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Wayward Coffeehouse

Wayward Coffeehouse (not Wayward Café!)

Dad and Kim were bike shopping for Kim. She was at Ride Bikes on Roosevelt, and with the assistance of their helpful sales staff, Kim found the Surly bike she was looking for.

Afterwards, Dad and Kim went out looking for a cup of coffee. Kim mentioned that she had seen a place on the corner. They wandered over that direction. There are so many coffeehouses in Seattle, that any one needs to be at least a little special to stand out among the crowd. Read More…

May 25, 2016

in Mongo, Seattle
8 Comments

Why Fear of Predators is Important

A study was just released that documented that the “fear of predators” is as important as the predator’s presecence itself. As humans hve removed the apex predators in many ecosystems, the behavior of the meso-predators has changed, allowing them to spend more time eating and sleeping and less time worrying about getting eaten. (See more at Seattle Times by clicking HERE.)

Why is this an important issue? It is important mostly so we can avoid this…

Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. However, when Emerald City Comicon rolls around in Seattle, we get visits from all the superheros, including the real Squirrel Girl. This Squirrel Girl was just lucky that Mongo and his sidekick Spork were not downtown on this day.

April 23, 2016

in Bicycling, Seattle
7 Comments

First Crossing

This month (April 2016) marks the grand opening of the of the Longest Floating Bridge in the World. The 520 bridge which spans Lake Washington east of Seattle celebrated its grand opening the weekend of April 2nd with two major events, the Bridge Run, and the inaugural Emerald City Bike Ride (ECBR). The ECBR was sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club. Dad was lucky enough to get a spot in the ECBR, and the morning of April 3rd found him loading up his bike into the back of the truck, while explaining to Mongo why Dad was flying solo that day. Read More…

March 27, 2016

in Seattle, Travel
6 Comments

Return to Pipe Creek

It might not seem intuitive to most that Dad would return to Pipe Creek Snow Park after his last adventure there, but if one word describes Dad, it is persistent. If Dad decides he is going to enjoy himself; by golly, he is going to enjoy himself, even if it kills him. Pipe Creek was no exception.

This time, Dad left Mongo at home. Mongo’s back had been acting up, and though his condition has been slowly improving as he loses his holiday pounds, Dad decided to give him a rest.

Instead for this trip, Dad decided to drag Kimi and her friend Reed along. Dad rode his bike and met them at REI. Kimi ran there, and Reed drove so the crew could all get back home safely. Reed and Kimi rented X-C skis and boots. Dad had all his gear at home ready to go. The kids were good sports to humor ol’ Dad.

The next day dawned with a steely grey palette.

Keechelus Lake

Dad deftly piloted the truck through Snoqualmie pass and over into Central Washington State. As the team left the pass they opted to stop in Gunnar’s Cafe to grab a bite before heading to Blewitt pass. As they hopped out of the truck, their attention was drawn to some additional hopping over near the sidewalk.

Mountain Quail

They had surprised a pair of mountain quail in the parking lot. There was lots of scrambling on both sides as Kimi tried to get a picture and the quail tried to get away from Kimi.

The skiing as Pipe Creek was similar to the last rip. The snow was heavy again, and there was a little less cover then last time. Kimi and Reed valiantly followed Dad down the trail. Reed picked it up quickly and was soon doing better than Dad. Kimi took a little longer,

Kimi is an excellent downhill skier and carves the best turns int he family. But as Dad was learning, X-C skiing was done with the skiis flat on the snow. No Edging Allowed. Reed picked this up quickly. Dad learned by watching Reed. Kimi had a tough time transitioning from carved turns to skidded turns, but came along nicely by the time they finished up the day.

: Standing up is the hard part

: Kim & Reed at Pipe Creek

: Pipe Creek Bear

: Checking Coordinates

: Pipe Creek Finale

Back at the car, the exhausted group piled in and headed for a local tourist destination, the tiny mining hamlet of Liberty, WA.

March 23, 2016

in Seattle, Travel
2 Comments

Cinerama

What is there to do in downtowm Seattle in the eveinings? Well, there is dining, sports, music, theatre, dance, and of course, cinema. In fact, there are several cinemas downtown, but only one capable of showing the original 3-panel Cinerama spectaculars; Seattle’s own Cinerama.

The history of the theatre is highlighted in the gallery below¹.

What sets Cinerama apart from the other cinemas that offer decent concessions, wine & beer, assigned seating, and first-class seats? This…

More Wicked Weather in Seattle

A vicious storm rolled through Mongo’s home town again this past weekend leaving one fatality. One person was killed when their car was struck by a falling tree. On Sunday (3/13) ,the National Weather Service tweeted, “Storm looks like a hurricane! The central pressure is deeper than expected, 978 mb.” The tweet included a picture of the swirling storm offshore from Olympic National Park. Back in West Seattle, 70 MPH + gusts were toppling trees all over town.

: West Seattle Junction

: West Seattle Junction

Mongo refused to go outside alone. Dad stood at the back door with him and the watched the tall firs on the side of the house swaying dangerously in his direction. As they stood there transfixed at the back door, they hear a loud thump in the front of the house. Surprised by the sound, Mongo let loose one of his low rumble barks. Dad and Mongo walked out to the front yard and saw a large limb had bounced off their roof. There didn’t seem to be any damage, but they didn’t spend much time outside looking at it. A branch like that could cause some serous damage if it caught the boys outside.