Overnight Snowshoe Trip 2011

Ever since last year’s overnight snowshoe trip I’ve been looking forward to this one.  And it did not disappoint.

This year there were only four of us.

Plus one if you count the 75 year-old guide who joined us for the first half of the ascent – just long enough to get us pointed in the right direction. 

That first half was the easiest part, by the way.  Yeah, we had to watch out for the yellow signs marking the trail, but at least it wasn’t snowing too much . . . yet.

There were some pretty cool snow monsters watching us along the way.  As long as we didn’t get too close then they’d leave us alone. 

The first half of the hike is sort of at an oblique angle to the slope and mostly shielded by the trees.  The second half is straight up a ravine (read wind tunnel) with little to no protection from the elements.  We sometimes struggled just to stay on our feet.

 

No snow monsters anymore.  Only ice monsters now.  Whole different species altogether.  Near constant horizontal winds.  Thankfully the wind was at our backs most of the time, but it still didn’t help too much with visibility. 

Once at the top of the ravine, the cabin is about 100 yards to the right.  Only problem is knowing when to turn to the right (just don’t go left over the edge).  Fortunately we did know, but even then we had to be careful to not miss the cabin.  The wind was swirling the snow so much that we didn’t actually see the cabin until it was right in front of us.

Once inside we did not hesitate to get the kerosene stove running.  There was a Japanese guy set up there already (it looked like he’d been there for a while judging by all the gear laid out on his side of the cabin) and he helped us get it started.  Last year we were able to go back outside after a while and do a moonlit hike.  This year there was no way.  We just talked and ate and talked and ate (and played a weird card game) and ate some more (Jon brought too much food and we didn’t want him to have to carry it back down the mountain).  Then everyone claimed a bunk and went to bed.  There were three levels; mine was the middle one (in the picture).  Yes, it felt as hard as wood because that’s all it was.  But I was grateful nonetheless.  Sure beats sleeping outside.

There’s our Japanese roommate.  He never spoke a word.  But he helped dig us out of the cabin in the morning.

In the morning I spent some time walking around the cabin taking snapshots of the snow monsters.  

One word: otherworldly.

Cabin half buried in snow. 

Met the abominable snowman.  Nice guy.

Just about to leave the cabin.  Couldn’t see anything without goggles on. 

Looking back up the ravine toward the top.  Wind hadn’t changed direction so now it was blowing straight in our faces.

Finally got out of the blizzard winds and the sun starting peeking through the clouds, revealing a serene landscape. 

 

Self-portrait.

Deceiving, but the snow is at least 12 feet deep here.

Hangman’s tree.

In keeping with tradition, here’s a look back at the mountain from the trailhead.  That’s a Torii gate buried in the snow.  In the summer I can drive my van under it.

Hope you enjoyed this little sample of winter.  Next time maybe one of you can come with me.

Rob

Finally, the Apple Lady’s identity revealed

This is the Apple Lady. She is famous. She has the best, most inexpensive apples around. Her name is Yumiko and she runs this shop, together with her brother and her old-old mom (who usually just sits in the corner sipping her ramen).

 

I also took this picture to show you what a typical produce/food privately owned shop looks like in Japan. It feels good to buy local fruits and vegetables.

Haven’t figured out how to cook the roots that are sold right now all over Misawa—you can see them in the lower left corner.

We are enjoying our apples while they last this season.

Swan Park revisited

Have you ever been to Russia? Have you ever been to Eastern Russia? Yes? No? Just wondering.

Anyway, I guess it’s not as cold in Northern Japan as it is in Russia because ducks and swans fly all the way to our area from Siberia to spend the winter.

Several weeks ago, the kids were home from school because water pipes at their school burst. We had to come up with someplace to go, since it was day 4 of them staying home. So we got a couple of friends and went to the Swan Park.

We arrived and saw this:

They definitely look Russian to me. They even talk Russian.

