This photo is at least a year older than the post date. Went on a little climbing/camping trip with Ken, Jon, Mandala and Sara. This is a top 5 sunset photo for me. It was gorgeous. As great as the photo is it doesn’t even do the real thing justice.
New sign going up at Ferguson’s. One step closer!
After being destroyed by a fire, Ferguson’s Cafe on Garland Ave is getting very close to opening back up. Can’t wait.
12 Weeks 6 Days
If ya don’t know, now ya know!
Garland Ave. Space Monkey
This guy came into the office and told us a fascinating story about space monkeys. Then performed an interpretive dance on Garland Ave.
ACL (part 1)
Al
most a month ago Sara and I flew down to Sun Valley, ID and met up with my dad and Lil’ Carol for some skiing and celebrity sightings. Ever since I was a kid I had wanted to go to Sun Valley and now it was going to happen! I couldn’t wait.
Since I never really do anything halfway, on Sunday, April 8th, our first full day there, I completely tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my right knee. Or more accurately;
- Mid portion ACL rupture with displacement anterior to the tibial insertion.
- Over a 7 mm interval, fluid separates the medial meniscus posterior horn and its capsular insertion – focal meniscocapsular separation.
- Minor stretching of the medial patellofemoral ligament with focal grade 2 sprain at its femoral insertion.
Yeah, whatever. I blew my knee out. Life is full of surprises.
I figure it’s karma. About a month prior to my injury I was riding with my friend Mike at 49° North and saw him take a pretty sweet, natural air, in some glorious powder glades. It was perfect until the landing, where he cased it and cartwheeled. I heard him laugh it off and I kept going, not stopping until I reached the bottom. It turns out he destroyed his knee (ACL tear) and I didn’t even stop to see if he was OK. I went back for him, but he had gotten tired of waiting for help and somehow rode limped shuffled his snowboard out of the trees to where someone else could find him. I felt terrible for not checking on him after his crash. One month later, karma got me back.
In my case, I wasn’t in the trees, or in powder. Nor was I catching air or doing any fancy tricks. Nope, I was just hauling ass on a perfectly straight groomed run. I tried to make a sudden stop and failed – hard. Luckily it was in the afternoon, so I was able to get quite a few great runs in before my vacation was ruined (I should add that my wife’s vacation was ruined at this point as well).
Ski Patrol was very quick to respond and I got to take my very first (and LAST!) Ski Patrol guided toboggan ride down the mountain. They were great and even sent me a “Get Well Soon” postcard a week later.
Fast forward a few weeks, a few orthopedic doctor visits and a few physical therapy sessions and I get ACL replacement surgery on Tuesday, May 8th. Exactly one month after the crash. Check back for a post on that little adventure in a couple weeks.
Also, check these out! I made some animated gifs with the MRI images of my knee. These are so cool!
Spokane Humane Society
I recently had the pleasure of creating the new Spokane Humane Society website. They are a great, non-profit local public charity dedicated to the welfare of companion animals.
In the past year I’ve been able to do some great design work for the Humane Society. Newspaper ads, facebook cover photo designs, brochures, billboards and now the new website. They’ve been a pleasure to work with.
Just over one year ago we got our awesome dog “Snow” there. She’s the best. The adoption process was pretty easy, although we could tell that they really want to make sure the animals go to a good home.
If you’re thinking about adding a furry new member to your family, I highly recommend rescuing an animal from the Spokane Humane Society.
Jake on the Box
Huckleberry at Priest Lake Map
I was hired to create this illustrative map of a Priest Lake property development area. The client wanted a map that showed the character of the area with a kind of hand drawn treasure map feel to it. I think it turned out pretty good.
I’ve always loved looking at maps. Perhaps it’s because I’m fond of backpacking through the wilderness, map in hand. But I think there’s more to it. Maps contain huge amounts of information. You can learn so much about an area just by looking at a map. It’s great!
Click here to see another map I created for my wedding invitations.
Winterwalk
Happy Holidays from the Douvilles
Dragontail Peak 2009
I took this trip in early June of 2009. I was looking at some old photos and just had to post them here. Ken, Mandala, John and I backpacked into the upper Enchantments Basin, an area of towering peaks, year-round snow, and alpine lakes. The Enchantments form the heart of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. It was the last weekend before the overnight visitor quota permits were required for the summer. We knew early June in the Cascades meant we’d come across a good amount of snow, so we packed accordingly (read heavy).
The goal was to climb Dragontail Peak via the East Ridge, a relatively easy scramble/snow climb. Dragontail gets it’s name from the rock needles all along thin crest Southwest of the summit. At 8,840-ft, it’s the second highest peak in the Stuart Range (second to Mt. Stuart, 9,415-ft).
After hauling our butts and our gear up Aasgard Pass we made camp in the only flat and snowless spot we could find. It proved to be a great spot, with views of numerous granite peaks and outcroppings all around. It was getting too late for a summit attempt so we studied the mountain, took pictures and watched the sunset.
To save weight, I chose to bring my bivy sack instead of a tent. Risky move that time of year. I was lucky and we didn’t get snowed on, but it was still a cold night for me. I was able to capture some great photos of a near full moon rising over the Enchantments. Had I been in a tent I probably would’ve missed that.
