Kaleberg Symbionts

Sunrise at Lake Crescent

Kaleberg Symbionts — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:00:00 AM

03/14/10 - Sunrise at Lake Crescent

It was quite a sunrise Saturday morning looking east over Lake Crescent, at least according to these images from the park service webcam. That's the moon rising along with the sun. Obviously, the sun couldn't have been that bright a the time, or the moon wouldn't be visible. It's definitely worth checking in on the various webcams now and then.

Sefrina

Kaleberg Symbionts — Mon, 8 Mar 2010 12:00:00 AM

The recipe:

The night before, soak a cup of dried chick peas in water overnight.
Start boiling six cups of water in a tea kettle.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Take a big casserole with a lid and dump in the chick peas.
Add 3 or 4 pounds of beef cut into big chunks. Pot roast is great, but it is better if there is a bone or two.
Add six potatoes.
Gently tuck six raw eggs into the ingredients so far.
Chop up four cloves of garlic and sprinkle them on top.
Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of saffron or turmeric.
When the water comes to a boil, pour it on.
Cover and put it in the oven for an hour.
Lower the heat to 250°F and let it cook for another five hours.

Snowshoeing Again

Kaleberg Symbionts — Sat, 6 Mar 2010 12:00:00 AM

03/06/10 - Snowshoeing Again

Now that the road is open again, we went up to Hurricane Ridge for some snowshoeing. The temperature was in the mid-40s, and the sun was shining brightly. The snow was a bit crunchy, but that's more a problem for skiers than snowshoers.

Of course, the parking lot was pretty full when we arrived before noon, but there were still a lot of spots. The little kids were all over the little sledding area at the west end of the lot, and the ski slope was full of skiers. It was great seeing so many people out and trudging around on the trail. We should add our thanks to the team that managed to get the road reopened before the snow melted. (That includes all you taxpayers out there.)

Dungeness Spit - The Rocks Are Back

Kaleberg Symbionts — Fri, 5 Mar 2010 12:00:00 AM

03/05/10 - Dungeness Spit - The Rocks Are Back

We took advantage of the good tides and sunny weather to hike along Dungeness Spit. The tide was low, but the beach was rocky, with a lot of erosion. We've walked the spit when it was worse, but it was rough going.

We also noticed a bird survey team. They puttered along in one of the beach jitneys. Then they'd stop, lug their spotting scope up to the refuge border and take notes for a while. The outside of the spit is for us walkers, but the inside is for the wild birds who breed there. This is just as well. As rough going as the beach was, the going looked even rougher on the other side.

Return to the Lake Angeles Trail

Kaleberg Symbionts — Tue, 2 Mar 2010 12:00:00 AM

03/02/10 - Return to the Lake Angeles Trail

We always like the Lake Angeles Trail. It is only ten minutes from town. It offers a good hard climb. You can keep going all the way up to the lake, or you can turn around at a lower elevation. The lower reaches tend to be clear most of the winter, and when they are not, they make for good snowshoeing.

This January, the road collapsed just before the park entrance, so not only was Hurricane Ridge out of reach, but the Lake Angeles Trail was cut off as well. When it reopened, we made our way up a thousand feet or so.

We found the trail is in great shape. There were a few more logs down, but nothing hard to get over or around. In fact, little had changed. Even the Christmas ornaments that someone had put up were still there. It was like coming home.

This Was Just Awful

Kaleberg Symbionts — Mon, 1 Mar 2010 12:00:00 AM

03/01/10 - This Was Just Awful

We saw this corn on the cob for sale at Pike's Place Market. Curious, we asked:

Q: "Why is it called 'pirate corn'?"

A: "Because it's a buck-an-ear."

We did warn you that this was awful.

More on Seattle

Kaleberg Symbionts — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:00:00 AM

02/28/10 - More on Seattle

We finally tried out the new train from Seatac to downtown. It was a pretty smooth ride, but no faster than the old 194 bus. Still, it gets you right to and from the airport.

We really have to ...

Kaleberg Symbionts — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:00:00 AM

02/27/10 - We really have to ...

... write a review of Spinasse. We went back again, and once again the pasta was fantastic. They had ravioli stuffed with swiss chard and walnuts, and even more amazing, they had little packets of ricotta wrapped in meltingly tender pasta in brown butter with sage. The rabbit was as tender and delicious as ever, and they did a wonderful job with their braised pork belly. The skin was crisp and the center succulent.

They're on Capital Hill on 14th Avenue between Pike and Pine. Check out their website and look at the menus.

Lake Crescent in Mist and Cloud

Kaleberg Symbionts — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:00:00 AM

02/24/10 - Lake Crescent in Mist and Cloud

The Spruce Railroad Trail is a different trail on cloudy days. We love to watch the clouds hugging the mountains.

Second Beach

Kaleberg Symbionts — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:00:00 AM

02/22/10 - Second Beach

Have we mentioned that we're having great beach weather? This is Second Beach, our favorite west end beach.

Sparkling Light at Lake Crescent

Kaleberg Symbionts — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:00:00 AM

02/21/10 - Sparkling Light at Lake Crescent

It has been sunny and calm lately, so we noticed an amazing light out on Lake Crescent. We were on the Spruce Railroad Trail, and the light reflected from the gentle ripples on the lake reflected onto the trees, sparklling and twinkling. Our camera only captured this so well.

From the Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Kaleberg Symbionts — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:00:00 AM

02/20/10 - From the Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

I'm not sure how much of this is science and how much of this is stunt, but it was written up in the journal Science. Some guy named Felix Baumgartner is planning to jump from a helium balloon from about 20 miles up. Apparently, it's pretty tricky since it's minus 100 degrees up there and the air pressure is so low that water boils even when it is that cold. Still, it sounds like it could be real science.

The accompanying picture, though, was the clincher. If you look carefully, or click for a bigger version, you can see the SR-71 spy plane at cruising altitude, and way above that is Joe Kittinger, the current high altitude balloon jumping record holder. That's probably Felix's balloon up there at the top along with an action shot of Felix on his way down.