Rock climbing!!

Love the Cascades!!

I have discovered the joy of rock climbing in WA and am lovin it!! There is so much to offer here in terms all the rock climbing opportunities. There is so much to do here in general, and lucky for me I have been able to take advantage of some of it.

I will start off with telling about a hike Tiffany and I went on a few weeks ago. We went to these Ice Caves a little ways Northwest of us. They weren't quite as cool as I was expecting, but alright. It was a gorgeous day, but when you walked right in front of the caves it got really cold. It isn't really ice, but carved out snow. It amazes me they stay formed the way they do. Apparently some people have been killed though walking into the caves and the snow collapsing on them. I walked close, but not inside them. It was tempting though.

The smaller of the three caves we saw

My next big adventure was heading out to Leavenworth to go rock climb. I never knew Leavenworth was such a popular area, for many things. Rock climbing in Leavenworth is supposed to be one of the best areas in WA I guess. It definitely was challenging. Had to search to find routes that didn't need gear to do. Did some tough climbs, but I loved the challenge. It was so much fun!!

Smiling before my climb!

The town of Leavenworth is a really cool town too. Its a small German town. They have lots of chain stores and restaurants but put a German look to their sign, its kind of cute. I know my mom would love exploring the stores and seeing the buildings in this town! Made me feel like I was in Germany again, almost!

Eating ice cream in town!

Last year my mom and I took a trip up to Seattle and we took a ferry over to Bainbridge Island, a cute little island via 35 min ferry ride from Seattle. There were lots of bikers going over to the island and I thought it would be cool to bring my bike over to explore the island a little more! So the other day Tiffany and I decided we wanted to go to Bainbridge and I was able to take my bike. It was so fun. I like road biking but I hate biking on narrow, busy streets. I try to find quiet, pretty streets or paved paths to bike on. This was perfect. Got to ride through tree lined streets, see good ocean views, and see cute houses.

View of Seattle and Mt. Rainier from Bainbridge

I think these are bus stops, they were cute! I saw a couple of them!

After I got done biking Tiffany and I did a little wine tasting, then went to dinner. I got Halibut Tacos, they were muy delicioso!! I think that is the third time I have ordered Halibut without outside influence. I think I like it!!

Yesterday I got to experience Exit 38. It's so funny because Exit 38 is a very popular climbing area in this spot. It is named that cause it is just right off of exit 38 off of I-90, east of Seattle. It was so funny to me when I first heard this that they named a climbing spot just after the exit you take, but hey, it works!! Did a lot of climbs out there, there are a ton to do and tons of fun! I tried practicing lead climbing a little. This is where one person is hooked to the rope and as they climb hooks onto bolts along the rock so that they can get to the top and hook the rope in to the anchor at the top so then the route can be climbed with a top rope in place. It is pretty scary cause if you fall you fall until the bolt below you catches you. I am excited to get to try it more though so I can take people climbing with me. After I get more gear as well! When you lead climb, it changes your perspective on the climb, it makes it interesting!

This was my favorite climb of the day!