No electricity

We are camping at home this weekend. No electricity due to the heavy wind storms yesterday. The streets are littered with leaves, pine needles and branches. It smells like one giant Christmas tree outside.
I cooked eggs and Chris cooked bacon in the camper and after breakfast I led an expedition into our woods to see what the destruction there looked like.
One big tree fell down but only the very tip of it's crown was across the path and cleared away before we came along. Frankie found a small tree uprooted on the edge of the bunny meadow. One of the bridges was a big mess of leaves and debris- it looks like it was washed over by a once swollen creek.
After the hike we came home and played for awhile and then took naps.
On the way to religious ed we had to backtrack due to a tree in the road. We ended up being 15 minutes late to a canceled faith formation since the church and school were out of power too.
We went to the local library to sit it out and wait for mass. Mass was enjoyable- by candle light with an unplugged teen mass band. It wasn't quite so loud. Of course I heard nothing in the back with Miss crazy legs Alice.
We came home to a spaghetti dinner that Chris whipped up on the stove in the camper. He made a fire for all of us to warm up next to and read by. We told stories. Things are so much more "family" without electricity.
50,000 people without power here still. Puget hound power says we should be hooked up sometime Monday.

Snoqualmie falls again

Today's hike was faster than our last snoqualmie falls hike. I attribute that to hiking with friends and knowing the path. When you've been down a path or road before, it travels faster than your very first time. It feels faster at least.
The falls were SO much mistier than last time. Autocorrect is telling me "mistier" isn't a word. Hmmm.
Our hair was speckled with little tiny drops of mist. It looked kind of lacy- like a dewy spider web.
We hiked up from the lower parking lot on the fishery road and viewed the falls from up top. And then we hiked back down and below the lower parking lot to the viewpoint from the bottom. It was less misty at the bottom and the force of the water as it rushed past was stunning.

