The North Cascades Highway

Today Sherry (my sister-in-law) and I took a trip up the North Cascades Highway to get a hamburger at the Twisp River Pub and to see the Fall colors. The colors aren't quite out yet but we did see a few beautiful spots. It is a relaxing 4 hour day trip. We did see a dusting of snow at the Pass which is over 5,000 feet high.

This is Sherry. We left about 10:30AM and got home about 9:00PM. The hamburger was the best I've ever tasted! I had a "Portabello Bleu". They use fresh local beef and cooked it medium rare and piled sauteed portabello mushrooms on it topped with crumbled gorgonzola!! NUM!

This is Newhalem. Newhalem is a small, unincorporated community in northwestern Washington, USA, located in the western foothills of the North Cascades along the Skagit River. It is located within Whatcom County.
Newhalem is a company town owned by Seattle City Light and populated entirely by employees of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, or in local county, state or federal agencies. The town is not open to permanent residents who do not work for these certain agencies. The Ross Lake National Recreation Area surrounds Newhalem on all sides, and the North Cascades National Park boundary is approximately one mile to the north and south of the town. Newhalem does not have an assigned US Postal Service zip code and thus, for postal purposes, uses Rockport, WA 98283 as its city, state and zip code. The name Newhalem has its roots in a local Native American language as meaning 'Goat Snare'. Newhalem has Elementary school students come and camp and learn about the eco-system of the upper-skagit, the other place being the upper baker lake dam. In pre-Colonial times, the site was inhabited by members of the Upper Skagits.

I took this from Wikipedia.

Ross Lake is the highlight of the trip. It is 23 miles long going up to British Columbia, Canada.

Every once in awhile a patch of red would appear, then a patch of yellow. In a week or two it will be in full color, then all the leaves will fall in the Fall storms and then the snows will come.

I love this time of year!

It was getting late and we were losing light for good photos but this was absolutely breathtaking. (Really, I can't breathe very well at these heights). Especially with her danged dog with us!! My gosh, I have never smelled anything so putrid! He farted a few times and It smelled like rotten cauliflower!! PEWIE!!

That's it for now....time for bed!!

The best coffee maker so far!!

I love a good HOT strong cup of coffee. Drip coffee makers are just too cold for me. Heating up in the microwave just doesn't do it for me. If I make a pot, then I end up throwing most of it away. It sits there and brews and gets old tasting.
I saw this at Costco and decided to try it. If I didn't like it, I could take it back no questions asked. well I tried it and WOW! I LOVE the coffee it makes! A fresh cup each time. I can have decaf one time and then a stronger cup next time. No coffee to throw away and NO CLEAN-UP!! Just toss the K-cup away and you are ready for the next cup. Three different people can have a different cup (depends one how many different K-cups you have). It only takes 30 seconds to brew.

This is a K-cup. Pop it in the spot and close the lid, when it is brewed, toss the K-cup! I love it so much that I bought a "mini brewer" for the office. The office one doesn't have a water reservoir, so it takes 3 minutes to brew.

I told everyone it costs 50 cents a cup if they want one. (I hide the K-cups). This makes me happy for a few weeks.
Nothing like a fresh brewed cup of hot coffee to start your day out!

Ahhhhh.

My two neglected undernourished cats!

Yes, Elliott is still with me. Fat and sassy as ever! Punkin died June 10th. Her system just shut down. She was a special needs cat and sure got lucky when I found her on death row in the pound in October 2000. I had her for almost 9 years. My sister says she wants to come back as one of my cats if she dies before I do.
Cindy loves her catnip pouch! It is down to seeds and stems now. I need to plant more next Spring! It looks like she is praying for more catnip!! Maybe she is!! She picks up the pouch and rubs it all over her face. It's the cutest thing!

The sun just went down and it is cooling off fast! It was 63 degrees today and now it is 53 and heading to the 40's. I bet we get an early frost this year. I told Mary Lou we will have frost on the 17th of this month. We'll see.
Well I want to finish my Sunday night chores. It's going to take me awhile to get back into this blogging thing again. But I missed it. I just need more time to visit everyone. Sure wish Anonymous JimBob would open his own post so we can olurk on him for once!! HEE HEE HEE!