North Cascades

These are photos from our camping trip to the North Cascades in August of 2006. We met our friend Jeremy in Seattle, jumped in his rented SUV, and set out on a short but fantastic trip.

The beautiful view from right near our campsite.

Before we got to our campsite we had stopped at this espresso shop along the way. Little places like this dot the road north of Seattle.

Jeremy and Paula enjoying the gooood coffee.

Another one of these places, this one with a drive thru.

Shortly after arriving and setting up our campsite we went on a short hike. The crisp, fresh air was exhilarating and the views in every direction were stunning.

Jeremy, in confederate soldier guise.

Views from the highest point of this hike and from the way back down.

The next day we packed up and drove a short distance to the starting point of a longer, grander hike.

Me, walking stick in hand, ready to conquer Cascade Pass.

Paula, pausing to enjoy the wonder of it all.

I never feel too comfortable crossing areas of scree like this, having experienced some pretty serious rockfall in the past.

Stunning views from up high.

Finally, after a few hours of not-too-difficult hiking, we were rewarded with views from the pass.

The quick scramble back down.

Young Forest Temple

We took our first trip to the Shaolin Temple in the summer of 2002. Located within the Songshan Mountains in Henan, China, it's considered the birthplace of both Shaolin Kung Fu and Zen Buddhism. Regardless of how touristy it is these days, its ancient origins and remarkable history keep it a pilgrimage site for many modern-day kung fu practitioners from all over the world.

We stayed the night near the temple and heard shouts of training coming from the courtyard outside our hostel at 5 a.m. Thousands of young students train at not only the temple, but also at numerous schools located in the nearby town, Dengfeng.






When they asked for volunteers, Tsai Yu Hsin and I could not resist. Here we are, failing at our attempt to pull the bowl from the young monk-in-training's abdomen. It seemed pretty impressive at the time, but there was, however, a bit of a trick involved....