God's canvas

The amazing beauty of this part of the country is never-ending!!! Usually, I'm not a fan of the "scenery" shots... but I was desperately trying to capture some of the beauty I was witnessing to share with you guys!! Unfortunately, my pics don't do God's artistic work any justice, but hopefully it's enough of a teaser that you can not only appreciate the beauty, but also plan your trip to come visit!! LOL!!!

Sunday after church, Chris and I feasted on Bistro leftovers and then headed out on a mission to show me the ocean! We started at Salt Creek and did a quick hike down to "The Cove" which was a breath-taking view! It's probably my favorite spot so far!! The hike was good, minus the quick heart failure that I experienced after hearing a tree "creak". Who knew they could do that? Chris found it pretty humorous when he looked back to see the sheer terror on my face, because I was just SURE it was a bear or cougar growling at us. Altho, he did admit that it caught him off guard, too, but only for a second... whereas, my fright kept me still for quite some time! Anyway... I could have stayed at the Cove forever, just soaking up the beauty... but Chris and Gracie were ready to keep movin'... simply gorgeous!!

The view of "The Cove" from the top of the cliff

This is after the cougar got my arm... so Chris says!

Sorry for the blurriness... Gracie LOVES going on hikes and it's almost impossible to get her to stop moving!!!

"The Cove"

This is the cliff we were up on... ya know, where the cougar got me. HA!

Have I mentioned how much he LOVES my self-portraits? :-)

After our little hike, we went to another spot at Salt Creek so I could see more water! It's a cute little campground, and I guess this is where the church has their annual picnic! It's also a historical site, with old WWII bunkers that were built "just in case". We were able to walk through one that was hidden off the trail, and then one was HUGE and we were able to drive through it. It was very cool!!!!! But of course, I don't have a picture of any of that... I was too mesmerized by the water! (Remember, I'm from KS, we don't have water there!!!)

You can see Canada across the water!

After Salt Creek, we headed down the way to Crescent Beach... yet another gorgeous spot!! We walked out on the beach for a bit, but didn't stay long. I could have stayed there for hours... but again, Chris and Gracie had more to do and see!! :-) We got back to the car and as we were cleaning... wait, make that Chris was cleaning Gracie... I looked up and saw 2 huge birds coasting through the air. As they got closer, they appeared to be bald eagles, and when Chris confirmed my assumption, I was SO excited!!! I couldn't get my camera out and zoomed in quick enough before they landed in the tree... but it was exciting nonetheless!! I don't really know why I'm so awestruck with these creatures... but I am!


After Crescent Beach, we headed up an old logging road to check out the view from one of the peaks. I was already a little nervous by the one-lane road, but when we hit snow... I was more than a little freaked! His truck does great, and I totally trust Chris and his driving skills... but I'm still my mother's child and I was pretty tense the whole way up. The beauty of the view was doing nothing for me, because I was too worried about slipping off the edge and tumbling down the mountain. Thankfully, we came to an open spot and Chris turned around for me and headed down another, less frightening road! We ended up stopping along the way, to catch a great view of Lake Sutherland, which is where their family cabin is! And while we were stopped, we saw a small plane flying upside down and doing tricks above the lake. I admit, it was pretty cool... but I think it was Chris's highlight of the day!! He's going to fit in so perfectly with my brothers and dad!! LOL!!!


We made one more quick stop at the Elwha Dam and Chris took me to the spot where they rock climb... something I will never participate in. This rock wall went straight up in front of me... and then the cliff went straight down behind me. It made my stomach queasy just being there. For the first time that day, I was perfectly happy to "keep moving"!! At that point, the sun was setting and we headed home to clean up real quick and we headed to his Young Life planning meeting. One of the other leaders, Michelle, hosts the meetings at her house and hooks the guys up with dinner, so it was cool to join in on that! After the meeting, we headed to a French restaurant where Chris used to work. The owners, Michelle and Norbert, donated some dressing for the Bistro on Saturday, so he wanted to go out and thank them, and introduce me. We hung out there for awhile and enjoyed some chocolate mousse and Cognac! Michelle is a sweetheart, and Norbert... well, he's a crude, but entertaining French man. It was fun chatting with them, and it was a nice end to the day!

And finally on Monday, Chris took me to this outdoor art museum, which was pretty cool! It's true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because some of the "art" looked like a pile of junk! But I had to laugh when I saw this... this is for my Kansas folks! Apparently we have some competition to our "Biggest Ball of Twine" in Downs, KS! The NW version has a different twist, tho... with smashed computers, old skis and random street signs included!! LOL!!!