4/17
More home learning! I got a run in early, before all the meetings and emails started flying, and it was already sunny and beautiful. The kids have now started to create their own checklists based on the work their teachers are assigning, so that is neat to see them take ownership of their learning. They were very self-directed today. After lunch, we got to work putting the camper away, packing for the cabin, and doing all the last minute work to leave for the cabin. We stopped at Lake Wenatchee State Park on the way to the cabin. They were closed for cars, but open for people entering via bike or foot. We had the place to ourselves and the kids and I rode all through empty campsites, abandoned roads covered in pine needles and pine cones, and along the beach. It was a mild day, incredibly beautiful, and somewhat eerie. That is our new normal at present. It did start to feel like a break from the work/school week and I think we all were much more relaxed and thankful for the change of pace by the end of it. We tried “impossible burgers” for the first time tonight - big thumb’s up from the kids - they were pretty good in my opinion, so those will be our new burgers of choice for now. We put together a fun plan for Saturday, so looking forward to that!
4/18
I am tired! Charlotte called this our day of exercise. I had planned it to be our day of exploration with a lot of exercise worked in. I knew we needed a break from our screens and checklists and also some fun adventure to make it feel like a Saturday and not just every other day that blends into each other. Yesterday the kids chose to explore the Wenatchee area a little more over going further east, back to the Sun Lakes area. So we opted for an early wake up this morning starting with a drive to Mission Ridge about 20 minutes further out of Wenatchee. I have had many friends tell me what a great ski area it was and I thought we could just take a peek around. The entire drive from Plain was incredible - all the orchards are in full blossom and the valley is lush and green. The drive up a canyon to it was really scenic. However, the parking lot was closed for it (Forest Service Land, so all trailheads and developed areas like parking lots are closed). I think we would have been fine parking down the road a bit and walking in, but it was raining, so there was no need to go that route. From the parking lot, there was signage for a snowshoe trail to a lake which looked interesting and worth a future visit. The ski area appeared underwhelming, but it is so hard to tell what terrain is actually open to skiing when it is up and running - will have to return in ski season at some point! There were a couple great lookout spots on the drive back down the canyon - could see all of Wenatchee and the Columbia River. I think the kids would have liked to have ridden their bikes down the hill, but it was rainy and wet and not a good option for today. We returned to Wenatchee and had a nice picnic lunch and then started out on the 10-mile loop bike ride - the kids liked it so much the first time, we wanted to do it again. And this time Charlotte was on her new bike and Reed had a bike with gears. It went so much more smoothly for all of us and they all commented afterwards about how much they enjoyed it. Part three of the day was a hike at the Leavenworth Ski Hill. Being on forest land, the parking lot was closed, but trails were open. There were a ton of wildflowers in bloom on the hike and we got to a spot with some beautiful vistas looking across the valley towards the mountains in the Icicle Gorge. I think the kids liked scoping out the old, wooden ski jump and swinging in a converted chairlift chair. The trails were excellent and we’ll be back! We had some downtime at home followed by dinner and a movie. Time for bed! More adventures tomorrow!
4/19
We enjoyed the sunshine on the riverbank at the swimming hole this morning before packing up to leave. I attacked the tiny ants in the insulation of a couple windows with bug fogger - fingers crossed that is effective. After packing up, the kids wanted to head to Lake Wenatchee to ride bikes again, so we did. This time we parked by the Nason Creek bridge and rode through those campgrounds as well as the state park. It is just really cool to be out on bikes and having the run of the place. The lake was a brilliant, dark blue. We had a picnic by Nason Creek before hitting the road. This time we stopped for a hike on the way home: the Index Town Wall. It’s a popular rock climbing spot and also has an informal trail to the top of the 2000’ granite cliffs. It was short and steep and the views up the valley of the North Fork of the Skykomish as well as looking across to Mt. Bering and Mt. Index were incredible. The kids enjoyed scrambling on the path at the base of the cliffs that had chain bridges and handholds blasted into giant granite boulders. We all felt really accomplished after that! At home we unpacked and were super hungry for dinner, after that unwound a bit before bed.
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