Ethan’s 1st Backpacking Trip
I took Ethan on his first backpacking trip this week. It was a 2-day 1-night trip to Barclay Lake. It was the perfect introduction as it was only 4.2 miles…
Big Four Ice Caves (without the ice caves)
After being away for 6 days in San Antonio and the family stuck with a rainy week in Seattle, we took advantage of a beautiful Saturday to hike the Big…
Hiking Season has arrived! First Stop: Lord Hill Regional Park
With the sun shining a bit more than usual, and the temperatures staying above 55 a tad longer, the family is more inclined to hit the trail more frequently. On a favorable hiking day, we tend to do 2-4 mile hikes with the kids. Those miles don’t always work well in the winter or rainy days unless you want to deal with crying, cold kids who never want to hike again. On the other hand, we continue to “break” them in with mild easy hikes that leave them wanting more.
Boardman Lake on the Mountain Loop Highway
In the San Francisco Bay Area, I cut my teeth hiking in the coastal redwood forest. As a resilient species that deserves respect, I found solace in their beauty and sheer presence. They will always be my favorite, especially those found at Sanborn County Park, but cedar and hemlock have a unique beauty that shouldn’t be ignored. They are the giants in the western Cascades.
“That banana slug has antlers!”: A walk through St. Edward State Park
“That banana slug has antlers!” Our little naturalist has a great view of the natural world and he calls it as he sees it. It’s our job to encourage his curiosity and his sense of wonder and if that means he sees antlers, then they’re…well, we’ll help him out and let him know that they’re actually antennae (or tentacles) and used to watch television. We just can’t lead him astray.
We spent last Sunday morning at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore. It’s a short drive from our house which made it convenient. We’d been traveling all week and didn’t feel like spending a lot of time in the car. The State Park is a former Catholic seminary and became a park in 1977. It’s primarily wooded and offers great hiking and mountain biking.