Lake Chelan State Park Camping

When: May 12-14, 2017 This particular weekend we had permits to do Mt. St. Helen's with a group, but the weather was calling for 2+ feet of new snow, wind, and bad avalanche conditions. We called off the trip 2 days prior because of this. We still wanted to get out of town so we made last minute plans to camp at Lake Chelan State Park. This was done online and there were still many campsites open the day before. We even got one of the prime ones on the water. We left Friday after packing up all the camping gear and 3 hours later we were at our campsite just before dark. The campsite was interesting in that you parked up top on the road and then had to go down some stairs about 50 feet to your campsite that was close to the water. We set up camp, had a fire and called it a day.

The next day we had a slow morning of coffee by the lake and breakfast burritos. Ahh the luxuries of car camping. We got everything ready and set out to hike Chelan Butte about 20 minutes away. There weren't too many reviews on WTA for this hike, but some recent ones said the wildflowers were getting good. The hike is an open landscape, rolling hills kind of deal. So very different than western Washington. We hiked for about 2 hours to get to the top and the hike continues on a ridge line walk after that.  We turned around at this point due to wind. Overall we hiked about 6 miles/ 2100 elevation gain. The hike was gorgeous with all the wildflowers, views of the north cascades and Lake Chelan.

We then went to a local winery here, there are many in the area. We went to Tsillan Cellars as it was highly recommended and rated. We did a tasting of 5 wines, enjoyed the beautiful vineyards and then were on our way back to the campground.

That evening we cooked teriyaki chicken skewers, drank Minnesotan beer, relaxed by the fire and took a sunset stroll by the lake.

It wont be too long until we are back at Lake Chelan for a medical conference. It is also high on my list to hike the lakeshore trail that follows Lake Chelan all the way up to Stehekin. So many things to do in Washington, so little time.

North Cascades/ Diablo Lake Camping

Where: North Cascades National Park, 2.5 hr from Seattle

My sisters were coming in town and my husband had the weekend off so we searched the state and saw were it would be least likely to rain (per usual) and saw that the north cascades looked good, for at least Saturday. So we packed up the car (4 humans + pup) and headed north Friday night. Dorris, Cody and Catherine also met us Friday night. We got there about 9 and tried to find a campsite to set up in in the dark. The great thing about fall camping is lots of open sights and no fees! The downside is setting up in the rain.. We bought the Kelty tarp just a few days prior looking at the forecast. We set it up over our tent to let us set up our tent without getting everything wet, which worked great. We all went to bed early as sitting up in the rain is no fun.

Saturday we awoke and made pancakes and bacon! Ahh the luxuries of car camping. 3 more people joined us this morning to come with for the hike. After breakfast we all got on the road to Thunder Knob trail. This hike is 3.5 miles and 635 elevation gain. We wanted a short hike we could do with all the sight seeing. The bridge that is normally there to cross a river is taken down in the winter, so we had to cross a sketchy log. We all made it across fine on the way there, but on the way back my foot fell off and into the water.. the worst! Anyways, the hike was easy peasy with great views to boot. At the top you see grand views of Diablo Lake. After the hike we made our way to the Diablo Lake overlook and took in the magnificent sights. This lake is phenomenal. I want to go back and explore so much more of the north cascades.

After that we made quesadillas, s'mores. and enjoyed a fire. No rain all day! It rained a little bit during the night, but we woke up to no rain again. Sometimes you endure the weather to reap the benefits. Sometimes it's worth it. Sometimes it's not. This time it definitely was.

Oregon Road Trip

 

The husband and two friends of ours from Minnesota flew out to join us on a 5 day adventure across Oregon. We had been to Portland and the Gorge previously, but were itching to see more. We found the perfect time to go at the end of June and planned from there.

Day 1: We drove from Seattle to Portland and stayed the night there. We explored Powell's Book Store, had Salt n' Straw ice cream (the BEST),  enjoyed some tax free shopping, and dined at Deschutes Brewery.

