Welcome back! I hope you're sitting down - we've got
QUITE a post in store for you. :)
ScenicBoys: Beltane from scenicboys on Vimeo.
This past weekend was my (Garet's) birthday! The weekend also happens to coincide with the ancient holiday of Beltane. What better or more fitting way to celebrate both events than out in the foothills of the North Cascades?
There were 9 of us in total plus Tonka (our kitty). Tonka shares my birthday and it just didn't seem right to leave him home alone on his special day. He was well-behaved and made for great entertainment. Kitty likes camping. :)
We got a little bit of a late start Friday afternoon, which put us up near Wenatchee after dark. The area I had intended to stay that first night wasn’t quite what we were expecting. We ended up driving around for a couple extra hours until we finally found a clearing (under some lovely power lines) to set up camp for the night.
The following morning we slowly awoke and tried to figure out where we were. Breakfast was sounding really good, and we could see East Wenatchee from our hill side. To Shari’s we go! Haha.
Everyone was still a bit tired from the previous night’s debauchery so we made our way to our next camp site. The weather report told us the Lake Chelan area would be sunny and 70 degrees, but in reality we found a thick cloud bank and light showers sweeping over the mountains. It wouldn’t be Beltane without a good mountain rainstorm!
With the Beltane Fire lit, everyone gathered around for the fajita feast. Afterward we tossed bundles of the sacred woods into the fire. It’s tradition to jump over the fire as a way of curing ailments and ensuring fertility in the coming year. We did it just for fun.
The following morning was sunny and much warmer. Our friends Jesse, Michael, Brandon and John shed their clothes and let me take some pictures. I got 3 birthday wishes – this was one of them! :)
After a wonderful weekend of celebrations and new friendships, we parted ways and headed back to the city. I'm so thankful to have such great friends and I look forward to many more Adventures with them. Thanks Guys!!! :)
This weekend we're heading to Palouse Falls, in the opposite corner of the state. We should have another post up next week. Stay tuned!
Boys, you've set the video to private. that's just teasing!!! ;)
Garet, Happy birthday, i hope it was a great trip for you. Looks like it was full of laughs and good friends!
big hugs from down under
Posted by: Brenton | May 08, 2009 at 03:51 PM
Happy Birthday to you and Tonka! I'm off to Alaska myself, tomorrow, but tt won't be quite the Senic Boy's type adventure, though I hope the zipline excursion in Ketchican will be close.
Posted by: Greg | May 08, 2009 at 04:54 PM
Happy birthday and i'm glad you had a good time...but *whispers* I can't watch the video! Say's that it's a private video...
Posted by: Alison - Australia | May 08, 2009 at 04:58 PM
happy birthday
Posted by: G | May 08, 2009 at 05:46 PM
Je vous découvre ce samedi à travers votre blog; je vous trouve amusant, touchant, beaux et bien dans votre peau;
Bonne continuation
denis BC
www.photodenow.blogspot.com
Posted by: dBC | May 09, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Somegreat shots from this trip..SB abd landscapes!
Happy Birthday mate!
Posted by: Vin | May 10, 2009 at 01:28 AM
Thanks so much for this and your whole blog. It's so loving, liberating, and inspiring. This post in particular speaks to me, as I'm finally coming out of a personal cave-like existence back into the beautiful light of LIVING.
Peace and all good to you.
Posted by: Andrew | May 11, 2009 at 09:16 AM
Happy Birthday, Tonka and Garet! The video and pictures are wonderful, as always. It is such a joy to peek into your beautiful world! Thank you for sharing another sweet adventure.
Posted by: irisgirl | May 11, 2009 at 11:53 AM