Who likes night hiking? It isn't for everyone. I am "meh" about it. I don't hate it but I don't love it. I always worry I am going to trip over a rock or crevice on the trail that I didn't see in the dark. But, to get a good sunset or sunrise hike, you… Continue reading Haceta Head Lighthouse aka teaching my toddler how to use a flashlight
Sometimes the best family traditions are the ones you didn't officially plan to make happen. For me, that's going to Florence annually during the winter. That's Florence, Oregon. (Although, I have been to Florence, Italy once during the winter, too!) I'm a sucker for keeping the tree up waaay past its expiration date because I… Continue reading Whoa, look at that wave! Look at that spray!
"Wow, look at that!" Now thinking back to this moment, I'm not sure if it was Bryce or me who said this. We just came out from under the old railroad section of the Iron Goat Trail when you start at the "haunted" old Wellington Ghost Town. The trail was all dirt and covered with… Continue reading The wild, wild Cascades
"I'm not doing a hike with the word 'misery' in the trail name!" I said to Bryce as I carried our 20-pound baby on my back. We had just crossed the footbridge over the river at Smith Rock State Park and the trail sign in front of us was for Misery Ridge Trail. There were… Continue reading Baby’s first canyon hike
The one thing that is not lost this summer is hiking. Living in Seattle, there are so many (relatively) nearby mountains and forests to explore. But, hiking has always been a popular outdoor activity among Seattleites (and all the transplants). Now with the pandemic, if you want to avoid other hikers, you either have to… Continue reading Getting away from people
When we pulled up to the trail head, there were only two other cars. Not bad. We purposely took a day off mid-week in an attempt to avoid crowds on our hike. We also didn't pick a super popular hike to begin with. As we were getting situated and out of the car, another car… Continue reading Fresh air, sun, mountains — and masks
We walked, down, down ... and down. I couldn't believe how much "more down" we were going as we walked down the paved path at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. For reference, turns out we walked down the equivalent of 79 stories to get into the cave! Once we were in the cave, I then couldn't… Continue reading Carlsbad Caverns: caves that go down, down, and extend forever, forever
Sometimes it's hard to balance getting tasks checked off of your to-do list and doing "fun things." Fun things for Bryce and I on the weekends usually involve being outdoors. Last Sunday we decided to have the best of both worlds by waking up early and going on a short hike about an hour away… Continue reading A short and sweet hike
I've now fully embraced that summer is over. I have welcomed fall with open arms and an open heart. But, I didn't know that I'd have to welcome winter at the same time. Weather in the Seattle area has been unpredictable recently. Two weekends ago, temperatures suddenly dropped to the 40s — yes, I'm using… Continue reading It’s beginning to look a lot like winter
I've been a long-distance runner for more than 10 years. Whenever I meet someone new and they learn that I run marathons, it's not uncommon for them to respond with something like, "I could never do that!" I disagree. You have to have just as much mental toughness and physical toughness when it comes to… Continue reading The Butte
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