Matthew Singer

Eagle Cap Wilderness, Labor Day Weekend

September 10, 2011September 10, 2011 Matt Hikes

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="The West Fork Wallowa River Valley from the Lakes Basin Trail"][/caption] A year ago this weekend, I set foot in Oregon for the first time and explored one of its most beautiful and least advertised mountain ranges. Last year, we only got a preview of the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains, only able to…

Storms

August 29, 2011 Matt Personal Updates, Photo Blog

Last night, we had the storm of storms come across the Palouse. It was a quick, but powerful cell the big lightning strikes every few seconds that produced enough power to disrupt phone service (land line) each time a bolt struck the ground. Luckily, we had no major power surges and all of the electronics in the house work just…

Escaping the Heat

August 28, 2011August 28, 2011 Matt Personal Updates

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Escaping the Heat at over 6000 feet. This view is from Crater Peak. Below is Crater Lake and Lookout Mountain is the rocky peak in the distance."][/caption] While the east coast has contended with an earthquake and a hurricane, we have been enduring our summer heat wave, temperatures in excess of 90 degrees. It rarely gets…

The Seven Devils

August 16, 2011August 16, 2011 Matt Travel Stories

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of spending three nights in Idaho's Seven Devils. The devils are a series of craggy peaks between the Salmon and Snake river canyons. They rise over 7000 feet above the rivers and offer spectacular views and recreation opportunities, and for about three months of the year, they are accessible to people…

2010, Volume 2

August 10, 2011August 10, 2011 Matt Personal Updates, Photo Blog

There's a new book in my bookstore. I finally got around to completing 2010: A Year of Change, Vol. 2. Volume 1 followed the first half of the year as I finished working in Virginia, got married and prepared to leave the eastern United States. Volume 2 continues the journey, starting with a visit to Idaho in February to visit…

Exploring

August 1, 2011August 5, 2012 Matt All Things Moscow, Hikes, Personal Updates

The past week, my parents were in town visiting and we spent the week exploring and showing them our favorite places in the area. We'd usually leave fairly early in the morning and get back kinda late, always exhausted. As a result, I haven't been able to post some detailed updates on the awesome places that we've been. I'll try…

Stevens Lakes

July 14, 2011 Matt Hikes

[caption width="640" caption="Lower Stevens Lake"][/caption] The hike to Stevens Lakes itsn't particularly hard, but it's no walk in the park either. It's about 2.5 miles and 1700 feet of vertical gain to the upper lake on a well-used and well-mantained trail. It starts off relatively steep and continues to climb steadily for the next mile before levelling out…

4th of July

July 5, 2011 Matt Hikes

The celebration of our nation's independence is a custom dating back all the way to the day the Continental Congress approved and signed the Declaration of Independence. The use of fireworks to celebrate the momentous and historic occasion also dates back to that time. As John Adams wrote to his wife: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the…

Shoot for the Stars

July 2, 2011July 2, 2011 Matt Photo Blog

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The night sky from my yard."][/caption] Last night, I had some folks over from the photo club for a little get together and fun. We grilled burgers, sat around the fire, and played with our cameras. We were mostly interested in shooting the night sky. I've shot the stars before, but last night might be my…

Upper Basin Trail

June 26, 2011June 26, 2011 Matt Hikes

View Upper Basin Trail in a larger map The Upper Basin Trail is a 5 mile loop in the upper basin of Elk Creek just north of Elk River The trail is near the giant western red cedar, thought to be the largest tree in the U.S. east of the Sierra-Cascade crest. The loop is also near the Morris Cedar…

Bad Ass Sunset

June 23, 2011 Matt Personal Updates

[caption width="640" caption="Fire in the Sky"][/caption] Last night was full of bad-assery. Yeah, that's right, it was so bad-ass that I made up a word to describe it. After a cold spell, temperatures quickly rose into the 80's yesterday making for a hot and somewhat muggy day. The conditions were ripe for evening thunderstorms. As I arrived home, I heard…

Kamiak Butte

June 21, 2011June 9, 2018 Matt All Things Moscow, Photo Blog

The Palouse, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. The Palouse is made up of rolling hills covered in wheat and barley fields. This area was historically a prairie, so there were few trees to begin with. A few of these hills rise up well above the rest, remnants of a time when the region was more active volcanically. Kamiak Butte is…

Hells Canyon

June 14, 2011June 14, 2011 Matt Hikes

Panoramic View from our vantage point, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. This story begins with Luke and I itching to get out into the backcountry. Although it's the middle of June, the combination of an unusually cold and wet Spring with the very productive winter has left many of the high country destinations (above 5000 ft.) still buried under 100+…

Personal Updates

June 7, 2011 Matt Personal Updates

It's been an eventful week, and I should have posted more often, but I've been busy and tired and uninspired to write. So I'll give you the update on the past week, and then some. Last Monday was our actual anniversary, and even though we celebrated the week before with a getaway to Oregon, we still wanted to make the…

Weekend Getaway, Part III

May 28, 2011May 28, 2011 Matt Travel Stories

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="View of the Imnaha River Canyon from 5-Mile Point"][/caption] Day 3: Canyons [caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Storms over the Wallowas"][/caption] It's a week later and I'm only now getting to the end of our romantic weekend away to celebrate our anniversary. Saturday was our third and final full day in Oregon. Thursday we had a…

Our Weekend Away, part II

May 27, 2011May 27, 2011 Matt Travel Stories

Sacajawea, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. Day 2 Friday morning, I woke up in time to catch the sun rising over the Seven Devils. I went outside with the camera to catch the morning glow on the snow-capped peaks of the Wallowas as the sun rose in the sky. It was a beautiful morning, and quite warm, even at 6:00.…

Our Weekend Getaway: Wallowa Country

May 24, 2011July 22, 2015 Matt Travel Stories

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] View on Puffer Butte, Fields Spring State Park[/caption] Introduction Almost one year ago, I married the most wonderful girl in the world. Unfortunately, we did not have time to take a nice honeymoon. We spent the night after the wedding at the luxurious Bedford Springs resort, but that was it. Our intentions were to take…

Home Theater

May 17, 2011 Matt Personal Updates

A few weeks ago, we received our federal tax return, and with the First Time Homebuyer tax credit, we got quite a hefty sum. The bulk of that money is going right back into the property with a few home improvement projects. But we took a small chunk and set it aside to complete the entertainment system. So I went…

Spring has Sprung

May 15, 2011May 15, 2011 Matt Personal Updates

[caption id="" align="center" width=412 caption="Wildflowers on the Palouse"] [/caption] Spring is officially here on the Palouse, as temperatures soar to almost 80 degrees and graduation season is upon us. The University of Idaho had its commencement yesterday, though I did not attend. This marks the end of my first year in graduate school, and so far it has been a…

The Baby

April 25, 2011 Matt Personal Updates

Mother and Child, originally uploaded by Matthew Singer. We had a baby. And by We, I mean Erin. And by Erin, I mean her horse. Thursday night (Friday morning) around 12:30, we went out to check on Mae and turn in for the night, but we heard groaning and grunting coming from the barn. So, Erin rushed up to see…

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