Day 2: We left Portland and took the scenic route past Mt. Hood. This area is gorgeous. I am sure there is lots of lovely hiking/camping in the area. We stopped at Trillium Lake that gave us a perfect view of Mt. Hood. After that we stopped at Smith Rock State Park and then made our way to Bend. Bend is a cute little town with great mountain views and breweries galore. We stopped for a beer before we continued to Diamond Lake. We made it to Diamond Lake before dark and sent up camp. Our spot was right near the Lake, everything was perfect except for the swarms of mosquitos.

Day 3: We woke up, ate breakfast, and made our way to Crater Lake! It was about 25 minutes from Diamond Lake, which was great. We drove up and went to one of the first look out points and it was breath taking. I have never seen something so blue in my life and the vast size of the lake is incomprehensible. It is something that truly everyone should see with their own eye. Such a special, unique park. We drove south around the lake as far as we could (part of the rim was still closed because of snow). After making it south we headed back north and east to the last section we hadn't seen. We did one hike at Crater Lake and it was the Cleetwood Cove Trail. This is the only way to get down to the water. It was only a 1 mile hike but the elevation coming back up was killer. At the bottom, the boys jumped into the frigged water while the girls soaked in the views. After this we headed back to Diamond Lake for another night. We enjoyed the sunset, ate some good camp food and played games.

Day 4: We woke up early to head out for a full day of adventure. We first went to Toketee falls which was 30-40 minutes from Diamond Lake. It is a relatively short hike to a beautiful waterfall. Oregon has Washington beat in the waterfall front for sure. Just down the road we then went to Umpqua Hot Springs. This was our first natural hot springs experience. It's a little hike up and you come out to this exposed cliff with a river below. On this cliff is about 6 small pools that starts with (unbearably) hot water dripping down to different pools (the temperature decreases a little with each pool). This was one of the coolest things I have experienced. I can't wait to go to more hot springs! After this we headed to the coast. We stopped in Eugene for Voodoo Donuts and made our way to Cape Lookout State Park. Cape Lookout juts out from the coast and is gorgeous. We camped fairly close to the ocean. I could hear the waves coming in as we went to sleep, so peaceful.

Day 5: We woke up and packed up for the last time. We headed to Tillamook next, a large dairy factory well known in the PNW. We toured the factory, sampled the delectable cheese, and then of course got ice cream before 10 AM. After this we then headed to the infamous Cannon Beach! This had been on our list for a long time as well and we were excited to finally get there. We drove down to the beach and ended up parking far from the haystacks, but it made for a nice barefoot walk down the beach. the only thing that could've made this any better was if it was a clear/sunny day. But atlas, those are hard to come by up here. We walked up to the haystacks admiring their giant size amongst the ocean and crashing waves. We explored the tide pools and the crabs and other little critters living amongst the shore. A stop at the coast would not be complete without some seafood, so we stopped for fish and chips at Cannon Beach. After this we started to make our way to Seattle passing through other small ocean towns (that I would love to go back and explore sometime).

Overall it was an amazing trip and so great to see so much of Oregon and it's beauty. Really gives Washington a run for its money.

The PNW continues to steal my heart over and over again.

Car Camping Deception Pass State Park

Mt. Rainier Camping Trip

We camped the night before in a campground about 30 minutes away from the park so we could get an early start Saturday. Saturday we woke up early, packed up, and went straight to Paradise. Through my research, I knew we had to hike the Skyline Trail to see incredible views. It was definitely the hardest and longest hike we have ever done at 5.5 miles with an incredible incline the whole way up. On the way we saw marmots, waterfalls, and other mountains far away. The views were breathtaking. After that we went to our campsite in the park and set up and actually had time to relax the rest of the day. Just read, sat in the hammock, grilled food, and drank wine. Sunday we woke up at a descent time, made eggs, hash browns, and turkey bacon, and then packed up. I had a couple more hikes planned even though our legs were already toast. But I really wanted to see Snow Lake which required a 2.5 mile roundtrip hike and it was another hilly one. We did it though and it was worth the view. After that we went to Grove of the Patriarchs and walked a bit through the old forest there, which was awesome. And lastly we did the road to sunrise which was beautiful, but the mountain was covered in clouds at this time.

