Middle Fork Snoqualmie

I've been doing a lot of hiking and exploring posts lately, mostly because I haven't been in the mood to do much cooking. The weather here can't make up it's mind and it's wrecking havoc with my sleep, and when that happens, not a lot of cooking gets done. It's more assembling, like sandwiches and salads or just a mish mash of whatever I have on hand for dinner. I also tend to eat out more when the weather is like this. Does any one else have sleep problems when the weather is constantly changing?

My uncle, Paul, (L) and my dad

On another note, I thought I would recap my Memorial Day adventure. My aunt and uncle were in town from Iowa, so I met with them and my parents for lunch. We visited with my grandma for a little while, then went to a delicious Thai restaurant in Bellevue. Their yellow curry was very sweet and delicious! My aunt gave me a cookbook she had found, written by Jamie Oliver, who happens to be one of my favorite chefs.

My grandma and my aunt

After lunch, we headed over to Regent Bakery and Cafe in Redmond. They specialize in Chinese pastries and their cakes are amazing! Just take a look at their gallery. Aren't those just so pretty?

My 13 yr old puppy, Cimmie

My parents and my aunt went a little crazy, buying lots of pastries and cake slices. I got a red bean bun, which is slightly sweet and very tasty. (I recently went back last Wednesday and tried their BBQ Pork bun, which was one of the best I've ever had! YUM!)

Middle Fork Snoqualmie River

After I said goodbye to my parents and my aunt and uncle, I headed back home. Well, in the direction of home anyways. And I took the long route. By the time I got to the interchange to take the highway that goes to my place, I decided I was going to drive up to Snoqualmie Pass. I hadn't been there since early May, and I wanted to see how much snow was still there.

Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road

I stopped in North Bend to get some gas, then headed east. I only got to exit 34 before I decided to go explore somewhere else. I had heard about the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Trail from Jamie Samoyed on Facebook (yes, I follow a dog on Facebook!) so I decided to give it a try. I had a vague inclination as to which way to go to get there, but I was in exploring mode, so I just drove around till I found the road.

Bend on Middle Fork Snoqualmie River

And then I followed it all the way to the end of the road, where it was closed off by a gate, the whole 12 miles! The road is notorious for huge potholes, but they had recently regraded the road, so short cars like mine could get through. I got out of my car at a few points along the way to take some pictures and to walk around a little bit. I wasn't exactly prepared for any hiking, but I still walked around.

Fishing in the Snoqualmie River

In the process of this exploration, my car got really dirty. I was very pleased with it (because then it shows I've been somewhere exciting!), but the only problem is that my car is gold colored so from far away you can't even tell that it's dirty! I was rather dissapointed.

I had a fun time exploring this area and I found where a lot of different trail heads were. I think I need to go exploring more!

Thanks for reading!