Camping with Nana - Part Two

The second day we hiked to the Big Four Ice Caves. It was a picturesque hike and I highly recommend this hike to everyone! Our trail took us to the base of the mountain to the left in the background.

This hike is exceptionally well maintained. Here we are crossing the boardwalk over the marsh and beaver ponds.

 

View to our destination - you can see the waterfall in the crevice of the mountains diving down into the ice and snow field below.

We made it! The ice caves are really impressive up close. There was a very chilly wind blowing down out of the caves. Brrrr!

 

The mountain fireweed looks amazing!

After lunch we moseyed down to the South Fork of the Stillaguamish to play.

Even Reed got in on the action!

Our last hike was to Boardman Lake. It had a nice little beach and was the perfect temperature for a swim.

 

Reed was pretty tired, though. Probably because he was up for two hours in the middle of the night screaming the night before. Grrrr.

Camping with Nana on the Mountain Loop Highway

One of the highlights of our summer will definitely be the three-day camping trip we took with Nana to Verlot on the Mountain Loop Highway. Hard to believe we are only 70 minutes from our house out here and in the heart of the Cascade Mountains.

 I have been wanting to take my kids hiking for a long time. The Mountain Loop Highway offers a bunch of short hikes with big pay-offs, perfect for kids. Our first hike was to Kelcema Lake. The hiking poles were a tremendous help to keep the kids on track- not so much because they needed them, but mostly because they wanted to have something to do with their hands.

 Ahhhh! The lake! A perfect spot for snack and a rest.

 

Nana brought puzzles for the kids to do at base camp!

 Best part of camping? Roasting marshmallows! (But neither Edison nor Charlotte like any brown on them!)

 

This giant Douglas Fir round is outside the Verlot Ranger Station. It was over 700 years old when cut in this area in 1969. So sad yet so impressive.

Introducing Baby Jack

Meg and Chris welcomed Baby Jack Christopher to their family on July 18th. He is such a great baby and super cute and tiny, especially when Eben is holding him. Reed is excited he'll have a buddy close to his age to play with when we all get together. So happy for all of them!

 

 This is how I get my exercise with the kids - we all get on the Burke Gilman Trail and knock out four miles - all of them on wheels with me running. They are a joy to run with, though I am constantly coaching them on trail etiquette and keeping up the pace.

 Our start/stop points for these rides all have playgrounds - great reward at the end.

 At the Woodland Park Zoo - Edison held very still with the stick dipped in bird seed. This little parakeet stayed with Edison for nearly ten minutes.

 

A Tour of Lake Washingon and the Ballard Locks.

We've been enjoying our new town a lot. One of its best features is that is borders Lake Washington. We joined the Lake Forest Park Civic Club that is just a mile down the hill from our house. It has a great beach, play area, dock and boat ramp. So much fun!

 On Friday we explored Seattle via the water. We started at the north end of Lake Washington, in Lake Forest Park, headed south past the University of Washington and then went west through the Montlake Cut to Portage Bay and Lake Union. This is a picture of us approaching the I-5 bridge.

 We got to see two tugboats manuever this large ship.

 And this drawbridge opening which was cool (even if it wasn't meant for us).

The most interesting portion of the trip was going through the Ballard Locks. They act like an elevator to get a boat from Lake level down to the Puget Sound - about 22 feet - and to prevent salt water and fresh water from mixing.

 They pack several boats into a chamber and shut giant gates on both sides. Then they drain water out or pump water in to change the water level. Cool!

 

 Heading back up to the lake. On this side, you can see the water released from the Lake to the Sound to maintain the proper water level for Lake Washington. The locks for the boats is on the left.

 We stopped at Ivar's in the boat on the way home for a quick snack. What a fun day!

 Enjoying the warm weather and the kiddie pool!

 

 

Chiwaukum Creek Fire Forces Evacuation of our Cabin

On Thursday, July 16th we got word that our cabin and the rest of River Road was issued a Level 3 Evacuation Notice - leave immediately - due to the Chiwaukum Creek Fire. At that time the winds were fierce and hot spots had been found jumping Highway 2 near the Chiwaukum Campground - where the Wenatchee River meets Highway 2. This is just a couple miles from the southern end of River Road so they evacuated the whole area. You can see from the pictures below (which are from the Wenatchee World) the smoke from the fire just south of town is pretty incredible.

Our house is about 1000 feet past this sign.

 

We have enjoyed tremendous support from fire crews all over the state. They have been working to stop the fire from jumping over Highway 2 towards us and to build a fire break at the southern end of River Road, closest to the fire. So far, they have been successful and the evacuation notice was reduced to Level 2 which means "be ready to go at a moment's notice." Eben and I drove out for the weekend to check up on things. This is the scene at the elementary school - impromptu spot for fire crews to take a break.

 

Still able to play on the playground despite it all. Hopefully the firefighters and the weather will work together to put this fire out by the end of the week.