom, Sarah. If only we had a suitcase big enough, we'd take him right along with us.

Scenery from this past week:

The incredible sunrise from our field one morning last week. We all stood and watched with wonder. A perfect way to start a new day!

Crescent Lake, or Lake Crescent, out on the peninsula. We were on our way from our retreat in the woods at Forks to Carolyn's parents' place in Sequim. Anyone for a frigid swim?

Back the way we came.....what a beautiful spot!

Sister Time on Horseback!

This past week we had a day with Carolyn's sister, Lisa, in her field out on the peninsula in Western WA. Some folks know a lot about this town, though they've never been there, due to a series of books that supposedly take place there--Forks, WA. Anyway, we were out on a horse farm/bed and breakfast there so we spent part of the day on horseback. It was a great time together. Above, I'm on Taz. He is an old horse now so I can even ride him! He was wild in his youth and, yes, his name is from "the Tazmanian Devil." The man who owns the property rode him for many years and even got bucked off at least once. Now he's a great mountain horse--he can handle anything, a true gentleman.


Finally! All saddled up. Sharry (our hostess) is on Paddy, then me on Taz, Lisa on Truffles, Carolyn on Star, and Brenda on stubborn ol' Bella. Off we go!


Along the trail through dense forest--rainforest style! It was an absolutely beautiful, if a little damp, day. The vine maple was intensely gold, orange in some places, and the moss on the trees was beautiful. Wish you could have gone along.


The trail ended in a clear-cutting operation so we wandered through the mess to find a view. This picture doesn't really do the beauty around us justice but WE enjoyed it immensely. Taz lead the way back with great enthusiasm--guess the barn was working it's usual magic. :)

Yes, we did return to our field in time for our Wednesday gospel meeting--refreshed and invigorated from our "sister time" in the woods. We're so thankful for the many privileges we find along the way.

Washington Special Meetings

Kelso/Longview December 6th

Sequim, WA December 13th

Bellingham, WA December 16th

Arlington, WA December 20th


If you want a copy of "who goes where" please email me at decross@q.com and I'll send one out to folks I know. :)


Thanks for checking in!

Mt Pilchuck

Here's the mountain we climbed this sunny Monday in early October. I took this photo from "downtown" Granite Falls. Yes, we climbed right out to the very rocky point on this mountain. What a beautiful day to do it! We'll not have too many more such nice hiking days so, after a very full and busy weekend, it seemed a good opportunity for some exercise and it's benefits.

Ah! There! We finally managed to get the sign, and both our heads in the frame! It's kind of tricky when there isn't a third along to take the photos. By "Summit", behind my head, it says "3" as in 3 miles. Here we go....6 miles on a sunny afternoon but we're a little tight on time. We ended up going up and back in just about 2 and a half hours. Not bad.

The view in the lower elevation as we came out of the old-growth forest. Notice the color beginning in the bushes. It sure was a grand and glorious day.

At one point along the trail we found a place for a photo-op. A passing hiker was kind enough to take this photo. We thought it would make a good companion photo.

This was the view down from close to the summit. Snow had fallen here and on the northeast side of the mountain it didn't melt even though the day was sunny and clear. Fall is definitely here now.
Mt Pilchuck has a lookout at the top just like Three Fingers (last week) did. So we're finally there!
Here's Carolyn climbing the ladder into the lookout. Us and our ladders!

Just across the valley we could see the mountain we climbed last week (last post). Three Fingers is over 6000 ft high and just the day after we hiked it it was covered with this snow. We just made it.
Glacier Peak is the 4th highest peak in the North Cascades at 10,520 ft. We were lucky it was such a clear day in October.
The views of the other mountains around us from the summit lookout was outstanding. Here is Mt Baker in all his glory. He stands at 10,781 ft and is the third highest peak in the North Cascade Mountains. Western Washington is SOOO lucky!
So....here we are at the summit, outside the lookout, on an overhang of rock. We thought this might be a good companion photo. What do you think? :)

Mt Three Fingers!

The" jagged skyline of the Cascades as we drove through the pearly early morning air on our way to the trailhead. Carolyn and I were on our way to climb "Three Fingers"--a challenging 7.1 mile climb (one way) to the summit of one of these jagged peaks.

At the trailhead. Two miles to Saddle Lake, two and a half further to Goat Flats and then the final 3 miles to the summit.

The beauty of "Goat Flats" which is a little over halfway to the summit. This provides a number of campsites (no fires though) and even a toilet! No walls though...just great scenery.

The second shot is a closeup of the upper peak in the first frame. You can see the lookout perched on the summit in the second photo. The ice field (in the foreground) that has to be circumnavigated before reaching the pinnacle peaks (directly above the icefield). From the lookout on top you can see down into the blue glacier ice crevasses below.


Distant views we enjoyed along the way as we climbed.

Our destination as visible from "Tin Can Gap". On one of those peaks there is a lookout bolted onto the rock summit. The last leg of the journey will be to traverse a set of ladders mounted to the rock sides of the peak. As one friend said they really are "ladders over the abyss" as to fall would mean certain death.

I've moved from the first onto the second of the ladders to the summit and Carolyn is on the third. We're almost there!