Overall an amazing, beautiful time. So fortunate to live close enough to be able to take weekend trips to these places.

We camped the night before in a campground about 30 minutes away from the park so we could get an early start Saturday. Saturday we woke up early, packed up, and went straight to Paradise. Through my research, I knew we had to hike the Skyline Trail to see incredible views. It was definitely the hardest and longest hike we have ever done at 5.5 miles with an incredible incline the whole way up. On the way we saw marmots, waterfalls, and other mountains far away. The views were breathtaking. After that we went to our campsite in the park and set up and actually had time to relax the rest of the day. Just read, sat in the hammock, grilled food, and drank wine. Sunday we woke up at a descent time, made eggs, hash browns, and turkey bacon, and then packed up. I had a couple more hikes planned even though our legs were already toast. But I really wanted to see Snow Lake which required a 2.5 mile roundtrip hike and it was another hilly one. We did it though and it was worth the view. After that we went to Grove of the Patriarchs and walked a bit through the old forest there, which was awesome. And lastly we did the road to sunrise which was beautiful, but the mountain was covered in clouds at this time.

Overall an amazing, beautiful time. So fortunate to live close enough to be able to take weekend trips to these places.

First Time to Olympic National Park

We left Seattle Friday night and made it to Port Angeles within a few hours and camped out at a KOA. We woke up early the next day and headed to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains. To true PNW style, it was cloudy and we couldn't see much. We still enjoyed the (limited) view of the Sound and Canada across the way. From there we made our way to Lake Crescent where it started to rain pretty good, but we had a full itinerary to attend to. After the lake, we headed to Sol Duc Hot Springs because, DUH. Our idea of a hot spring in the wilderness was a secluded little hot bath, this was quite the opposite. They have turned it into a resort where we had to pay $30 to use the pool-like hot springs. It was packed, but lovely none the less. Day one in the Olympics came to a close taking in the magic of mountains, rivers, hot springs oh my.

Day two we headed out early to the coast. First up was Rialto beach. The day started out grey and gloomy, but I didn't care. It was our first time to the Washington coast and I was ready to see it. After that, we made our way to the Hoh Rainforest. True to it's name, it poured on us here. The rainforest is really a different world that one has to experience with their own eyes. Everything is an unreal green, soaking wet and covered in moss. We even saw a slug! We then made it to La Push, another beach. By this time in the afternoon it had cleared up and it was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. I could've stayed there all day and plan to another time. Walking the coast, listening to the waves, hopping over washed up jelly fish can never get old. We stopped at a few more beaches and made our way back to Seattle. This was our first, but definitely not our last time to the Olympic National Park.

We left Seattle Friday night and made it to Port Angeles within a few hours and camped out at a KOA. We woke up early the next day and headed to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains. To true PNW style, it was cloudy and we couldn't see much. We still enjoyed the (limited) view of the Sound and Canada across the way. From there we made our way to Lake Crescent where it started to rain pretty good, but we had a full itinerary to attend to. After the lake, we headed to Sol Duc Hot Springs because, DUH. Our idea of a hot spring in the wilderness was a secluded little hot bath, this was quite the opposite. They have turned it into a resort where we had to pay $30 to use the pool-like hot springs. It was packed, but lovely none the less. Day one in the Olympics came to a close taking in the magic of mountains, rivers, hot springs oh my.

Day two we headed out early to the coast. First up was Rialto beach. The day started out grey and gloomy, but I didn't care. It was our first time to the Washington coast and I was ready to see it. After that, we made our way to the Hoh Rainforest. True to it's name, it poured on us here. The rainforest is really a different world that one has to experience with their own eyes. Everything is an unreal green, soaking wet and covered in moss. We even saw a slug! We then made it to La Push, another beach. By this time in the afternoon it had cleared up and it was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. I could've stayed there all day and plan to another time. Walking the coast, listening to the waves, hopping over washed up jelly fish can never get old. We stopped at a few more beaches and made our way back to Seattle. This was our first, but definitely not our last time to the Olympic National Park.