Maple Leafs

We went for a walk in the arboretum. A bit foggy, the leaves are falling, and the cold, damp air is here. Finally. A few pics to brighten your day:

The colors are striking!

Huge maple leaves abound.

Sun was trying to break through the fog, but wasn't able to complete the job.

Peace my friends!

Mt. Baker Walkabout

We drove up the Mt. Baker highway to see how far up the road we could get. We heard that the road was closed for the season close to Artist Point (the terminus of the road). After Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker is the most heavily glaciated of the Cascade Range volcanoes. The volume of snow and ice on Mt. Baker is greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. It is also one of the snowiest places in the world; in 1999, Mt. Baker Ski Area set the world record for recorded snowfall in a single season—95 feet!
We were able to drive until about 2.5 miles from Artist Point (5,100 feet), so we took a stroll the rest of the way. Some snow farther up the trail, but a still bit early in the season.

 Heading up to Artist point, not much snow here.

Looking down into an alpine meadow.

 View of Mt. Baker (10,781 feet), from Artist point.

Looking northeast from Artist Point to Mt. Shuksan (9,131 feet).

 Coming back down. We were expecting colder temperatures, but it was about 73 up here! 20 degrees cooler about a mile further down.

 Cool rock formation.

Stream running down into the Nooksack River (starts on Mt. Shuksan).

Peace my friends!

Kirsty and Ryan

A smile as wide as the Mississippi. Ryan does not like her arms swaddled inside the blanket!

Peace my friends!

Pops and Ryan

Holding Ryan for the first time. Doesn't get any better than this! Jamie gave me his new-dad's advice: don't drop her. So I didn't. . .

Peace my friends!