Hiking in Mt Rainer National Park

My personal record - 6 miles (10-11 km)
walking on the snow in August!!!!

Olympic National Park

Weekend in Olympic National Park - real NorthWest!!!
Национальный парк Олимпик находится в северо-западной части Соединенных Штатов, в штате Вашингтон, славится своей удивительной природой. Общая прощадь парка 350 000 гектаров. Здесь, в тихоокеанском тумане, окутывающем побережье и лес, прячутся большие деревья, а также ломаная береговая линия. Климат этой местности один из самых влажных на планете. В парке есть горы с заснеженными вершинами и с медленно сползающими ледниками, а также дождевые леса, такие же загадочные и темные, как тропические леса в районе Амазонки. В 1788 году один английский капитан в честь легендарного жилища мифических богов Древней Греции назвал самую высокую из этих гор (ее высота почти 2 500 метров) Олимпусом. А в 1938 году с целью сохранить неприкосновенность девственной природы этих мест был создан Национальный парк Олимпик.

Библиотеки!!!

Моё новое увлечение - фото на фоне библиотек!!!!

Caye Caulker, Belize
Book sale to support San Pedro Library, Caye Ambergris, Belize

Forks, near Olympic National park, WA (August 2008)

Kaua'a, Hawaii (2008).

Вистлер, Канада (2008).

Виктория, Канада (2008).

Центральная библиотека Ванкувера, Канада (2008).

Кеннон Бич, Орегон (2008).

Лахайна, остров Мауи, Гавайи (2007).

Я проверилa свои знания русского языка и получилa пятерку.

Я проверил свои знания русского языка и получил пятерку. Сходи, проверься?

Выходные в канадском Ванкувере

Прошедшие выходные мы с мамой провели в канадском Ванкувере. Программа 4х дневной поездки получилась очень насыщенной:


1 день - центр Ванкувера, китайский район, поездка на SeaBus - водном автобусе в северный район;


2 день - на пароме в Викторию и ботанические сады Бутчарт ;

3 день - Вистлер;


4 день - сувенирные магазины, Стенли парк и обратно домой.

Визит моей подруги Наташи!!! 14-18 Июня

Моя подружка Наташа из Нью Джерси приезжала в гости. Моя задача состояла в том, чтобы за 5 дней показать ей хотя бы малую часть достопримечательностей Северо-запада:

1 день - Ливенворф, Баварская деревушка;

2 день - Сиэттл;

3 день - Кэннон Бич, Орегон;

4 день - Сисайд, Орегон;

5 день - водопад Сноквалми.
Надеюсь, Наташе понравились все наши поездки.

My Big Island, Hawaii!!

A little bit of facts and numbers:
Trip - March 20th - 30th, 2008
Condos - Waiakea Villas in Hilo and Kona Magic Sands in Kailua Kona
Rent car - Chevy HHR, we drove 836 miles for 10 days!!!
Took 647 pictures!!!!

Our Itenirary:

March 20th - Flights Seattle-Honolulu, Honolulu-Hilo; rent a car; explore Hilo; shopping in Ross and Wal-Mart (!!!);

March 21st - Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory; Akatsuka Orchid Gardens; Akaka Falls; World Botanical Gardens and Umauma Falls;

March 22nd - Delux Volcano Safari Helicopters; Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, Onomea Falls and Onemea Bay;

March 23rd - Hawaii Volcanoes National Park;

March 24th - drive to Kona via north; Kona Magic Sands condo; open swimming season!!!!

March 25th - Swimming at Magic Sands beach; shopping in Kona;

March 26th - Swimming at Magic Sands beach; Puuhonau O Honaunau (Place of Refuge)

March 27th - Swimming at Magic Sands beach; I LOST MY GLASSES(!!!)

March 28th - Kohala coast; rainy Pololu Valley Lookout; Papaau; Hapuna State Beach Park.

March 29th - Magic Sands Beach; doing nothing day (!!!);

March 30th - Drive to Hilo via south; little Hula show in Departure Terminal of Hilo airport; flights Hilo-Honolulu, Honolulu-Seattle


WANT TO SEE MY PICTURES:
Hilo: Gardens and Falls

Hilo town

Hawaii Vocanoes National Park

Kona Magic Sands condo

Kailua-Kona coast

Evelyn Vlada

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Happy March 8th!!!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

USA Citizenship!!!

