Mountain Man

Kirk is really a Mountain Man ! He likes being an innkeeper but when he's not doing that, he loves to be a mountaineer and so does our daughter Martine. Here they are on their way up to the summit of Mt Sahale. At 8,700 feet it is one of the tallest peaks in the North Cascade mountain range.

On the long hike up they got to see amazing mountain vistas, lots of lovely wildflowers and these two adorable baby marmots. Both of them said it was one of the most beautiful hikes they have ever done.

Of course climbing a mountain like this takes hours [12 to be exact] of hiking some of which is done over glaciers. So that's one reason why I did not go on this expedition. Another reason I did not go is that climbing can be very dangerous, duh! Fortunately Kirk has been a mountaineer for years and knows how to be safe.

               And finally, the actual summit of Mt Sahale - I guess it was well worth all the effort!

Now, this is a photo of another climb Kirk did this year - Mt Princeton in the Collegiate Range of the Rocky Mountains. He did this climb with another mountaineer friend of his, Dave Clark.






Not quite a 12 hour hike but at 14,200 feet it is a much higher mountain. Pretty amazing huh?
                          He's my Mountain Man.

Mountain High Tea

  I guess it is now a traditon - every year to celebrate our birthdays Elizabeth and I go somewhere special for "HIGH TEA". This year she chose The Dusty Rose Tea Room in Georgetown Colorado - an old mining town way up in the mountains. And what a charming tea room it is: housed in a mountain home built in 1875 and providing a complete Victorian High Tea experience.... you are first asked to choose a hat to wear to make you feel in the era [unfortunately my dress is not really of the same era!] and then you choose what ever tea cup "speaks" to you.

Choosing a cup is not as easy as it sounds because there are so many fun patterns to choose from. The tea room is filled with cups, saucers, teapots, doilies etc.... just like any Victorian Tea Room would have been.










After you choose a cup of course you choose a tea from an elaborate selection. I chose a Mountain Berry Black Tea that was just delicious and appropriate because we were in the
mountains after all.
                                     

But ok, my favorite part of "High Tea" is not really the tea.... it's the FOOD! This food was really delicious. We started with a potato soup, then meat pastries, cucumber sandwiches [my favorite], little savory tarts and deviled eggs. Then we progressed to the sweet course: "historic" walnut cookies baked in honor of the chef at the old Hotel de Paris in Georgetown and other treats. The most delicious item was a small chocolate pecan tart or maybe the orange scone with clotted cream - I guess I'll have to go back to decide for sure!               

                While we finished our High Tea the owner, Jeannette Peterson, regaled us with stories of local lore and history. Then we were done with our Mountain High Tea and it was time to go home...

           So, we no longer feel Victorian but hey - I told you I was in the MOUNTAINS, right??