Silver falls hike photos

ohanapecosh hot springs photos

Ohanapecosh hot springs

Ohanapecosh 2014 day 2

Woke up several times in the night but that is different from any other night how?
George and max woke first and I kicked them out.  I told them to go scout around for a better site. They heard "sit outside the camper and make loud noises".  Or maybe I was just extra sensitive.  I don't know why but I'm a straight up nazi about sleep and when mine has been interrupted more than I deem necessary- watch out.
Mary Jane and john woke up so they were the first to breakfast.  Cereal and milk.  Yum.  Also easy!
It was chilly.  They were begging to start a fire: because slowly waking up by a campfire is really nice. but I didn't buy any wood.
I made a mental note: if when camping in ohanapecosh in the future, enumclaw is your last chance to buy anything. ever.
I told them we'd ask around for firewood once I saw people stirring at nearby campsites.  But in the meantime "huuuuuush!!!!  People come camping to enjoy the peace and quiet!"
Samantha, Frankie, and Henry woke and ate second shift breakfast.  While they were eating I took a walkabout.  Alice wasn't awake just yet.
It looked to me like our campsite was as ideal as I could have picked with a good foreknowledge of the campground.  There were visually stunning and auditorily soothing campsites on the river.  Not an option for us for obvious reasons but in case you forget I will share exhibits A and B with you: john and Alice.  There were sites nicely nestled in the woods at the far end of the loop.  Those were nice- but far from the bathrooms- we have a bathroom in our camper but there is a rule in effect.  "No brown.  Only yellow"
On my way back to the camper I spotted the camp host making his rounds in his sporty golf cart type thing.  I stopped him and asked about firewood. He mentioned the closest being in a town appropriately named packwood 11 miles away.
I also asked him about switching campsites - I hadn't checked out the b loop or the c loop- which turns out is called the "c-section". He pointed to our camper, "is that your rig?"
Rig.  That word made me feel a little proud.  Yessir, I done drove that there RIG all thuh way here from thuh big city- all by meself!"
But I just nodded.  He said it wasn't a big deal about switching campsites, just make sure to pin my receipt to the post.  I also asked him about hiking connected to the campground.  He pulled out a map, told me I could keep it, and showed me a few loops, ones I think the kids would enjoy.
We wrapped up breakfast and got on bikes. I thought we could cruise through the other loops faster that way.  We went over to section B and once the kids spotted the trailhead they couldn't resist.  We did have to park the bikes: bikes were restricted.
Ohanapecosh is nestled in a valley near mount rainier and it has some hot springs that gurgle just uphill from a river that shares the campground's name.  The hot springs, I read, were 115-120F.  So I cautioned the kids.  But they were just really warm.  Of course our hands were so cold in relation maybe we couldn't gauge it right.  However, farther up the loop were  ones that looked warmer.  They also stunk of sulfur and nobody was begging to test the water here.  The rest of the hike was enjoyable- spotting insanely tiny mushrooms and incomprehensible huge mushrooms- and all sizes in between.
It was nice to enjoy a hike with Henry again.  He has been missed sorely on our Friday hikes.  Once back from the hike we loaded up the camper and headed into town.  Alice fell asleep on the way.
Packwood was small.  As we pulled into the only gas station Henry mentioned that there was no signal.  I said maybe people didn't have cellphones here.  He scoffed incredulously.  There wasn't any wood at the gas station so I spotted a sigh farther down the Main Street that said groceries.  It was the bare essentials type of store.  Small and to the point.  I bought wood, kindling, some marshmallow roasting sticks, a pumpkin, some hummus, and some "homemade" fudge that ended up being a disappointment.
We headed back to what ended up being a sun-dappled campground.
Samantha and max hooked up their hammocks.  Henry created a game
That looked like a live version of chutes and ladders.  There were several felled trees in the camp ground and he made it all the way from the loop street to the edge of the campground just by walking on logs.  They played this game for a long time- eventually turning it into a full contact sport.
Lunchtime rolled around and I realized I forgot the tuna cans at home.  But I also remembered buying too many packets of sliced cheese so we had fire pit grilled Gouda sandwiches for lunch.
After lunch Alice took a nap in the camper on the foldout couch and I relaxed in Samantha's hammock as the kids played uno at the empty campsite next to us.
It was so relaxing in the hammock.  Gently swaying there.  Lacy short needle pine boughs above.  Light shafts with glints of light- bugs? Stellar's jay call.  Fresh fresh air.  Sleep.
I woke up when the kids moved back to our campsite after the uno game.  They announced that they were headed to the river.   They left john, Frankie, and I with one walkie-talkie and took the other one.  The kids returned reporting great river stone tower building fun.  Samantha took many pictures.
Alice woke up and I took her for a walk around the loop. John and MJ joined us on their bikes.  We explored neat hollowed out stumps and intricate spider webs.  The other kids played a walkie-talkie hide and go seek game of their invention.  Where two teams each have a walkie-talkie and one team hides while the other team seeks and uses the walkie-talkie as a tool in finding them.  Kind of like Marco Polo.
Back at the campsite, I decided to go ahead and get dinner prepared.  I chopped the peppers and onions and sautéed them in coconut oil on the camp stove on the table by the fire.  When they were good and  caramelized I put handfuls of spinach on top and cooked them down and then moved all the veggies to a plate.  I set up a veggie quesadilla station and prepped a bunch of quesadillas.
When the kids returned I then cooked their quesadillas over the fire and they turned out just as you'd expect.  Man- camp food is so delicious.  Something about cooking over open flame makes things taste incredible.  Or is it the calories that camping burns that make everything taste delicious?
After dinner we tried out our s'mores alternative recipe.  I can't stand s'mores.  They're messy and never taste the way you imagine they'd taste.
The graham cracker splinters everywhere around a decidedly unmelted piece of chocolate.  The marshmallow is about the only part that anyone can get right.
So we decided to roll the roasted marshmallows in chocolate syrup and then coat them in toasted and crushed coconut chips.  They were absolutely amazing!
We cleaned up dinner then I broke out the glow sticks just as the sun was going down.  They decorated their bike spokes with glow sticks and we headed off on a trip around the loops.   Henry carried the pumpkin we carved earlier.  He looked like the headless horseman and even posed for a few pictures.   John hadn't taken a nap and towards the end he started lagging.
After going on a bear hunt which happened to take us by the bathrooms - "hey, we may as well use it!" we headed into the camper for bed. The little kids took a "baby wipe bath" and put their pjs on while the kids played uno by the lantern on the picnic table.
Once everyone came inside I read a few chapters of "sideways stories from wayside school".  We followed it with a rosary and that was followed with sleep.  Sweet sweet second night sleep.

Ohanapecosh - silver falls

From my camping journal...
Alice woke up a bunch again last night. It made me want to read that book on sleep training I keep putting off. It rained in the night. Not an east coast type of wash but big individual drops were heard on the camper. Also, George, Frankie, and Samantha talk in their sleep. I can't recall what was said as I was half asleep, but I heard their voices.
I woke first and began getting a fire going. Also breakfast. I cooked a pack of breakfast sausage links and eggs. It was done raining but the chairs were wet so the kids put towels on their chairs and sat around the campfire. The second pack of links went on roasting sticks and over the flame. I heard these were tasty. We packed up breakfast and went on the silver falls hiking loop.
This hike was pretty awesome despite it being too long for john. The first part of the hike was all about frozen powers. Frankie and john pretended to be like elsa and use their hands with sweeping motions to make the moss grow on the trees and mushrooms sprout in the stumps. John called it his "green power". MJ found a tiny frog and named it "naked boy" after john;-). Samantha and I made descriptive sentences to magically capture the environment around us. It spun into a game to make the most fabulous fictional words.
The sheddering pine trees were bebiggered by the mushrooms hoiling in the deep shadows below. Dormlollar-(verb) is when a baby is asleep on it's mothers back and their head is lolling about unsupported.
Arachnaleve-(verb) is when an item is suspended by a single string of spider web.
Belump-(verb)could be used to describe the action fluffy clouds make as they move across a blue sky.
It was a fun game. It made up for the discouraging fact that my phone was dead. It was 12%- Then bam- dead. I did manage to get a few pictures and a bit of a video in the early part of the hike.
But no pictures of the mossy wall nor the large wall of rock we hiked next to. No picture of the frog MJ caught.
But most of all no picture of the falls. The beautiful falls. We had a snack of dried pears and toasted coconut chips on the bridge above the ravine that cut into the land just downstream of the falls. We shared the job of carrying both the youngest kids on the return leg of the loop. The total mileage was about 2.4. 1.3 to the falls bridge and 1.1 from. It started raining sporadically towards the end of the hike. Everyone was definitely ready for lunch and shelter when we returned. We had simple meat and cheese sandwiches prepared and eaten in the camper. And I found out that mojito flavored kombucha is pretty good. Then the baby carriers and the babies laid down for naps while the others played forbidden island and uno and my phone charged.
It started raining more heavily during nap, effectively drowning out the game players voices so the nappers could further their naps.

