Liya hosts a belated birthday party sleepover. Her birthday’s at the end of August, when many kids are still out of town, so she often ends up celebrating with her friends in September — or, this year, October. She and her friends Charlotte, Emily, Radha, and Yula spend the afternoon at the Paint the Town ceramic studio. In the evening, they watch not one, but two Studio Ghilbi anime movies: Totoro and Nausicaä. By the time the second movie’s over, they’re exhausted.
Bree creates a little office for herself in an unused corner behind the piano in the living room.
Jan’s last backpacking trip of the year — number eleven! He heads to Washington’s Methow Valley and the Okanogan National Forest in search of some fall color. The weather forecast calls for rain, unfortunately, but Jan heads out regardless. (He needs some practice backpacking in rain.)
He stops for lunch in Pateros, WA, along the picturesque Columbia River.
At the trailhead, the forest is shrouded in fog. It’s very, very quiet. Until, that is, a hidden bird directly over Jan’s head bursts into a deafening alarm call. It’s not clear whether Jan or the bird is more alarmed.
There’s a submerged log at the left edge of this stream crossing, which has created a ribbon of floating green leaves.
The forests of Eastern Washington are known for their larch trees, whose needles turn golden yellow in the fall. The larches are a little past their peak foliage, but they’re still beautiful, especially against the contrasting dark green of the pines.
Thursday night’s camp is at quiet Cooney Lake.
On Friday morning, Jan climbs up to the crest of the Sawtooth Ridge and the top of the Angel Staircase. There are expansive views in both directions. This photo is looking west toward Lake Chelan, which is covered in low clouds.
The mountain track near Boiling Lake, heading up toward Horsehead Pass.
Looking east from Horsehead Pass, clouds from the Columbia River are creeping up the valley.
In some places, the fallen larch needles create a yellow carpet that all but obscures the trail. Here, some faint dirt bike tracks provide a clue as to where the trail is.
An eddy in a stream pushes drifting larch needles into a perfect circle.
Some more fall color.
Jan’s destination for Friday night is Upper Eagle Lake, a small lake in a bowl surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. A lid of clouds covers the ball, letting in diffuse light. It feels a little like being inside a giant Tupperware container.
At sunrise on Saturday morning, the lake basin puts on a spectacular show. There’s still a lid of clouds over the area, but for a short time, the rising sun shines below the clouds.
The west face of the lake basin is lit up. Along the dark shadow arcing across the middle of the photo, you can see the shadows cast by treetops on the eastern shore of the lake.
The color changes by the minute as the sun comes up.
Larches on the opposite shore
The sunrise show ends with a bang: a rainbow above the lake.
After two days of fog, clouds, and mist, the skies clear for a bit. It’s now possible to past the cloud-covered Columbia River to the mountains beyond it.
Two of our long-time friends, George and Joe, celebrate 25 years of working at Microsoft. They both joined the same summer Jan did. Joe’s wife, Kristina, organizes a reunion dinner of a number of people who started at Microsoft that summer, and it’s great to reconnect with our old friends.
In celebration of Sloth International Day — a day dedicated to the slow-moving two- and three-toed tree creatures — Liya and Bree decorate the house with pictures of sloths. Liya writes up a sloth-themed crossword puzzle, and hides it in today’s copy of the New York Times waiting out on the front stoop.
Anya’s school ultimate team flies to Winnipeg, Canada, for the annual “Hold Back the Snow” tournament. Something like a dozen teams play.
For the week leading up to their Friday departure from Seattle, Anya had been sick, so it was touch-and-go whether she’d be able to attend. But she began to get better just in time, and didn’t have any problems over the weekend. She and her teammates were billeted with host families for Friday and Saturday night.
Anya’s team wins all of their games, and takes 1st place! This is the first time her school has won the tournament since 1999, so the team is very happy.
Bree dresses up in a curious assortment of Jan’s things: sweatshirt, down jacket, and rain hat — but also reading glasses and slippers.
Bree really, really, really likes to sew. She recently received a new, fancier sewing machine as a birthday gift, and she’s been sewing up a storm. It does, in fact, look like a storm has passed through.
The girls’ school holds their annual Halloween parade. The new tradition is for 8th graders to walk with their kindergarten buddies, so Anya walks in the parade with her buddy, Claire. Anya’s dressed as one of the middle-school teachers; Claire is a swan.
Bree’s a happy penguin! Angela and Bree worked together to sew the body and penguin feet.
Bree opens a “Free Hugs” store. She later expands her product lineup to include kisses.
We invite some families over for Halloween: Pam and Greg, Karin and JP, and Satoru and Hiroko, plus all of their children. After dinner, we go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. It’s a fairly pleasant Halloween night by Washington State standards: not very cold, and barely any rain.