Mid-May Weekend: River Float, Leavenworth, Bike Park

5/15

We headed over to the cabin in the morning in time for my Department Heads zoom meeting. The kids did their home learning work from the cabin using the hot spot so that worked well. After lunch and finishing our home learning lists, we inflated a small raft and two kayaks to take down the Upper Wenatchee. The high water level this time of year ensured that the water was moving and cold - so the kids and I dressed in all the right gear and had a big safety talk beforehand. It ended up going really smoothly and it was very relaxing on the water. Edison and Charlotte did great in the kayaks and were able to attach/detach from the mother ship as needed. We stopped at “The Island” for a snack break but there wasn’t much of the island left at this high of water level. We made a good time out of it anyway. Charlotte did a nice job maneuvering the kayak all the way from the island to the takeout. While Edison provided some nice paddling power in the raft. The kids and I managed to get the gear from the takeout to cabin without too much trouble. I rode my bike back five miles to retrieve the car which wasn’t awesome, but it wasn’t that hard, either. We had a yummy dinner and finished off the great day with a wonderful campfire built by Edison and toasted marshmallows.

 5/16

It was a gray and drizzly day here at the cabin. We had a relaxed morning and then headed down the valley to hike. As it started raining a little harder, we changed plans as the hike would probably have been kind of miserable. Instead we checked out the whitewater scene at Rodeo Hole. There were a ton of kayakers and catarafts on the water and even a couple surfers on paddle boards. It was cool to watch them show off their skills in the surf spot. Afterwards we went into Leavenworth and walked a loop on the river trail. The river was magical and the green and growing things all along the walk were enchanting. We especially found a little old mill pond captivating. We rode bikes back at the cabin and tried to be outside as much as possible as it really is a lovely time of year here.

5/17

We wrapped up at the cabin Sunday morning and headed down to Leavenworth to the bike park. It was fun to ride bikes through the lush, green forest trails by the river and over to the bike park. Charlotte and Reed had a blast on the bike course after they got comfortable with the feel of it. They kept doing lap-after-lap on repeat. It was really fun to see them figure out how the bikes moved on the different terrain and how they could compensate and adjust their body movements for it. Leavenworth was still pretty empty and they’d blocked off streets to accommodate social distancing. It makes me long for the hustle and bustle back, something I never thought I’d feel. We headed back to LFP after that, unpacked, played outside, did an egg drop science challenge, and generally had a great evening. We finished up the day by drawing up the learning plan for Monday.