Sunday, November 4, 2012

Hike: Seymour Canyon

Last weekend we tried to do the Two Canyon Loop through Seymour/Lynn Valleys, but there was a sign and trail name for everything but this one. I hadn't written it down beforehand so we just walked..

Gorgeous trees!


 R overlooking Seymour river with his fancy new backpack

 Gorgeous alders!
 
 And more..
 And one 'glowing' yellow tree, among the conifers

And a deer.

I think we ended up starting on the Homesteader's Trail, walking up the Fisherman's trail and then down the paved road.. for no reason other than we couldn't find the trail again... I'm not sure how!

It was really nice to be out hiking even in late October. I'm looking forward to doing some of the easier/lower elevation hikes this winter.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

October Book Update

This month I finished a bunch of stuff and read a bunch more. I also joined goodreads, username Christine L.

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins. Final book of the Hunger Games trilogy. I'm not sure that I really liked this one all that much. Sure, it tied up some loose ends and stuff, but it wasn't the best.

Letter from a stranger - Barbara Taylor Bradford. This is probably one of the worst books I've ever read. I hated the way she wrote, I hated how cheesy it was, I hated that I paid money to read it.. ugh.

Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese. This, on the other hand, was probably one of the best books I've read. I loved it! It was a really well told story, and it was really different from what I was expecting. Definitely recommend this one.

Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card. The second book in the Ender's Game series. I liked this one too, although an almost entirely new set of characters did take me a while to get into.

Extras - Scott Westerfeld. This is the fourth book from a series that I read a long long time ago. I just found out about this one, so I figured I should read it. I'd say read it if you are young and enjoy 'teen talk'. If you're older and mature, and prefer words to be written out in a normal way, and all that.. don't bother.

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield. Another really great read. This was the book club book for the month and I'm not sure how everyone else feels about it yet, but wow. What a twisted tale! It's one that I'd recommend, although it's not for those who don't like a bit of wacky drama in their books.

Dreams from my Father - Barack Obama. I really enjoyed learning about Obama's struggle to identify himself as black (his mom is white, his dad is black).. or his struggle to identify, period. Really well written and really good overall. I hope he wins this election!

The Birth House - Ami McKay. This was amazing! Good month for reading, for the most part. This was the story of a midwife during the time when science became slightly more important and midwives less so. Very well read, and it was set in Nova Scotia. Another book I'd really recommend.

Dragon Seed - Pearl S Buck. I read the Good Earth a long time ago, and really enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy this one that much and it took me a few weeks to finally finish reading it. I wouldn't bother (but if you want to read it, it's on my bookshelf!)