Mark thought the ducks were the coolest thing ever. Then he wanted to get closer….

We never know if we are allowed to feed the ducks, but we still bring bread (lots of it), just in case. No idea what that sign says on the fence. We were waiting for an old guy to come out from the “office” and tell us “DAME!” which means,  “Don’t do that”. But no one did.

A couple minutes later we saw two buses pull in:

 

A whole bunch of elementary school kids and their parents emerged from the bus. The ducks followed them:)

This is another view of the park. We have climbed the tower last year with Robert.

This is what it looked like from the top of the hill I was supposed to slide down with Mark. I was too scared. I am not usually scared of sledding hills, but this one was for some reason terrifying. I ended up walking down the hill half way and then going down. The sledding hill is the one to the right. Left “hill” is the “stairs” to go up.

  

Notice the cement looking border next to the stairs. Japanese kids actually use that as a slide when there is not snow. It’s quite fun.

At some point Mark decided to integrate better with the Japanese community.

 

Despite the snow, the kids had a great time playing on the playground.

These are definitely not the natives. Liz and Bridget were two brave mamas. Liz is 8 months pregnant with #4, plus she brought a friend’s daughter along; and Bridget has four kids already. That’s how we roll around here:) By the way, usually Bridget doesn’t wear “character” hats outside. She left her hat at home so she had to put on an extra one that belonged to her son.

Alex wanted to stay there forever…funny boy.

 

See what you are missing out? Siberian swans! Next time you are thinking of going to Russia, come see us instead.

If you wake in the morning…

…It’s a quarter to one

And you wanna have a little fun,

You brush your teeth (brush, brush, brush, brush, brush:))..

Mark is growing up. And he still loves to wear his giraffe dress-up costume around the house:)

Day trip with Alex–12 Feb 2011

Originally the whole family was going to go on a short day trip to this little shrine by the beach.  This morning it was decided that only me and the two older kids would go.  A short time later it was just Alex and me on a father/son mini road trip. 

On the way, I noticed this guy afar off in a field.  I had to zoom in quite a bit, but I couldn’t resist.  I felt like I was driving a sleigh as I tried to stop quickly on the side of the road.

Ringing the bell.

Running through torii gates.

Yes, it’s as cold as it looks.

And windy too.  I’ve never been to the beach in the snow before.

We went exploring along the beach.  Lots of sand dollars, snail shells and clam shells.  Most are dull, boring or broken, so it’s even better when you find one that’s intact and interesting.  We still picked up few plain ones because the kids like to paint them.

After exploring for a while, Alex said he wanted to go on the “bridge.”  It’s actually a wave breaker made of huge concrete blocks and stones.

So why not?

Alex says, “Take a picture of this.”  So I did.

And here’s what it was like at the end of the “bridge.”  I hope you feel like you were there with us.

Robert

Oirase Gorge

It’s February. It’s cold. It’s snowy. I realize that we have at least two more months of snowy weather left in Misawa. So I decided to post a couple pictures that Robert and I took when we went on our quick getaway in September. Before heading back to Misawa, we drove through Oirase Gorge.  It’s a beautiful place….a scenic drive that attracts thousands of Japanese no matter the weather or season, but especially in the fall.

Can you believe we’ve been married for 9 years? (almost 9.5 now)

See? The signs are very helpful. They know that many Americans come to explore this area.  

 

  

Robert’s in great shape—probably because I  cook very healthy food:)

And this is the picture after which Robert told me my smiles look fake. (Not true! This is my real smile!!!)

So I tried to make different facial impressions…

And then we headed home. We noticed this really cool shrine driving through Towada City. I just love freshly painted torii gates. I took this picture by rolling down the car window. Pretty good, eh?

I will leave you with a couple of funny store names. “Hard-Off” is a great recycle (“second-hand”) shop in Towada City. We are not sure what they mean by HARD OFF!!!:)

And Wonder GOO? Funny Japanese…

    

Good night, my friends. And dream of summer…