Cougar Rock Campground, Mt. Rainier Pt. 2

Days 2 and 3!

We finished off our second day exploring a bit more of Elbe (the other side of the street haha), and driving up the mountain to Paradise- stopping a million times to take pictures. 

They had the prettiest dumpsters I've ever seen!

Our first stop on our drive up from the campground was at the Nisqually River.  Standing on this bridge made you feel incredible and tiny and sort of off balance all at once.  The river basin is so massive.  I would love to see this river in early summer when the snow is still melting.

Onward!

Can you see Paradise Lodge tucked back in there?  This area was quite developed, considering the rest of the park.  We spent a good few minutes picking up other people's trash (UGH), but were rewarded for our efforts when this little man came sneaking out of the bushes right after we got back into the car!

We finished off our second day with a short hike to a waterfall, more salmon, Carlo Rossi + Pepsi (pure class!), and an extra noisy cricket bombarding the campground (yes, just one).

Sunday morning Becca dragged me out of our tent and up the mountain on a morning run.  Yes!  I started following this 5k training program about four weeks ago now and am doing an awesome job of sticking with it.  Becca kicked my ass, and we honestly couldn't have asked for a better view.  Take that, downtown Ballard.  After our run we ate an awesome breakfast (eggs! muffins!), broke down the campsite, and headed down the mountain to Carter Falls trailhead.

Carter Falls is a fairly short and easy hike, with some great views and lots of neat things to check out along the way if you know what to look for.  It's also a great location to kick back and enjoy a fresh, cold Rainier tall-boy.  Oh yeah, we did.

Brittany the Naturalist discovered a bush of red huckleberries that had most likely been avoided by other hikers, not knowing what they were.  Score for us!

I love glacial dumps!  The woods near my dad's house growing up was full of these crazy huge boulders that had been dumped by the Mendenhall Glacier years before.  Mt. Rainier is full of these, and I really can't get enough.  They're so fascinating.

Things quickly deteriorated once we reached the falls...

 

  

We got some silly looks and some looks of envy from ladies who got it, and then headed back down to hit to road back home.

I suckered Amy into making a pit-stop with me at Copper Creek Inn to pick up pie.  Yes, pie.  Of all of the things to research before this trip- the one thing I figured out was that there was pie.  Good pie.  I actually just bought a frozen pie to bring home and bake, so that Matao might still love me a little.

All in all- a great weekend!

*Photo credits for the sly fox, and ladies w/ Rainier go to Brittany!  Thanks love!

Cougar Rock Campground, Mt. Rainier Pt. 1

I just got home from a beautiful three-day camping adventure with some of my favorite ladies.  We booked two sites at Cougar Rock Campground within Mt. Rainier National Park, mostly just because it was a good "halfway point" between Portland and Seattle.  We didn't know anything about the area or how far into the park we would be.  It ended up being my absolute favorite campsite that I've been to in Washington.  I'm already plotting our next trip back.

Dinner both nights was wild sockeye salmon with herbs de provence, fire garlic, and butter with local rosemary bread.  The first night we grilled corn, and the second night we had potato salad with fresh herbs and green beans.  Take that, hot dogs.

The camp hosts were getting ready to leave when we showed up and gave us all of their leftover wood for free!  My car still smells like cedar.

We spent our second day checking out nearby towns Ashford and Elbe.

 

 

Yes!  That's a combined ASMI + Alaskan Brewing Company sign! 

  

 

We came across an estate sale- they had so many vintage glass blue Ball canning jars!  I only bought four and I've been full of regrets since we left.  As consolation- I did also pick up a gorgeous turquoise and pink wool blanket, and we got to play with the cutest crustiest little old pug named Annabell!

In Elbe we got a little silly over puppies, and the fact that the entire town was basically made up of train cars.  I shared an elk burger with Brittany and resisted the $1 jello shots (ew!)

I'll post the rest of the pictures from our second and last days later this week!  We went on a really nice hike, drank a Rainier tall boy in front of an epic waterfall, and picked up a huge beautiful blackberry pie from a local bakery.

Gorgeous and Affecting

I love this so much.  How To Be Alone:

Giveaway! One Pound of Fair Trade Organic Coffee from The Green Coffee Bean Company!

My good friend Brittany helps run a wonderful little coffee shop based out of Ketchikan, Alaska, and has offered up a pound of wonderful fair trade, organic coffee to one lucky reader!

 

Hello!
This is Barista Brittany from The Green Coffee Bean Company. We are proud to be hosting this month's giveaway!  We're a little coffee shop in Ketchikan, Alaska, where we roast all of our coffee in small batches with lots of love!

We are giving away one pound of our super delicious coffee of the month (which is also Fair Trade and organic), Ethiopia Harrar Longberry. Here's a little bit of info about the Harrar:

"The district of Harrar is located in the Northeast area of Ethiopia at about 5,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level . Longberry is a large, long-pointed bean. They are grown by hand on small peasant plots and processed carefully by the traditional, dry method which brings out characteristic wild, blueberry undertones, flowery aroma, medium acidity and heavy wine-like body. A very special treat with any blueberry dessert!" It's delicious and one of our best sellers, so we're happy to be sharing it with you!

