Crazy weather

I love it out here. Since the first time I set foot in the Pacific Northwest more than 10 years ago, I've wanted to live here. But along with the good, comes the rest.

We've had a crazy run-up to winter. First, we set a record for rainfall in November (and that's saying something for this part of the world). Then we cap it off with a storm that brings record-breaking flooding across the area, followed a few weeks later by a crazy snow and ice storm. (The day that hit, it took me nearly 5 hours to drive 30 miles home from work. Many, many people didn't make it -- they abandoned their cars along the highway and started walking.)

Then, in early December, the jet stream brings ashore a huge low-pressure front that funnels gale-force winds through the valleys that lie between Puget Sound and the mountains, leaving nearly 1 million people without power in freezing temperatures. That was late last week, and today (Dec. 18) 250,000 people or more are still enduring sub-freezing temperatures without power. And every day we hear reports on the news about people being overcome by carbon monoxide after bringing barbecue grills inside to keep warm.

Somehow, we've narrowly managed to stay out of harm's way: The flooding came to within a few blocks of us. During the wind storm, neighors around the corner had a 100-year-old tree smash through the top story of their home (I sent a photo to the TV station), and we were among the lucky few in this part of the state whose power never went off.

Summertime, on the other hand, was sublime. With the sunny, clear days near the summer solstice averaging about 16 hours of daylight, we spent much of our weekends outdoors, heading out to Point Defiance in Tacoma or up Puget Sound to some secluded park, or perhaps up into the mountains. A favorite close-in destination of mine is the Foothills Trail, a converted railway line that runs from Sumner 15 miles up toward Mount Ranier along a salmon spawning creek and off into the woods. I've bicycled its length many a Saturday, sometimes with Alexandra bumping along behind me in the bike trailer.

So, yes, come see us in the summer.