Tuesday

7.16.18

Today was a mixed bag if I’ve seen one. First I was gently woken up at 5 am by my dog sitting silently by my head watching me sleep. A bit eery if you ask me. Why is it that the silent stares tend to wake you up when you can literally sleep through the sound of a canon? Although I was able to pet the beast into letting me sleep for another couple of hours the final waking has happened way too early for my vacationing self. Nevertheless, I was able to create a beautiful morning moment for myself. I made some coffee and sat on the deck looking at the beautiful lake Roesiger embraced by morning fog. The coffee was good, the view was good and the dog was good because he disappeared and did his business in private. The coffee was followed up by a couple of hours dedicated to reading Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. It’s a fantasy which is not normally my cup of tea but once I started reading it I got into it and it became a page-turner.

The decision to hike emerged shortly thereafter. At first, I wanted to go to Heather’s Lake — one of my favorite hikes. But climbing a steep grade for 2.5 miles in 84F did not appeal and I settled for a lovely and easy hike to Lime Kiln. The trail is 6.9 miles out and back and actually gains 1,020 feet in elevation but through gentle climes that are spread sparsely over 3 miles, not the perpendicular ones. Although the hike is not exceptionally beautiful it is full of history and at the end of it you are rewarded by the view of the river I don’t know the name of. The trail goes right to the rocky shore what seems to be a perfect place for either zening out or lunch. Take your pick. There is still a lime kiln standing and was used to cook limestone for Everett pulp and ore smelting. To transfer cooked lime a railroad was built in 1892-93 and was abandoned the following year for unexplained reasons. Maybe the town of Everett stopped needing the cooked lime? Who knows. The sign identifying the railroad remains did not elaborate. A mystery it is (like my freaky puppy).

I wanted to extend the hike to 10 miles to make a full number and justify a large dinner but the dog decided otherwise and refused to take a different trail at a fork. Since I am vacationing and in a totally good mood and have all the time in the world (which ends on the 25th of June) I decided to get to a store and purchase myself some hard apple cider which is perfect for the balmy 84F weather. The Google lady brought up a number of options when I asked for groceries store and without paying much attention I chose Fred Meyers as it is one I am familiar with (and always makes me feel like I am in Alaska since this is what I frequented there and since all Freds have the same layout and feel) and know they have the apple cider I want. So, I got the route from the Google lady and in a cheerful voice, she asked me to proceed to the route identifying the four ways of the compass. So what happened was that after half an hour drive and no Freds in sight I realized the Google lady sent me all the way to Everett (or the irony) which is 12 miles from the beautiful place I am staying in. Moreover, she picked the route with most congestion. Why is it that Google lady has a mind of her own and does not seem to keep your interests in mind? It took some finagling to get a different route from her on the way back. In the end, it took me 1 and a half hours to get four cans of my favorite hard apple cider. Was it worth it?

In any case, as this post is getting too long and ranty, I finish it with the day’s turn for the better, namely that after spending so much in the car when I got to the cabin I jumped straight into the lake to wash out all the frustration. It worked, especially when I followed it by a nice cold pint of Seattle’s dry cider. Life is good again.

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