Each year, my daughter and I do a summer project together. We’ve built a working engine, done a few electronics projects, and built a huge Viking ship which her school in Florida even put on display. It’s less about the project itself, and more about learning together to plan, lay out and implement something together.

This year we decided to take a neglected patch of ground at the house, which gets little sun and no attention or use, and plant a Butterfly Garden. We wanted a place to sit and have a cup of coffee that would be durable and able to handle the climate here.

We started by clearing out the area and leveling the base material. We added Peat Moss to make it comfortable. (Yes, I helped, but Christina is in every shot because I’m behind the camera!)

Then we bought some Travertine Marble from a local quarry and broke it into pieces.  We followed with a couple of wrought-iron chairs and a table, and found a great iron gazebo.

We also allowed the dog to “help” put the gazebo together.

Next it was on to putting the walkway in, with the marble and later some moss in between the stones.

We added butterfly accents on the plant hangars and a little fence around a large pot, as well as a water bath for the butterflies.

Finally a little color and the accents.

Now we have a relaxing spot for morning coffee and afternoon chats.

Well, I’ve been down in Portland, Oregon this week and rode the latest motorcycle there as a “shake down cruise”. It’s about three hours down from Seattle, and I had a fantastic trip, with little traffic, clear skies, and amazing views. Coming home, well, that was another story. But the bike held up well, and I really liked the way it handled. I now trust it enough to take Marjorie or Christina on it.

So this Saturday, while Marjorie had to work, I offered to take Christina up to Mount Rainier. We’ve been up before, but it’s different on a bike. And I thought we might take a detour or two from our normal route, and see a little more of the mountain. We call the bike “the goat”, because of the extreme torque this bike has.

The day was predicted to be overcast and cold, but in Seattle you just never know. You just plan what you plan and deal with the weather as it comes. The morning dawned – surprise – overcast and cold. So we suited up anyway and headed through a couple of the smaller towns, stopping in Enumclaw, Washington for fuel, the food for picnic, and, well….

And then off to the mountain. We stopped from time to time to take a photo, but if we stopped for every stunning vista, we would have been there all day! As it turned out, the weather was absolutely stunning.

We met lots of other bikers on the way up, and became instant friends. Some of them had ridden all the way from California, hitting several mountains on their way to Vancouver, British Columbia. Nice trip indeed!

We stopped for lunch  by one of the many lakes on the mountain, and took a few shots while we were there.

And then on to Sunrise Point, where Christina met a few friends with four legs. A brief hike, and then back down the mountain, stopping for an ice cream on the way home. What a day!

Our 14-year old daughter Christina wants to be a vet, so we looked around for ways for her to volunteer or spend time taking a look at that career. We found that Washington State University, which has a vet program, holds a summer camp for kids to learn about microbes, fish, and horses. So we put her on a plane and she headed across the state to Pullman, Washington.

We drove over to pick her up on Friday. The weather on the other side of the Cascade mountains is quite different, as is the landscape. In the summer, it's incredibly hot and dry, and in the winter, it's bitter cold. It's more like the landscape in New Mexico than here on this side of the mountains.

After we picked up Christina we headed back to Spokane, Washington, where we got to stay at the Davenport hotel. The Davenport is a very old hotel that has had visitors of the likes of President Roosevelt, and several kings and queens. It fell into to disrepair until recently a family called "Worthy" purchased it and put millions and millions into it's restoration. It is the height of 19th century elegance, and my pictures don't do it justice. I'll put a link at the end of this post to better pictures so you can see it. If you ever come to Washington state, you should definitely save up to stay there. They treat you like royalty.

We then spent the day in Spokane, visiting the parks and riding the skyride.

On the way home, we stopped just before the we crossed the Cascade mountains and visited "Washington's Grand Canyon" - not quite as deep, but very stunning as its namesake. It was 106 degrees, so we didn't stay out too long!

If you get a chance, check out these photos as well: Davenport Hotel