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.

A Weekend in Vancouver, BC

Ever since we moved to Seattle we wanted to make it up to Vancouver, BC with it being under a 3 hour car ride away. It took us almost two years to make it up, but we finally found the chance, grabbed our passports and hit the road. We booked an Air BnB for the weekend just outside of the downtown area to save on costs a bit and arrived late Friday night. Even just crossing the border you notice how everything is different from MPH to kilometers per hour, to new accents and a different culture. The exchange rate was in our favor up there- we noticed food and drinks were a good deal but clothes and other items came out to be about the same price comparatively. Saturday morning we woke up and went to the public market, tried lots of food, then made our way to Capliano Suspension Bridge. This insta-famous spot is very picture worthy and something we wanted to just once. It is a big tourist spot and the prices match that. Overall a beautiful place to walk around. I really enjoyed it.

The rest of the day we explored the city, ate many of the local delicacies, and took in the "foreign" land. Sunday we woke up early to explore some of the mountains nearby. I find it extremely hard to find local hiking information for places other than Washington. WTA will always be the best. I researched, asked some people I knew up there, found the local avalanche reports, and even asked some locals in person. A lot of work to figure out one snowshoe trip! We went to Cypress Mountain about 35 minutes from Vancouver. We got lost where to start based on two different websites recommendations, but eventually found the right trailhead for Hollyburn Mountain. This hike was 6.2 miles/ 1500 in elevation gain. We wore microspikes up and snowshoes down. There was lovely weather going up until we got closer to the summit, then in true PNW fashion it was socked in with no views. It was still a really fun hike and nice to explore new mountains. After this we made our way back to Seattle. I would love to go back and explore more of Vancouver and the mountains surrounding it, thank goodness it's so close!

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.

Car Camping Deception Pass State Park

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.