Today I passed USA Citizenship Test!!! Good Job!!!

Beading Projects!!!

On January 5th I went to Hobby Swap Party: Beading Edition at my co-worker Becky's house. And as always I was fast student so I did 3 earrings (one for mother's BDay present) and 2 bracelets (one for me, another - for mom again).

Camping in Sun Lakes State Park.

Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park is a 4,027-acre camping park with 73,640 feet of freshwater shoreline at the foot of Dry Falls. Dry Falls is one of the great geological wonders of North America. Carved by ice-age floods that long ago disappeared, the former waterfall is now a stark cliff, 400 feet high and 3.5 miles wide. In its heyday, the waterfall was ten times the size of Niagara Falls. Today it overlooks a desert oasis filled with lakes and abundant wildlife.

Nestled on the shores of Park lake and protected by towering basalt cliffs, Sun Lakes is home to some spectacular scenery. The surrounding area is full of beautiful natural geologic formations.
Sun Lakes sits along the path of many great ice-age floods. As the tremendous force of over 400 trillion gallons of water tore through the Pacific Northwest over and over again, valleys and basins were carved into the Columbia Plateau. Today these are known as the Channeled Scablands. From this massive destruction came gorgeous spectacles of nature you can only truly experience in person.
Highway 17, leading past Sun Lakes from the Othello area to Grand Coulee, was recently named as a National Scenic Highway. This beautiful drive with it's fantastic scenery is also known as the Coulee Corridor. Sun Lakes is perfectly positioned along this byway so you can easily enjoy these majestic sights.
"Dry Falls" stands 400 feet high and over three miles wide. When it was active, this waterfall was ten times larger than Niagara Falls! You can enjoy the spectacular view of this natural monument from an on-site visitor center.
The Lake Lenore Caves are another point of interest in the area. Hundreds of years ago, nomadic natives huddled together in these natural shelters, probably during seasonal migration periods. Now their historical "tracks" are left for us to see. If you hike far enough along the path, you can view petroglyphs carved into stone by those ancient tribes. But even if you opt for just a short hike, you can't help but be awed by the beauty and history of the caves. One of the most visited sites in our area is the Grand Coulee Dam.
At 550 feet tall and a full mile long, Grand Coulee Dam is a truly impressive sight to behold. Constructed with enough concrete to build a four-lane highway from Los Angeles to New York City, the dam is considered by many as the Eighth Wonder of the World!
Grand Coulee Dam is also known for its Laser Light Show, a narrated tale of how and why the dam was built played out in pulsating lasers on the face of the massive structure. Playing nightly from late May to late September, this show is a favorite for many of our guests. Other attractions near Sun Lakes include several museums and interpretive centers, a multitude of scenic overlooks, and the Blue Lake Rhino.

My Trip to Crater Lake, OR (July 12-14, 2007)

We spent nice 2 days in Crater Lake. That was long drive - about 7 hours though beautiful Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR, lakes and mountains. One of the top picks on Highway 58 was about 6,000 feet. I liked Mazama Campground - you can put tent on the grass, they allow wood fire - we enjoyed our campfire. For the first time we saw Animal-proof storage. On July 13Th Mama and I went driving around the lake and we made a lot of stops and took a lot of pictures - one of the gorgeous place on Earth!!!
Unfortunately we didn't have cellphone reception and for 2 days we had no contact with relatives, and on Saturday on the way to Vortex we've got message that my cousin Genya died in car accident and we turned back to pack our tent and stuff.

Pacific Science Center, Seattle - June 17th, 2007

Last Sunday I went to Pacific Science Center for the first time. I saw some interesting Exhibitions:
Colossal Fossils: Dinosaurs Around the World

They are the world's mysterious giants. Millions of years after the dinosaurs took their last steps on earth, they continue to fascinate young and old alike. What did these creatures really look like? How did they really act? Scientists have worked to uncover many theories about the dinosaurs, and continue to dig for more clues. For the first time in Seattle, a unique collection of fossils, skeletons, eggs and artifacts will transport guests back millions of years, to the time when dinosaurs roamed our earth.

