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.

Car Camping Deception Pass State Park

Whidbey Island

A day of ferries, hiking, bridges and Carribean blue waters.

A day of ferries, hiking, bridges and Carribean blue waters.

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.