Pro-Soup Propaganda

Yesterday Jonathan and I walked around the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge for the first time. It was so pretty! We were specifically on the lookout for herons, but never saw any, although we saw lots of ducks, nuthatches, and lots of teeny little brown birds that we are thinking are virios or kinglets. They were so cute! The weather was mostly sideways snow/rain and so was pretty wet and cold, but it was nice to be outside! All photos are here...

This is apparently the outside to an old mausoleum? 

The anthropologist nerd in me is wondering, "What was on these pilings? Was there

an old building here once?" 

Colorful trees 

He humors me. :o)

All in all, it was a great day and it felt awesome to get outside again! We had made an REI run beforehand so I could pick up their Endeavor pants, which are freaking amazing. Oh, man. New favorite pants. I have been wanting some hiking pants similar to these for a couple of years, but have never bit the bullet. After finding out that I was going to be hiking a LOT more in the near future, I decided to just go for it. I already want the black pair, too. These pants are awesome! Windproof to 30mph, water beaded up on the outside and then dried quickly, super comfy, and, most importantly, my butt looks good. ;o) I can't wait to do a lot more hiking and traveling with them! Also, the petite size fit my Hobbity inseam perfectly. To not have to hem a pair of pants and to be able to wear them out of the store is an extreme rarity for me. Seriously. Buy these pants. Now.

More hiking will happen soon. I wonder where we'll we go next?