Vort Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Damp, mossy sidewalks and trees, Douglas firs towering a hundred feet or more, cool air under soft gray skies. Beautiful and restful. I love living here. I can't imagine any place more beautiful. And if I get cold, I can always be a Warmduscher (maybe even a Sitzpinkler on occasion). Edited February 12, 2015 by Vort lagarthaaz, classylady, notquiteperfect and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 That is beautiful. Vort 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolarVortex Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Weather along the Pacific has been very nice lately. Here is what I saw on a recent afternoon run (and this photo is from a cheap iPhone): notquiteperfect, Vort and lagarthaaz 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Where is this, Vort? I want my walk to work to be this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Where is this, Vort? Redmond, east of Seattle. This was taken about a hundred feet from my home. I want my walk to work to be this: A different kind of beauty, but certainly beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Redmond, east of Seattle. This was taken about a hundred feet from my home. A different kind of beauty, but certainly beautiful. My cousin works there. She gets to walk those stones multiple times a day... it's okay to admit I'm jealous... Redmond! That's not too far from Spokane! Beautiful fall colors! Edited February 12, 2015 by anatess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Redmond! That's not too far from Spokane! Beautiful fall colors! About 300 miles. But Spokane is on the eastern edge of Washington, while Redmond is very close to Puget Sound in the west part of the state. We have a towering range of mountains, the Cascades, between us, and the east of the Cascades is very much a rain shadow. So the climate is quite different. You do get some pines and scrubby firs growing in eastern Washington, but it's nothing at all like the Seattle area. I'm from eastern Washington, so I am biased toward it and like it. I especially enjoy eastern Washington weather, which tends to be cold and even snowy in winter, hot and dry in summer. But if you're going for jaw-dropping beauty, you have to go looking for it in eastern Washington. In western Washington, you just have to open your curtains. Backroads 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 I was raised in Ballard in Seattle. Any moss on the sidewalks was picked away by the neighborhood kids. The only towering tree was our Sycamore in the back yard. BUT, it wasn't that far of a walk to the little neighborhood park where there were towering trees, flowering bushes and green, lush grass. We were inland there in Ballard - yet when the tide was out we easily smelled it. Dead fish and drying out seaweed. In the fall the smell of the fallen leaves, rich loamy soil and the crisp autumn air - ah - even the thought of it makes my heart flutter and brings back happy childhood moments. Mom would send us older kids to the fish/meat market in Ballard - about a 14 block walk from our house - each block was 14 house lots long and two house lots wide - to get her lutefisk for Dad, and red snapper for the rest of us. The Mom and Pop grocery three blocks away had kosher dills in a huge pickle barrel - they were $0.25 each and huge. I couldn't eat a whole one until I was in High School. Grandma and I would share one. She would give me the quarter, I would eat what I could, then she would finish it off. There was a tiny Mom & Pop store one block from our house on the way to the park. That is where we got little paper bags of penny candy and ice cream cones. The couple who owned it, lived in the back and upstairs of the store. In the back was their kitchen, bathroom and dining area. Upstairs were the bedrooms and *bed-sittng* room. That is what the Mrs. called it. Once a month, my older sisters would take myself and the two younger sibs to the Ballard Locks. If the boats were in, we would stand and watch and wave till our arms practically dropped off. Once the boats were on their way, we ran and played on the grass. I was never without a small spiral bound notebook and a pencil. I would write down the names of all of the trees and plants. Grandma saved all of my notebooks. I wrote down all the address of the houses I walked by, all of the license plates on the cars. I even wrote down the advertisements in the shop windows. As a tween and teen, I wore cut off jeans until the end of September. Mom would put them in the Summer Trunk after she washed them- otherwise I would continue to wear them year round. I also loved Keds tennis shoes, and those no show socks with the pom poms. Once the cut offs were stashed away, then I got out the knee hi socks and long pants. I really didn't like jeans - levi's. Since I wore my older brothers hand me down jeans - and he wore the 501's - ick- they hurt my hips, chaffed them. I only liked them as cutoffs. Back then girls were not allowed to wear jeans/pants to school. Had to be dresses and skirts and the hems had better be at or below the knees. Every year for winter rains we got new umbrellas. They only lasted about a month before the winds destroyed them. I always wanted one that covered the head and shoulders and had a clear window to see out of. I much preferred the Nor'Wester fisherman's hat and slicker. The hat had to be one size too big so it went past the neck in the back. I hated gloves and wore mittens. Grandma pinned a yarn braid onto the mittens, this was pinned to the inside collar of my coat or slicker so I wouldn't lose them. By the time I was in the 8th grade, the only mittens I had were odd ones. No longer had a matched set. Didn't bother me one bit. By then I was used to being the different one in school. Wore pinafore aprons over my dresses, my shoes were not the latest fashion but lace up oxfords or saddle shoes. Never wore the saddle shoes when they became the craze in High School!! Wore 'Old Lady Librarian Shoes' with the thick/wide 1.5" heels and lace up to boot. Then my junior and senior years I wore wooden clogs. Had to, my arches had fallen and the clogs kept the bones in place so I could stand AND walk. Again I was the odd person out and I loved it. The *Popular* girls were copying me. Only I wouldn't tell them where I got my shoes. Had them made to order. I worked those years and paid for my own everything. Dad took me to this tiny little hole in the wall shop in Lake City- where they took the impression my Podiatrist made along with his "Rx" - then my clogs were made in Denmark and shipped to the US. I was earning $1.25 an hour - those clogs cost me $36.00 for the plain ones with leather tops and $46.00 for the ones with heavy flannel tops. I much preferred the leather ones. Oh - this turned into a tome - sorry for the run-away post. Backroads and Vort 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Walk to