We woke up early the next day shrouded in clouds. I guess you could call it fog, but at that altitude you really are in the clouds. It was a little disheartening because the previous day was so clear and beautiful. I had been imagining the view from the summit all night, and now it looked like we wouldn’t get to see much from the top.
With fresh legs and no overnight gear on our backs we made quick work of the climb. The snowfield got moderately steep near the top of the ridge but overall it was pretty tame. Once on the ridge it was a simple 15 minute hike to the summit. It was completely socked in with clouds so there wasn’t much to see. After snacking on some trail mix we hiked back to the snow and glissaded/hiked back to camp.
We packed up and hiked out the same day. We probably stopped in Leavenworth and had burgers and beers on the way home, but I can’t recall. The most memorable part for me was camping in such an amaizng place. The Enchantments are an incredible setting for a climb.
Custom Wedding Design Package
So, Sara and I got married on October, 1st. However, this post isn’t so much about our wedding as it is about all the custom illustrations, designs, stationery, posters and even a website, that Sara let me have fun with. Sara didn’t want traditional invitations so I made them funky, fun and totally us. We love how it all turned out.
Grand Cayman Island Honeymoon
Grand Cayman Island. British West Indies. Drive on the left. Watch out for Iguanas. Kiss a stingray. Drink a lot.
Sara ♡ Jake – Reception
The outro to our wedding video. This is just so much fun. It really captures the night. Click here to watch the intro video.
Video: Matt Norbut
Music: Port O’Brien – I Woke Up Today
Planner: Jaime Johnson
Sara ♡ Jake – Intro
The intro to our wedding video. Words cannot express how impressed I am with this. Sara cried when she first saw it. I just keep watching it over and over. The music, by the vocalist and guitarist of Sigur Rós, is perfect.
Click here to watch the reception video.
Video: Matt Norbut
Music: Jónsi – Tornado
Planner: Jaime Johnson
Reception Photobooth
We had a photobooth at our wedding reception. Our guests could put on all kinds of fun hats, gloves, feather boas, and other fun accessories. Once they came out they got two prints, one to keep and another to put in a photobook – which served as our guestbook. Fun times were had by all!
One Month
Today marks one month until I marry the love of my life, Sara. I thought it would be a good time to post this photo-mosaic of our wedding logo using pictures of the two of us. I plan on printing this out about four feet tall so we can put it above our mantle. I hope it will be something special we can look at for years to come.
The mosaic itself is 40 tiles x 40 tiles for a total of 1,600. I only used about 200 different images, so each one is repeated several times. I even snuck a few pictures of our cats and dog.
That’s all for now. After the wedding I will post all of the great wedding collateral I created – save-the-dates, invitations, programs, thank you notes, etc. Until then, wish us luck!
Framework Rocks!
Some rockin’ dudes I know asked me to put together a website for their band Framework. I’m happy with the result and so is the band. If you’re into rock music check out their upcoming shows.
Lil’ Carol’s Honey & Bee Products
Update: The website is no longer active.
Lil’ Carol is a close family friend who also happens to resell my father’s honey. Since she’s been doing so well with the honey business I though she should have a website. I created quite a few custom illustrations and gave the whole thing a very artsy craftsy feel. Take a look at it and let me know what you think.
www.lilcarolshoney.com
Oh boy, we’re goin’ on a hike!
360° Panorama • Leigh Lake • Snowshoe Peak
Click to embiggen
This was my dog Snow’s first backpacking trip and she was so excited she barely laid down the entire drive! I have been training her with a dog backpack and every time I get it out she goes nuts. “Oh boy, we’re goin’ on a hike!”. Little did she know that it was an over-nighter in Big Sky Country. Montana!
I’ve been all over the Cabinet Mountains but had never been to Leigh Lake. I’ve summited Snowshoe Peak several times and looked down on the 2nd largest lake in the Cabinets, but never actually stood on it’s shores. It has a very short (but steep) 1 mile trail to get to it, which has always turned me off. Generally the shorter the hike, the more people you’ll see – not my cup of tea.
Leigh Lake Falls covered in snow.
With this season’s massive snowpack there was a definite possibility that we might not even be able to drive all the way to the trial head. We just figured it would keep a lot of people out and create a little more solitude (bonus). After a little pre-planning I got out of work early last Friday, grabbed my gear, grabbed my dog, picked up Jon and headed to Montana.
It turns out we were able to drive all the way to the trailhead. The hike itself was pretty easy until the last quarter mile. We had to negotiate snowfields, raging waterfalls and some light scrambling. The entire lake was still frozen over and there were very few spots to put a tent down without being on the snow. Avalanches rumbling off of Snowshoe Peak were frequent and amazing. Nearly our entire time there was spent taking pictures and watching the avalanches.
My home for the weekend.
While we were there a local photographer, Bob Hosea, hiked up for the day. He stayed for a few hours and we chatted with him a bit. He gave me his business card and once I got home I emailed him. He sent me a few of the photos he took that day and they were incredible. How lucky is he to live so close to such a great area?
I finally wore her out.
As for my dog, Snow, she did great. She carried all of her own stuff and probably ran about 200 miles in total. When we got home she slept for three days. I’m pretty sure she had fun.
Snowshoe Peak Panorama
Click to embiggen