The Hiker Mama

Category: Trip Report

  • Trip Report: Grand Tetons, June 2016

    Trip Report: Grand Tetons, June 2016

    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,…

  • Trip Report: Yellowstone National Park

    Trip Report: Yellowstone National Park

    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!…

  • Birthday Camping with Annika

    Birthday Camping with Annika

    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.…

  • Squires Lake Trip Report – 3/25/16

    Squires Lake Trip Report – 3/25/16

    I’m still researching hikes up in the Bellingham area, so we took the afternoon and hiked around Squires Lake just south of that city. We had sunshine most of the drive up there (except for a convergence zone of dark showers north of Everett), but once we got close to the Chuckanuts, we could see…

  • Sehome Hill Arboretum Trip Report 3/18/16

    Sehome Hill Arboretum Trip Report 3/18/16

    We took advantage of the sunny weather last Friday to head up to Bellingham for another short trip. Aaron had the day off, so he joined us on our adventure. The Sehome Hill Arboretum is a native plant natural area set aside for protection and enjoyment. It’s nestled next to the campus of Western Washington…

  • Mental Health Day at the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve

    Mental Health Day at the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve

    One of things that is hardest for me about parenting is the lack of time alone. Time to process, to think, to let all the other planning and thinking rest for awhile. I’ve learned over the years how important it is for me to get away by myself for some rejuvenation. I generally try to…

  • Snowshoeing Blewett Pass

    Snowshoeing Blewett Pass

    I’ve been wanting to try a different snowshoe trail that’s safe for kids, and last week I saw another family post a report about snowshoeing up at Blewett Pass. That gave me the courage to drive a little farther to check out the trails there. (We had planned to go to Paradise, but the weather…

  • Larrabee SP and Whatcom Falls Park – Trip Report

    Larrabee SP and Whatcom Falls Park – Trip Report

    On Friday we made a quick afternoon trip up to Bellingham to visit Larrabee State Park and Whatcom Falls Park. We tried real hard to miss the rain showers, but ended up getting caught in a few. It was worth it anyway! We didn’t get started until a little after noon. I should know better…

  • Nisqually Winter Birding

    Nisqually Winter Birding

    Over Christmas Break we had a chance to join the weekly Wednesday birding trip at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It had been clear and cold for several days, and we 30 degrees when we arrived at 8am. We joined a very large group of birders and walked through different parts of the refuge to see…

  • Birding at Ridgefield National Wildlife Sancutary

    Birding at Ridgefield National Wildlife Sancutary

    Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we had the chance to visit Ridgefield NWR and do some hiking and birding. On Black Friday we have a tradition of trying to get out into nature. We’ve been doing this even before REI made a big splash and closed their stores on Black Friday, encouraging their employees to Opt…