Seattle +

Here are some pics from the second half of our Seattle grand tour. I want to do one more post from Seattle: of what it's like to hike with a three year old...

On the car ferry to Bainbridge Island

The sailboats heading back after a long hard day basking in the sun

One of many hikes in the Olympic National Park. Nate more easily tires of the backpack these days, so we alternate between carrying him and him running.

Perfection

I'm holding Nate overlooking a waterfall. You'll notice he's holding his ears because it's so loud!

No Nate was not held the entire time. I promise we let him run free.

Dan surveying Mink Lake at the culmination of our hike.Then the mosquitoes came out.

Nate snacks while I admire

Buzz Lightyear down! Send for reinforcements!

We stayed in a little cabin at Sol Duc Hot Springs. Not the fanciest of accomodations, but a gorgeous setting. We shared a wall with another unit and were quite close to the main lodge/hot springs. Somehow I have no pictures of the hot springs, but you can imagine.

Bark in sunlight

Batman flies from bed to bed

On one of our hikes we found Rip Dan Winkle

It was on a hike such as this, looking up the hill as this picture is doing, that we encountered a black bear. And ran.

Hiking the Hoh. Rainforest that is. Very mossy place.

Hide-a-hoh rainforest. We played hide and seek wherever we went, it was a forward-momentum game. Better than the 'Buzz falls down' game.

The Hall of Mosses was simply breathtaking. So funny to be in a rainforest with not a cloud in the sky.

M'lord

The Dempseys take the Olympics

Longest spit in North America.

Air guitar while he sleeps, uber cool.

The pilot of our Alaska Airlines flight back from Seattle to SFO took this picture. I'm not even kidding. Nate's shirt has an airplane on it (totally coincidentally, it was the only clean one left!) and the pilot saw it and had Nate hang out in the cockpit before the flight. He said a pilot did that for him when he was young too. SO cool!

The fakest picture ever. As if! The Seattle Space Needle Tourist Center needs to alter their background options to be more realistic.