After a long hiatus...

After a long hiatus, the pics from this spring and summer are all on!! We have Nena's May visit, Jon's Alaska fishing trip, campin' with Hot Toddy and Super K and spelunking at Ape Cave.

Remember, not all the new pics are on this page. To see all of the new pics from this Spring and Summer, go to the "Archives" section on the right and click on August.

Enjoy!

Steph

natural sky light

As we approached the exit to the cave, we came upon a natural sky light (aka...hole in the ceiling). After walking underground for over an hour it was nice to see green moss and light.

what a cheeseball

I had time to goof around in there.

more terrain shots

I'm trying to get up!

Jon took this photo to illustrate the terrain upon which we were climbing. It was fun. And yes, I am going to go into that little hole up there. Claustrophobics; beware!

Striations

Notice the striations, or layers of lava flow that cooled during different time periods. There were a couple of different kinds of lava in the tube as well.

Inside Ape Cave

Ape Cave is one of the lava tubes formed via Mt. St. Helens. Learn more about Ape Cave here. There is an upper and lower level. We of course took the upper level, the most difficult. I have to say, it's for sure one of the most difficult hikes I've done simply because of the terrain. Check out our other spelunking activities at Lava River Cave, Newberry Crater National Monument, Central Oregon.

The new "fin" inside the dome

This is a good view of Mt. St. Helens' new "fin" feature that is growing about 6 ft. a day inside the crater's dome. It's been present since May, 2006 after the old "whaleback" feature collapsed. The "fin" and the whaleback look similar. (Click on the image and make it bigger) When Jon and I visited this day in August, it was heavily pluming. Yikes! :) Check out this close-up image of the whaleback taken back in 2005.

Mt. St. Helens pluming from a distance

A far away picture of Mt. St. Helens on our way to Windy Ridge viewpoint. Notice the difference between this image and pre-1980 Mt. St. Helens before her eruption.

Spirit Lake Panorama

This is a panorama of Spirit Lake, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington.

The gang's all here

Say, does a person need to wear a bright yellow jumpsuit to get into your gang?

The town of Sitka, Alaska

No, not Cicily, Alaska for all you Northern Exposure fans. This is Sitka, Alaska and fishing is big business.

Another mountain?

More beautiful surroundings in Sitka.

background's pretty good

Well I guess that's not a bad backdrop for a fishin' trip now is it? Sitka, Alaska. June 2006.

Eagle goes for the kill

Jon captures an eagle headed towards his kill in the water.

Nice chair buddy

Hmmm...something here is not quite right....

How do you work this thing?

Fisherman John looking perplexed by the intricacies of his digital camera.

Aye Aye, Captain!

Jon leading the crew at the helm. June, 2006. Sitka, Alaska.

Nena beaner and I

Had to put this one in here because it's a good one of Nena and I. We're at Salt Creek Falls.

Salt Creek Falls, Oakridge OR

This is Salt Creek Falls, the 2nd highest waterfall in Oregon. You know the first-- guess? Yep, Multnomah Falls. This fall is located just outside Oakridge, in Southern Oregon. Nena, Jon and I visited on our way back from Crater Lake in May, 2006. It's early in the season, thus the waterfall is raging.