Saint Edward's state park

No go at Denny creek today

We hit the parish knights of Columbus pancake breakfast this morning and headed straight east on 90 towards snoqualmie pass.  At exit 47 we followed the signs for Denny creek trail.  They are partnered with signs for franklin falls trail which is super close.  The drive was about 45 minutes from issaquah.
Well- we drove up and down the streets near the trailhead.  Not one parking spot to be found.  The place was packed AND swarming with people.  I think we lost our taste for the trail on this particular day.
Notes of reminder:
Best time to hit Denny creek trail- first week of public school while everyone else is trapped in desks.
On a hot hot early September day in 2015 look for us there.

Snoqualmie falls

It occurs to me that I forgot to write about our hike from last week.

It was the best yet I believe- and will likely be hard to beat.  Well... That is unless we make it to the Denny creek slide this Sunday.  The weather is supposed to get up to 85 so I kind of hope we can work that into our schedule.

So- back to snoqualmie.  It was a bit of an elevation challenge as we started from the parking lot down by the river and worked our way up to the falls.

This was strategic.  Anne told me about this trail- how steep it was- and I used her warning as a plan of attack.  I decided we should hike UP on our way out and hike DOWN(aka roll down) the hill on our way back in.  It worked beautifully.  We stopped and studied the nurse logs and stumps: logs and stumps that have fallen or been cut and given birth to new second growth trees.  I took a few pictures.  John quickly learned how to spot them since we told him that the signage said we couldn't climb the trees with "babies" on top since they were a bit fragile.

Up and up and up we climbed until we could hear a loud thundering coming from around a bend.  Sure enough the trees gave way to sun and mist and a crowd gathered on the platform looking down at the glorious falls.  I had no idea how large they were!  It was a nice surprise.  We were layered and quickly started peeling off the top layers.  Alice got to stretch her legs a bit since she had been riding in the pack.  

We headed back down the hill after a bit and it was a job coaxing.  The best way to coax a toddler on a hike is by appealing to his stomach.  I had my bag full of Lara bars.  And back at the van I had the promise of rice cakes and chocolate coconut peanut butter to top them.  That kept him rolling.  

It is a trail I would not mind visiting again.

--
Peace,
Elizabeth

Red town /coal creek loop

This morning we joined Anne, her two kids Alex and Angelina, and Kelsey and her baby girl Lydia at the red town coal creek loop. It is a great little loop that has lots of character and history.
The downside to the hike was the amount of dog poop on the trail. It is a very popular trail for people who don't clean up after their dogs.
The trail has a deep history though and it kept us interested. It is the site of the ford coal mine- so there were shafts and hoists and a coal car that the kids climbed up and sat in. I think I got a picture with max's camera of that so I hope he uploads it.
At the end of our hike we decided to just park it in the grass because the weather was so nice. A great lab puppy came upon our hiking party and the owner let us play ball with him. His name was gunner and he was so playful!
Frankie got surprised by a snake in the grass and let out a scream that snake will likely never recover from. And several spiders made cameo appearances much to Anne's chagrin.

Tiger Mountain State Park

 This school year,  I am learning the native plants of Washington, and the plant of the week is Red Alder (Alnus rubra).  I only saw  a couple of these plants on our hike at Tiger Mountain.

But maybe on our other hikes I'll see more.  I'm always kind of excited when I see a plant I know the name of  :)  Anyway, our hike was really cool.  Everything was so green and beautiful.  I tried to take a lot of pictures.

George and the girls really like this tree.  This trail was fun, but after we'd hiked for a while,  we decided to take the 'round the lake trail.  I was hoping we might see a moose, but no such luck.  We couldn't  see the lake very well from the trail anyhow.  Too many trees in the way.  George and Max were not happy, so they led the way off trail and found a little beach.  Traditional lake was so pretty!  An Osprey flew right over us,  but I didn't get a picture :(  I did get a picture of the lake though!

a little more exploring and...

        

                                                  bullfrog tadpoles!                                                                                                                       

Swamp monster hike

Swamp monsters trail on tiger mountain: issaquah

The first Friday of the school year we shelved the books and got out our backpacks, field notebooks, and water bottles and hit the trail.
We heard from a swim team friend (hi lisa!) that tiger mountain had a great kid friendly trail called "the swamp monster trail" due to all the trees covered heavily in moss.