Nights in White Salmon

No, it's not time for the annual summer street festival in downtown White Salmon. But there have been some good things going on at night around here. There was the moonlight ski at Atkinson Ski Park on the 16th. On the way up Rte 141 to Trout Lake, we were treated to alpenglow around Mt. Adams. We need a 'this car brakes for photo ops' bumper sticker. Here is what we saw: This photo (by Lloyd) does not do what we saw justice. I'm serious. I love Mt. Adams. It hides. You can't see it from as many places as you can see Mt. Hood. But it is a beauty if you go looking for it. I swear, the mountain photo they use for Discover Card must be Mt. Adams.

We arrived at the warming hut, ate pot luck, drank a little vino, then headed out to the woods. I'd bought nifty new headlamps as Valentine's Day presents for us. Guess who got distracted right before we left the house (I believe it had to do with finding a corkscrew to take) and left her hat AND lamp behind? Lucky for me, I'm married to a guy who never wears his hat for long, and who sees well at night. The skiing was pretty in the moonlight, even though the snow wasn't great. Beasts in the night never materialized, except for the damn snowmobiles that roared past. Most were courteous enough (not running us over) but the FUMES! The exhaust definitely taints the experience. Thank goodness we were off the snowmobile trails for most of the trek. I just love nordic skiing. I'll be sorry to see the snow go.

Our other night venture last week was the Lunar Eclipse. With a huge void in our evening calendar, now that we have no kids in local schools and no jobs to go to, it doesn't matter that an eclipse happens on a week night. But we have trees around our house. We had no good place to watch an eclipse. What to do? Call Nick. "Nick, we have a great bottle of Northshore Cellars Cherry Wine (bought during our Valentine's Day dinner excursion) and a box of See's Chocolates. Put on your coat and meet us in your yard to watch the eclipse." Nick, good sport that he is, came out, provided seating and canine friends for Brindle. This is Nick with Trout, who visits him regularly from down the street. We all call Trout "The Mayor of Brislawn Loop". The moon photos were tough to take, but here is the best shot Lloyd came up with: I left the date on intentionally, by the way, since it will be a few years before the next lunar eclipse...It was a stunning night, the cherry wine and chocolates were perfect, and all the stars were out. No red carpet necessary.