Hola Mi familia, today I spent the day with the new folks of Session II of the PIARA Project, my director and fellow staff.  We first set out just South of Lima about 40km to a site known as Pachacamac, which is one of two archeological sites that are significant to Peruvian due the size of the area of over 460 hectacres, and temple where many people came to visit an oracle.  After visiting the grounds scattered with pyramids and cemetery, we made our way to a nearby popular restaurant La Casa de Don Cucho.  Lunch was ordered family style with samplings of the more traditional dishes that includes;  La evolucion del cebiche (fresh raw fish in lime sauce and onions with sides of peruano maize and papas), and some chicha morada (a non-alcoholic, sweet beverage purple corn drink native to the Peruvian Andes).  The afternoon was followed by a visit tot he Nacional Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and Peruvian History.  Unlike the other Museum Larko which is more of an art gallery the Nacional Museum displays an array of Peruvian artifacts and timeline that would make any Peruano proud.  Tomorrow we meet early once more and head off to a bus line and head North along the Peruano Coastal Highway for some time then head East up and over a 14,000ft pass over the Cordillera Blanco and into the highland Andes to the Town of Caraz.  We will have a day or two in Caraz (about 7500ft) to get acclimatized before headed up in small cambi bus/taxi to Hualcayan to our home/village for the next three months.

July 3 - traveling from Seattle through Dallas and Miami, soon to depart for the final leg to Lima, Peru. It's been a smooth trip so far, but I must admit it was tough to depart Seattle this morning after a blue sky and a perfect 57F (Seattle Summer). A huge thanks to my dears friends David and Paul for allowing me to stay with them and escape to the mountains as often as I could and did. Farewell my PAC N.W. friends, I plan to see you later this years we bring the holidays and year to a close.

Just returned from a wicked adventurous hike with my buddy P.R. David (aka Tigerlily), we traveled over Snoqualmie Pass today and North of Cle Elum on Hwy 97.  We made our way up and onto the Teanaway Ridge to get a spectacular 360 view of a brilliant clear blue sunny day.  Mt. Rainier as well as Mt. Adams were in clear site.  With such incredible conditions we opted to continue our hike and make our way to our high point for our day in the Wenatchee Wilderness atop Mt. Miller at 6450ft.  Enjoy the photos from this nearly perfect day and know you were in my thoughts while I danced along the summit.  Cheers!

This past weekend of June 23-24th I was able to escape back at our mountain retreat deep in the Cascades Mountains.  Despite iffy weather the turn out of town folk and visitors cruising up and down the Mountain Loop Highway made for a very successful bake and craft sale.  It was also Rob's 41st birthday on Saturday and we were able to take a speedy hike up the mule trail that's currently being blazed up to Marble Pass.  We slid, slipped, and fell in mud just a few times and had a blast as grown kids of Silverton do so well.  A short time later a powerful cell swept through Robe Valley and numerous trees fell across the Mtn Loop.  Fortunately Randy made it to the cabin for a short last visit to say hi to folks and goodbye before darting back to Seattle to catch a redeye back to the easy coast.  Sunday was much more quiet with initial rain but by noon the sun broke through and the day turned out nearly perfect.  During the gathering and selling of Silverton goods we had one visitor that truly made our day.  It was the appearance of Dorothy Owens and her son Brice.  Dorothy had living for a period in Silverton early in her years and recalled stories of her time there like it was only yesterday.  Now at the age of 93 she was still sharp as a whip calling to everyone by name under the tent.  We took our turns saying hello and asking for more stories of the past especially of those about her Uncle Lucky that to this day is well remembered.  Before departing back to Seattle I had a few cabin items to tend to on Monday and with the weather near perfect once more it was difficult to commit to leaving.  So a couple of lattice fences to post around the porch and turn 2 cords of wood into a holzhaufen around a tree and down the highway I coasted.  See you soon Silverton and thank you for a blessed weekend!

The beginning

Let this be the beginning of a wicked good time.  It is my intent to share with you some of my travels, in doing so it is my wish for you to feel as though you are experiencing this adventure with all the enthusiasm and leap of faith you can muster.  Do let me know what you think we should or shouldn't do and we'll find out together how to have the time of our lives.  TOGETHER!  Let's go...