work ?? Can't imagine that...I thought I was doing good by only driving 7 miles as opposed to 60 miles. Edited February 13, 2015 by Palerider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelMarvel Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 What a lovely walk that is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bini Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Beautiful, Vort. I am pleasantly surprised by the variance in scenery here in Utah, depending on where you go. Some areas are desert landscape, with red rock and vast canyons, while other areas are dense and forest like. This state has grown on me a lot since I've lived here, and I almost feel offended when natives talk poorly of it. Backroads 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I love Utah. Beautiful area. If I were to move from here. Utah would be at or near the top of my hoped-for destination list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classylady Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I love visiting the Seattle area. It is beautiful! I love the trees. Living here in Utah, the desert, it's always a treat to visit an area that is so green. I'm looking forward to going out to visit the grandkids in April. They live in the Maple Valley, Covington, Black Diamond area, though, their house is actually located in Kent. While I'm there I usually make it to Federal Way and Des Moines to visit other family and acquaintances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolarVortex Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 With apologies to the brothers and sisters in the east, I think the least scenic state entirely within a Mountain or Pacific time zone is more scenic that the most scenic state in an Eastern or Central time zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I would move to Nauvoo if my wife would agree to it. I keep trying to convince her we need to. One of these days. PolarVortex and classylady 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windseeker Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Weather along the Pacific has been very nice lately. Here is what I saw on a recent afternoon run (and this photo is from a cheap iPhone): I wish to kite there some day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolarVortex Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I wish to kite there some day! It's a great place for kites. Even better is Ocean Beach, though. The wind there is so strong that I think you could let out a few miles of cord. I think I have a picture of it somewhere... let me see... yes, here it is: lagarthaaz, askandanswer and Windseeker 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoyoteacher Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I wouldn't be so quick to sell Missouri short. Perhaps I have a major bias here, but I've found such a variety and plethora of natural beauty in the Show-Me State that our more Western neighbors cannot offer. I've seen cave springs with water a deeper blue than you ever thought possible. I've hiked a multitude of river bluffs and have had my breath taken away at the display of God's creation every time. I've seen beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous green rolling hills of country side, untouched prairie and the most beautiful sunset that I believe can only truly come after the worst of severe weather in the heart of tornado season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolarVortex Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Missouri is a nice state, you're right. And can someone explain to me once and for all about this Adam-ondi-Ahman thing? I've never understood it, my brain is too small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windseeker Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Me at my spot 8 min from my house. Wish I could walk to work this way. Edited February 13, 2015 by Windseeker PolarVortex and lagarthaaz 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoyoteacher Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Adam-Ondi-Ahman is a beautiful spot, another one of those rolling green hills sorts of places. Northern Missouri is full of those. I won't claim to know a lot about church history, as in many ways I'm still learning, but I do know that it's a very peaceful place to visit. I went on a youth conference trip prior to joining the church, where we visited several church historical sites. We visited Liberty jail, Far West, Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Haun's Mill. I would love to travel back now as a member, because I think those places would make more sense to me now. But that trip really opened me up to a lot of information, and I remember standing up during testimony meeting at the end of the conference and briefly saying something about how I just felt so moved by everything and the experience and that I loved how friendly and kind everyone had been and how much I wanted that for myself....at which point my friend said it might be time to schedule some meetings with the missionaries at her house. The next year we traveled to Nauvoo and Carthage. Again, very meaningful experiences there. I'm a total Midwest girl at heart. I went to BYU for a short time and I saw lots of beautiful landscapes, but there's something about four seasons and rolling pastures that just makes me feel 100% at ease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolarVortex Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Oh, it's real place, then. I'll have to add it to my bucket list. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Oh, it's real place, then. I'll have to add it to my bucket list. Thanks!It's very very nice there and peaceful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 I wouldn't be so quick to sell Missouri short. Perhaps I have a major bias here, but I've found such a variety and plethora of natural beauty in the Show-Me State that our more Western neighbors cannot offer. I've seen cave springs with water a deeper blue than you ever thought possible. I've hiked a multitude of river bluffs and have had my breath taken away at the display of God's creation every time. I've seen beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous green rolling hills of country side, untouched prairie and the most beautiful sunset that I believe can only truly come after the worst of severe weather in the heart of tornado season.I am from Missouri myself. It's a beautiful state. Lots of state parks within an hour and very beautiful countryside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Walk to work ?? Can't imagine that...I thought I was doing good by only driving 7 miles as opposed to 60 miles. I walk to work every day. From my bedroom to my kitchen table where I set up my laptop. notquiteperfect, Mahone, Palerider and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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