To enter the giveaway, go to our Big Cartel shop and find a coffee that you'd like to try, then come back here and leave a comment with the type that caught your eye.  Extra entries can be made via Twitter. Tweet about the giveaway- and be sure to include a type of coffee, and @renaimarie to make sure that your tweet is seen!  One blog entry and one Twitter entry per person, and please remember to leave contact information in your comment so that we can reach you if you win!  The giveaway is open until the end of the day August 24th.  One winner will be chosen randomly and announced here on August 25th.
 
As our gift to all readers: for the rest of the month you can enjoy a 20% discount on all of the coffee in our shop by using the code "GHOST" at checkout.
Feel free to fan us on Facebook at or follow us on Twitter!

 A strong Coffee by the naked snail

Thanks, and good luck!

Flying Cats

I know!  All I've been posting lately are pictures- but I can't stop laughing at this!  I stood on a chair to get this angle- and the little rascal totally hammed it up for me. 

Photo collage created via Picnik.  Thanks Becca!

Summer Love

U-pick flowers, mint, and lavender in Sequim, WA.

Farmers market green tomatoes, hand picked mint, blue cheese. 
It all went into a green tomato pie!

From Field to Jar: Raspberry Jam

After a quick trek, a closed u-pick field, and a bit of navigation- Saturday afternoon was spent going a little bit crazy picking raspberries at Harvold Berry Farm in Carnation, Washington.  We had originally set out to pick at Remlinger Farms but when we got there we found out that their raspberry field was closed that day, and they directed us down the road to Harvold.  We were not one ounce disappointed, as the field was full and the berries were sweet.  Plus at $2/lb there really isn't much to complain about.  Matao and I ended up with fifteen and a half pounds!  Only a small portion of those berries went into the freezer or were eaten fresh.  The rest were made into jam!

 

The recipe that we used is just about the easiest jam you could ever make.  It consists of two ingredients: raspberries, and sugar.  That's it!  I prefer to use organic unrefined sugar, as that's what I normally cook with- but feel free to use whichever type you prefer.

Ingredients:
- 4 cups sugar
- 4 cups fresh raspberries, crushed (I pack them into my glass measure and smush smush smush)

Directions:
1. Sterilize your jars, rings and lids.  (At this stage just do the first and second steps.)
2. Add raspberries to a large stainless steel pot.  Bring berries to a full boil, smashing them with a potato masher or large spoon as they heat.  Allow to boil hard for one full minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add sugar, and return to a boil.**
4. Boil until mixture begins to form a gel.*  This may take from 5-10 minutes.
5. Spoon hot jam into dry, sterile jars.  Process using the second part of the directions from step one.  Here.  When your lids make a cute little "ping!" sound- you know that they're sealed!

* "To determine when the mixture will form a gel, use the spoon test: Dip a cool metal spoon into the hot fruit. Immediately lift it out and away from the steam and turn it horizontally. At the beginning of the cooking process, the liquid will drip off in light, syrupy drops. Try again a minute or two later — the drops will be heavier. The jam is done when the drops are very thick and two run together before falling off the spoon." - Source

**  If your jam seems too foamy once it starts cooking- adding a dab of butter to your pot will take care of it.  Otherwise it's fine to skim the foam off the top once the jam is done cooking.

Also note: It's perfectly normal for your entire kitchen to look like this once finished!  Our arms, faces, shirts, and hair were covered in little molten jam specs as well.

Frozen Treats Link Love!

I have made and eaten so many delicious frozen things lately- it seems only fair that I share a little frozen link love!

- Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Bars from Eat Me, Delicious look so, so good.  I haven't made these yet.  I'm a little afraid to make them, honestly.  I may never want to eat anything else ever again.

- This recipe for chocolate sorbet doesn't look like much.  But it is absolutely ridiculous.  In the best way ever.  It's like eating frozen creamy fudgy cake batter, except that it's vegan and really not that bad for you.  I used classic mint from Theo in mine, as well as a touch of espresso powder, and the combination is surprisingly good.  Each bite tastes different and complex.

- This Blueberry Ice Cream doesn't require an ice cream maker or egg yolks and kind of makes me want to cry just looking at it.  I still have quite a few frozen blueberries from my trip home last fall and I don't think I'd have any issues at all using some of them up this way.

- My lovely friend Becca just posted a recipe for Vegan Raspberry Ice Cream which she says is "like creamy sorbet, but somehow not sherbet-y."  Works for me!

- Chocolate Gelato with Salted Caramel Pecans is probably my soul mate.
 

- And because I quite literally cannot get enough of fruit and berries in/on/with ice cream- this Cherry Lambic Ice Cream Float sounds like sweet perfection in a glass.  I love raspberry lambic with an unashamed and undying passion, and although I rarely drink it due to its syrupy sweetness- I think that this is the perfect way to do it.  Especially in August.  Especially on our patio.

What are your favorite frozen summer treats?