Showing at Pacific Science Center Colossal Fossils: Dinosaurs Around the World combines current research with prehistoric artifacts to create an educational, unforgettable and fun experience for all ages! Explore what it's like to be a paleontologist as you search for bones in one of our dig pits. Feel the immense power of their size as you walk among real dinosaur skeletons from across China. These exotic Asian species have inspired millennia of dragon legends. Discover the intricate beginnings of these giant creatures in our dinosaur egg and embryo exhibit.

As part of Colossal Fossils we are featuring Dinosaurs Alive! 3D, an awesome new IMAX film.

Tropical Butterfly House
Enjoy year-round sunshine in the Tropical Butterfly House! Temperatures are in the low 80s, humidity is 60 to 70 percent, and full-spectrum lighting keeps the plants and butterflies healthy. Watch beautiful, free-flying butterflies fly, sun themselves, and feed among tropical flowers. See a brand-new butterfly emerge in the chrysalis viewing window. New butterflies are released into the exhibit each morning.

Insect Village
Giant robotic insects, interactive exhibits and live animal displays give you a close-up look at the world of insects and other arthropods.

Science Playground
How does an electric motor work? What does a gyroscope do? How fast can you throw a baseball? Who wins the bubble race? Find the answers to these and other questions in the Science Playground.

Technology Exhibits
Computers, robots, virtual reality and more! Challenge an industrial robot to a game of tic-tac-toe. Defend your team's goal in VR Keeper, the full- body virtual reality soccer experience.

My Trip to Portland (June 8th-9th)

First stop - Multnomah Falls, dropping 611 feet in tiers of 542 feet and 69 feet, is Oregon's best. You can't visit this one and help but let your jaw hang down to your belly button, amazed at the raw force, and sheer height of the falls. Postcards speckle gift shops all over northwest Oregon, photographers come from afar to take pictures. This is, if you haven't already figured out, the most popular waterfall in the Northwest. As to the claim that this is the 4th tallest waterfall in the Nation, not even close.
After checking in Econo Lodge (the cheapest, the noisest and the worst hotel we have ever stayed - not more 2-stars hotel for me!!!) mama and I went to downtown Portland - did some shopping at Ross and saw Water Village in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
That was rainy on Saturday at first we wanted to go to Oregon Zoo but after all we went back home to Auburn, WA.

Leavenworth, WA - 2007

Yesterday my parents and I went to Leavenworth, Bavarian Village - about 2,5-3 hours beautifil drive from our house. During couple hours we played with snow on Stevens Pass and then - I swam in open public pool in Leavenworth. That was awesome day trip - driving in the mountains and forests and water falls, shopping and dining in the town. Now we have a tradition my mother found good Bag store and every year she buys new bag there.







There are a lot of snow on Stevens Pass!!!




















Lunch on Rest Area - beautiful pine forest!!!!










Dinner in Munchen Haus - traditional German Sausages and Beer ( don't worry I'm responsible driver so I order non-alcohol beer - weird but tasted good!!)




Souvenir for me - Librarian Mug!!!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

ORLANDO, Fla (May 31, 2007) - Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Universal Orlando Resort are partnering to create the world’s first fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment based on the bestselling books by J.K. Rowling and blockbuster feature films from Warner Bros. Envisioned as a “theme park within a theme park” and titled “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” the new environment will become part of the experience within Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort.
Expected to open in late 2009, the new environment will feature immersive rides and interactive attractions, as well as experiential shops and restaurants that will enable guests to sample fare from the wizarding world’s best known establishments. Also debuting will be a state-of-the-art attraction that will bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life in an exciting way that guests have never before experienced.

My Garden!!!

Today was a nice Memorial Holiday - sunny and warm. I invited my mother and my friend ("work mother") Virginia to the movietheater to see Pirates of Caribbean: At World's End, I liked the movie and I cried when the producers kinda killed one of the main character (I don't say who - GO AND SEE THE MOVIE!!!)
In the evening I went to sit in my backyard and I took several pictures of my garden - it's blooming and so beautiful. It's bad that I can't share the smell too:)