a world of its own
I love the woods. I love hiking. I love the reprieve of being the woods, away from all of the "to-do's" in everyday life. lots to explore. room to think. to have a destination but enjoy the path that takes me there. I love the physicality of hiking; moving, exercising, and feeling thatgoodandwornout feeling at the end. i love that my husband is much more of an outdoorsman that i. he's also the always prepared kind that you definitely appreciate. but incessantly tease.
for the Memorial Day weekend, our family went to the woods. we stayed in a rustic lodge with just the bare necessities (beds, bathroom). no tent camping for us this time. we did that when miss evelyn was one month old and we might save that for the backyard. for now. i packed up enough food to last us for four days so we could just stop and eat whenever and wherever. i packed enough clothes for the kids to go through two to three outfits a day. we have two little boys-- and one grown-up boy-- after all.
our first day was the drive to the lodge. we made great time and arrived to see beautiful Lake Crescent in all her shining, shimmering glory. we did a small hike to Marymere falls and the boys loved the trees, the dirt, the waterfall. i love seeing my boys run and play in the woods-- we look at rocks; stop for caterpillars and banana slugs; and climb in all the burnt-out trees. and i, of course, make them look and smile for pictures at almost every stop. so, basically, we take forever. our lodge had a huge meadow behind it, so we ate our picnic dinner there and then the boys chased, climbed on, and ran circles around their daddy for a good hour. evelyn got some of her wiggles out crawling around the grass and trying to eat everything.
day two was heading west. to the most northwestern point, to be exact. we drove through Neah Bay to Cape Flattery. the hike was gorgeous and fun. we were warned at the trailhead of a cougar sighting, so we had a teaching moment with the boys of how to be safe on the trail. my oldest and i shared a fun joke throughout the hike, shouting "not a deer!" every so often, reminding us to make noise and stay close to mommy and daddy in order to keep the cougar away! the culmination of the hike included numerous lookout points of the sea stacks out in the ocean as well as Tatoosh Island, a small island off the coast with a lighthouse. absolutely beautiful. we spent the afternoon at the lodge, hiking small trails around the lake. and we decided to drive the thirty minutes to Port Angeles to eat dinner. there was a pizza place we had eaten at a couple of years ago, so we headed there. the kids were great and totally redeemed the "we save restaurants for date nights" mindset we currently hold.
day three was rialto beach! i was really looking forward to beach day! for any of my east coast family/friends-- go ahead and erase any mental pictures of warm sand, tide pools, and bath water temperatures. uh-uh. we had layers on, complete with raincoats. there was a constant mist (making picture-taking a little tricky). it was beautiful. the waves kept crashing in, bringing the icy cold water closer to us. the shore was covered with the most unique rocks i have ever seen. once i took my fill of pictures, my mission was to fill my camera bag with as many rocks as i could! the boys were thrilled to climb all over the fallen trees that littered the shore. we walked down the beach for a while, enjoying the loud but quiet beauty, then headed back. the rain had set in pretty consistently by then, so we drove around and found a covered area next to a playground! we unloaded our cooler and ate lunch, let the boys play for a bit, then packed our wet selves back up to head back to the lodge. throughout these adventures, my husband and i just smiled at each other with the "we're kind of crazy" looks. i mean, who picnics in the cold rain? i am so thankful for him. we're so made for each other.
we started the drive back, with a stop at Sol Duc Hot Springs resort. unfortunately, you can't see the springs there unless you pay the admission rate. we declined. from the looks of it, it was a mountain-based water park, with people swarming about, clad in their swimsuits. no thanks. two of the three munchkins were napping, so we kept driving and ended up at the Sol Duc Falls trailhead. it was a popular hike, with lots of people, and super muddy from all the rainfall of the day. Sol Duc Falls is powerful. the hike takes you over a bridge looking down at the falls, so there is a scariness factor to it (especially with three littles). it was a good hike and a good end to our day. we were all relieved to be back at the lodge for warm baths and picnic dinner in the room.
day four-- our final day. our last stop was Hoh Rain Forest. it is kind of funny because with the western Washington climate, almost all of the hikes are rainforest-ish. we went to the visitor's center first and they had displays of Sitka Spruces in Hurricane Ridge (in the Olympic National Park, but in a less wet climate and different elevation) compared to the ones in the rainforest. the rainforest spruces grow at an amazing rate because of the moisture! a 28-year-old tree in the rainforest has the same circumference as a 50+ year-old tree in Hurricane Ridge. {nerd moment}
our hike through the Trail of the Mosses was WET. we were all pretty soaked by the end. but it was a cool hike with tons of burnt-out trees, nurselogs, and fallen trees to climb on. and the lush and mossy environment is so picturesque. poor evelyn was all soaked, but loved every minute of it, so it seemed. she kept pushing off the hat i put on her and was full of smiles! our kids were definitely troopers!
on the drive back home, we took the southern route around the Olympic National Park. we drove past the beaches on the Pacific coast, with the blue, blue water-- gorgeous! given more time (or the next trip), i want to spend more time there, especially when it's warmer. we drove through small towns of Washington that we will probably never see otherwise and finally arrived at home! we picked up pizza on the way, i unloaded and cleaned up the van while my husband got the boys bathed, and we all just relaxed and enjoyed home. one of the first things the boys wanted to do when we pulled up to the house was wrestle with daddy. ha! four days of close space and they needed more daddy time. I love it.