After ascending the ladders we are standing on the rock on which the lookout rests.

Just some of the great 360 degree views we enjoyed from the lookout.

Here Carolyn and I are in back of the lookout. By the time we got to the summit the temps were in the low 40's with a bad wind so I grabbed a sleeping bag inside the lookout and wrapped up in it. I still wasn't any too warm!

By the time we left the lookout the clouds had completely descended and this is what the "ladder over the abyss" looked like.

Coming down the top quarter of the mountain was a complete white-out. Here Carolyn and I are coming down the trail. To our right it was a sheer drop off.

One of the only type of wildlife we saw all day---the marmot. There were a few of these creatures and they were quite curious about us and not nervous at all. Wouldn't eat Carolyn's peanuts though!

Weekly Trips to Whidbey Island

The grand and glorious Northwest!!!! Blue, blue skies, bluer waters and the nicest people.

A vista on Whidbey Island from the home of some of our friends. We will make this trip to Whidbey Island every week this fall as we have gospel meetings there on Thursday evenings. This week we were a threesome as Suzie hasn't left for California Special meetings yet. Next week and for about the following 6 weeks Carolyn and I will have to go it "alone." :) Pretty tough to take!
The view from the ferry shortly after driving aboard and coming up from the car deck. A delightful day on Puget Sound! Who would want to be anywhere else?!

My two companions on the ferry (The Kittitas) just as we were arriving at Whidbey Island. As much as I'd like to say that all our weekly trips will be in such glorious weather....well, I must be honest and say we will, most likely, see our share of gray, rain and drizzle on these crossings.

As those of you who really know me are aware--I love traveling by ferry and don't mind whatever the weather might be! :) However, this crossing is so short that you barely get up from the car deck, grab a drink of something (usually hot) and it's time to return to the car deck for off-loading. Ah well---it's a trip on the water!

Catch-up Time

It's been too long since I posted anything. I've gotten into the bad habit of only posting photos with short blips. Since my last photo post I've been so busy having a good time that I haven't even found the time to take photos! I know lots of you would have loved to see photos of Milltown 1 and 2 conventions and all the lovely WA folks I got to see again after 7 yrs away....not to mention how much you would have enjoyed the photos of sunny Las Vegas, while I was there visiting a very dear friend who's 88 now. You might have laughed at the photos of me lounging by the pool and diving in every 10 minutes trying to stay cool in the 100+ degree weather every day. Or...maybe you would have enjoyed the photos of the outlandishly ornate and posh casinos on the strip. Without a doubt you would have loved the photos of The Phantom of the Opera with all it's special effects and great music. Then there was the fun and gentle hike that the sisters in Vegas took a few of us on one Saturday--that would have brought a smile to your face.

But.....sorry...I was just too busy soaking up every minute to even THINK of picking up my camera. But there's hope! Now we're back in our field and we're settling in again. We'll work on getting some photos on here soon. Take care.

Sunset from Milltown

Kirstin and I walked down to the cemetery (where many friends and workers are buried) one evening recently and stayed to watch the sunset. It's a quiet, restful, reflective spot that we visit each year during preps. Our past overseer, Syd Holt, is buried there along with maybe as many as 60 friends and maybe 10 other workers. It's good to be back in WA!

Sing, Russia & Kaz Night in Laramie

I just received this photo today from our evening in Laramie last Friday. We had a potluck, sing, and Jana shared some of her experiences with us. It was a lovely evening even IF a huge snow storm the night before prevented folks from coming from Elk Mountain. We're glad for everyone who could make it and here's a photo for those who couldn't so they can see who was there. :)

Flaming Gorge, Utah

Today we had a treat! Al and Laura Anne Wilson took us on a road and sightseeing trip. We made a loop completely around the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. We began here in Wyoming at the northern tip and enjoyed these rock formations in a lunar landscape. Most of the reservoir, and the dam itself that created the reservoir, are in Utah. It was a very pleasant day with a picnic lunch and even some wildlife. Enjoy!

The beautiful Green River. Yes, that really is it's natural color. It is caused by the algae and other growing things on the bottom of the river. This is the river the town is named after. Al and Laura Anne live in Green River.

The reservoir itself. Created by the Flaming Gorge Dam, this reservoir is 91 miles long and was built to control the waters of the Green River as it fluctuated so much. It was commissioned in 1957 and JFK turned the first generator on in 1963 just 2 months before he was assassinated. The dam is to the far left of where this photo was taken. I didn't include a photo of the dam--not much to see.

Our host and hostess: Al and Laura Anne Wilson. They were great tour guides!

Our tour came complete with unexpected wildlife sightings! We came around a bend in the road to find these mangy looking sheep standing in our lane. They survived the winter and now they're enjoying signs of spring.

Towering Rock "Towers" along Sheep Creek Loop. The loop wasn't completely open but we were glad we got to see a few miles of it.


Hmmm....a lovely indication that the sun is returning to this high country. The first flowers we've seen out in the wild.


YES!!! Spring is here--we got to see a Mountain Bluebird so we know spring has arrived, in spite of a few spring blizzards!

The most stunning thing we saw all day---the red canyon that gave Flaming Gorge it's name. Absolutely beautiful!