East Bank Baker Lake
Bench and Snow Lakes
Lake Ann, Maple Pass
Bagley Lakes
Artist Ridge
Talapus Lake
Stimpson Family Nature Preserve
Thunder Knob
Hoh River
Chain Lakes
Heather Lake (Mountain Loop)
Lake 22
Cutthroat Lake
Blue Lake (Rainy Pass)
Rainy Lake
Sheep Lake
Naches Loop
Bellevue Botanical Garden
Fall is definitely in the air, especially up high in the mountains. We feel the internal drive to get out to see fall colors and enjoy the high country before the snow comes and we are stuck down low for the winter. Gabe requested a trip to Artist Point again, as he remembered it being…… Continue Reading
My bookshelf has two rows of various hiking guides, but recently a new guide came out that will have a prominent spot in the first row. Craig Romano has rewritten and updated Harvey Manning and Ira Spring’s original 100 Classic Hikes in Washington book from 1998, including some of the initial hikes, but adding some new…… Continue Reading
Ah, summer! Time for big adventures, getting up to high elevations, wildflowers, mountains, and glorious light. Last week I let the kids each bring a friend along to Mount Rainier. We were hoping to catch the wildflower show, and we did see some flowers, but we also did an amazing hike up to Panorama Point.…… Continue Reading
The Centennial of the National Park Service has inspired many people to take journeys through the parks and write about them. Mark Woods planned a year-long odyssey to twelve national parks to ask questions about their future. Each park was supposed to symbolize a different issue the parks are facing in the future. He ended…… Continue Reading
Day 6 of our Grand Road Trip, Continuation: After we finished visiting Yellowstone back in June, it was time to move on to Grand Teton National Park. We drove into the north entrance from Yellowstone, and the landscape changed from volcanic lodgepole biome to more familiar flowers and shrubs. We drove through Lizard Creek Campground,…… Continue Reading
Our family was fortunate to be able to take a big road trip this summer, and we chose Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons for a visit. We were gone for nine days, driving and camping along the way. We stopped at Craters of the Moon on the way back. Wow, what a trip this was!…… Continue Reading
I recently received a book for the purposes of review that I’d like to share with you today. Leaflets Three, Let it Be! is a picture book for children about identifying poison ivy. But it also shows the many uses of the plant through the seasons. It is written by Anita Sanchez and illustrated by…… Continue Reading
Annika’s birthday was last month, and one of the things she asked for was a mommy-daughter camping trip. You don’t have to twist my arm about that! She had gotten sick that week, though, so the trip was in jeopardy. But at the last minute she started feeling better, and we were able to go.…… Continue Reading
North Cascades National Park is one of my favorite places to explore. Rugged mountains, jade-green water, few roads, autumn colors – all these things and more draw visitors to the park. North Cascades is smaller than Mt. Rainier or Olympic NP, and gets far fewer visitors. It’s still possible to find solitude in the…… Continue Reading
It’s truly spring here in the Pacific Northwest, and everything is budding and blooming. The birds are noisy in the mornings, the morning chorus announcing the breeding season. Pretty soon, baby birds will be hatching, begging for food, and learning to fly. For the past two years we’ve had bird nests built on our…… Continue Reading
My bookshelf has two rows of various hiking guides, but recently a new guide came out that will have a prominent spot in the first row. Craig Romano has rewritten and updated Harvey Manning and Ira Spring’s original 100 Classic Hikes in Washington book from 1998, including some of the initial hikes, but adding some new…… Continue Reading
The Centennial of the National Park Service has inspired many people to take journeys through the parks and write about them. Mark Woods planned a year-long odyssey to twelve national parks to ask questions about their future. Each park was supposed to symbolize a different issue the parks are facing in the future. He ended…… Continue Reading
I recently received a book for the purposes of review that I’d like to share with you today. Leaflets Three, Let it Be! is a picture book for children about identifying poison ivy. But it also shows the many uses of the plant through the seasons. It is written by Anita Sanchez and illustrated by…… Continue Reading
It’s truly spring here in the Pacific Northwest, and everything is budding and blooming. The birds are noisy in the mornings, the morning chorus announcing the breeding season. Pretty soon, baby birds will be hatching, begging for food, and learning to fly. For the past two years we’ve had bird nests built on our…… Continue Reading
April 16-24, 2016 has been designated National Parks Week. This national event is a time to focus on and celebrate all that the National Parks have to offer us. During this week, admission is free to all parks, and special events are planned at many sites. The Park Service has created a special website for this…… Continue Reading