Us 3 girls headed out for the hike. Roxy is enjoying Troy's Valentine's present, his bed liner! Alyssa is enjoying her new gloves and hiking shoes. And I got my ear wind stopper, new jacket and new hiking pants.
After 8 years of living here, I finally bought the $9 map. We parked on I-90, exit 22 on Preston Way. The PINK highlighted trail is what we hiked today.Also on the map, you can see GRAND CANYON at 15 mile creek. WIKI says it is the most remote part of the forest. That is my next planned hike, I hear it is pretty and our own little Grand Canyon here in Washington. HMMM. I will let you know how that one is too! Also, I plan to see the artifacts from a 1924 train wreck near Middle Mountain. (double click on photo to get zoom)
It was a 9 mile hike, took us 5 1/2 hours and this shows our elevation. I didn't know if we would hit all three peaks today, but it worked out.
PROOF
Beginning of trail. I knew we would at least go 3.8 miles up but from there, it would be all whim and adventure.
Xmas Tree in February.
We made it. Along the way, we saw a few charred trees. Alyssa asked me why some were burned and others not. Then she reasoned that some trees were smarter than others and they told their leaves to fill with water to resist the fire. UMMMMMM, ok then!! FUNNY.
And what would any good hiker do at the top of a trail called POO? You know me best if you can guess!
Here is the little HIKERS HUT that we sat in for a few minutes.
Quick view from WT1, looking south to Maple Valley.
And we made it to another peak!
And another.
This is when we got into a fight because she thought we should not disobey the sign. I made her cross the bridge and she didnt speak to me for 10 minutes. 
From afar, you can see the bridge has been damaged in the last storm. It was knocked off kilter. I heard this was a $20K bridge, helecoptered in, but poor bridge needs some loving now. 
Well, it was a beautiful hike, lots of streams and ferns. We saw only 18 people in 9 miles and after this hike, it makes the rest of what I have done, like Disneyland. This very rustic hike was great. I carried my gun with me, but am bummed to say, we saw no wildlife. Darnit!Now, I am nearly ready for my CROSS TIGER MOUNTAIN HIKE. I have done East Tiger to WT1. I have done WT1-WT3. I have done Issaquah High School to Poo Poo. All I need to do is link WT3 to Poo Poo and I am ready to do the entire mountain (I guess 16-20 miles) from East to West. Park at Hwy 18 and hike all the way to Issaquah High School. It isn't that tough. Who wants to do it with me in April or May?
So now with WT1,2,3, done, I need to do East Tiger Summit, Middle Mountain Summit and South Mountain. In total there are 6 peaks for me to feel accomplished. WOW, what a great mountain. Who needs to travel anywhere else when this one is so close.
Then one day, I washed a load of blacks and didn't know that Troy's black pants had tar on them. So, I was sure to re-wash the laundry. Well, I screwed up and assumed all the tar was out of the machine and a few loads later, washed my WHITE sheets. 
Now, we have tar stained sheets. 
Before I get much further, Alyssa gave me permission to discuss her little friend she brought with us on the trip. This doozy didn't leave the entire time. He stuck around to haunt all of Alyssa's photos. :( 
Christmas Day: Disneyland. Here is Alyssa on Minnie's bed, in Minnie's house.
It's a small world, after all!
California Adventure Park - December 26/27
and Cinderella
and Sleeping Beauty
Monday, December 28. Knott's Berry Farm
Tuesday 12/29. San Diego Zoo
Wednesday 12/30. San Diego Temple. We met our Missionary's parents there, Elder Gemmell's family! What a treat, best looking temple I have every seen too! We spent 4 hours inside. 
Thursday 12/31. New Years Eve. Sea World. Beluga Whale
Manatee eating his lettuce breakfast. Who knew you could get so big on lettuce?
1/1 - USS Midway, ship 41. 
Sailor kisses Nurse statue, on display next to the USS Midway
Final day 1/1 - Breakfast with my highschool friend Tonya. She drove down from Palm Springs to meet me in Temecula and we ate at the Swing Inn Cafe. It was great to see her after 6 years, before that it had been 10.... my how time flies. She is a quality person and one worth investing into friendship with, something that becomes more important to me as I get older. 
And after all that, this little gal is tuckered out. 
Now the answer you are all waiting for: "did we hit our budget?". Our budget was $3000. We used miles for 2 of the 3 airline tickets. We bought the multi-park pass at Costco. We used the Microsoft car rental car discount. I searched on expedia for hotel fares and then called the hotel directly for negotiations. Our hotels were under $100 per night. And most importantly, we grocery shopped and prepared our own breakfasts and lunches. So, as you can see, we only went over budget by $301.35 and I am VERY OK with that! We didn't buy food in the parks or water and we never went hungry with our packed snacks. 
Now, it's back to re-filling our vacation savings fund so we can go to Hawaii or Whistler next Christmas. It was so nice to 'skip' Christmas, not shop, not wrap, not stress, and feel no obligations for gift exchanges. What a great holiday season it was for us.