Lunch bento, September 22, 2017

We had a day off due to a sudden job cancellation, and since nice sunny weather was expected, we decided to go up the road to the top of Blue Mountain in the Olympic National Park.

• Onigiri / rice balls
• Menuke no yuan-yaki / grilled yuan-sauce marinated rock cod
• Tamagoyaki / plain omelette
• Kyabetsu to hakusai no okaka-ae / steamed cabbage and napa cabbage mixed with bonito flakes
• Shishito no sotee / sauteed Japanese peppers
• Konnyaku no itameni / braised konnyaku yam cakes
• Satoimo no nikkorogashi / baby taro root in broth
• Kabu to usuage no nimono / Japanese turnip and thin deep-fried tofu in broth
• Murasaki tamanegi no amazuzuke / red onion in sweetened vinegar

At about 6,000 ft (1,830 m) on the way to the peak, a large rock becomes a table for lunch. Big clouds were creating gray shadow above us, and it was cold also due to the wind. Tea poured in wooden cups immediately lost its heat, and fingers quickly lost flexibility at each bite of bento.

The bento was very tasty and filling. As I gave Tom a bigger piece of fish and more of everything as usual, it took much longer for him to finish. Poor Tom, he seriously regretted that he left his jacket in the car after standing in the freezing breeze ... Tai the dog was the only happy creature, wanting more napa cabbage (he likes anything with bonito flakes) and more small pieces of onigiri (the dog loves nori seaweed).

Rocks at the lunch site were covered with lichens. The orange lichen -- Xanthora polycarpa? -- is especially striking against the rock as well as with the gray-green lichen. They look almost fluorescent, depending on the light.

At the peak, nothing blocks the view, and we had a 360-degree panorama of national park mountains as well as inhabited areas of Port Angeles and Sequim, the waters and Canada.

What a great place for lunch!