i am thankful for this time we had. minus the bedtime craziness, everything went really well for a "camping" trip with littles. my husband and i had a lot of catch-up time on the drives to and from destinations, and we made some fun memories!
now for pictures! {a little jumbled order, but a ton of pictures, nonetheless}
for the Memorial Day weekend, our family went to the woods. we stayed in a rustic lodge with just the bare necessities (beds, bathroom). no tent camping for us this time. we did that when miss evelyn was one month old and we might save that for the backyard. for now. i packed up enough food to last us for four days so we could just stop and eat whenever and wherever. i packed enough clothes for the kids to go through two to three outfits a day. we have two little boys-- and one grown-up boy-- after all.
our first day was the drive to the lodge. we made great time and arrived to see beautiful Lake Crescent in all her shining, shimmering glory. we did a small hike to Marymere falls and the boys loved the trees, the dirt, the waterfall. i love seeing my boys run and play in the woods-- we look at rocks; stop for caterpillars and banana slugs; and climb in all the burnt-out trees. and i, of course, make them look and smile for pictures at almost every stop. so, basically, we take forever. our lodge had a huge meadow behind it, so we ate our picnic dinner there and then the boys chased, climbed on, and ran circles around their daddy for a good hour. evelyn got some of her wiggles out crawling around the grass and trying to eat everything.
day two was heading west. to the most northwestern point, to be exact. we drove through Neah Bay to Cape Flattery. the hike was gorgeous and fun. we were warned at the trailhead of a cougar sighting, so we had a teaching moment with the boys of how to be safe on the trail. my oldest and i shared a fun joke throughout the hike, shouting "not a deer!" every so often, reminding us to make noise and stay close to mommy and daddy in order to keep the cougar away! the culmination of the hike included numerous lookout points of the sea stacks out in the ocean as well as Tatoosh Island, a small island off the coast with a lighthouse. absolutely beautiful. we spent the afternoon at the lodge, hiking small trails around the lake. and we decided to drive the thirty minutes to Port Angeles to eat dinner. there was a pizza place we had eaten at a couple of years ago, so we headed there. the kids were great and totally redeemed the "we save restaurants for date nights" mindset we currently hold.
day three was rialto beach! i was really looking forward to beach day! for any of my east coast family/friends-- go ahead and erase any mental pictures of warm sand, tide pools, and bath water temperatures. uh-uh. we had layers on, complete with raincoats. there was a constant mist (making picture-taking a little tricky). it was beautiful. the waves kept crashing in, bringing the icy cold water closer to us. the shore was covered with the most unique rocks i have ever seen. once i took my fill of pictures, my mission was to fill my camera bag with as many rocks as i could! the boys were thrilled to climb all over the fallen trees that littered the shore. we walked down the beach for a while, enjoying the loud but quiet beauty, then headed back. the rain had set in pretty consistently by then, so we drove around and found a covered area next to a playground! we unloaded our cooler and ate lunch, let the boys play for a bit, then packed our wet selves back up to head back to the lodge. throughout these adventures, my husband and i just smiled at each other with the "we're kind of crazy" looks. i mean, who picnics in the cold rain? i am so thankful for him. we're so made for each other.
we started the drive back, with a stop at Sol Duc Hot Springs resort. unfortunately, you can't see the springs there unless you pay the admission rate. we declined. from the looks of it, it was a mountain-based water park, with people swarming about, clad in their swimsuits. no thanks. two of the three munchkins were napping, so we kept driving and ended up at the Sol Duc Falls trailhead. it was a popular hike, with lots of people, and super muddy from all the rainfall of the day. Sol Duc Falls is powerful. the hike takes you over a bridge looking down at the falls, so there is a scariness factor to it (especially with three littles). it was a good hike and a good end to our day. we were all relieved to be back at the lodge for warm baths and picnic dinner in the room.
day four-- our final day. our last stop was Hoh Rain Forest. it is kind of funny because with the western Washington climate, almost all of the hikes are rainforest-ish. we went to the visitor's center first and they had displays of Sitka Spruces in Hurricane Ridge (in the Olympic National Park, but in a less wet climate and different elevation) compared to the ones in the rainforest. the rainforest spruces grow at an amazing rate because of the moisture! a 28-year-old tree in the rainforest has the same circumference as a 50+ year-old tree in Hurricane Ridge. {nerd moment}
our hike through the Trail of the Mosses was WET. we were all pretty soaked by the end. but it was a cool hike with tons of burnt-out trees, nurselogs, and fallen trees to climb on. and the lush and mossy environment is so picturesque. poor evelyn was all soaked, but loved every minute of it, so it seemed. she kept pushing off the hat i put on her and was full of smiles! our kids were definitely troopers!
on the drive back home, we took the southern route around the Olympic National Park. we drove past the beaches on the Pacific coast, with the blue, blue water-- gorgeous! given more time (or the next trip), i want to spend more time there, especially when it's warmer. we drove through small towns of Washington that we will probably never see otherwise and finally arrived at home! we picked up pizza on the way, i unloaded and cleaned up the van while my husband got the boys bathed, and we all just relaxed and enjoyed home. one of the first things the boys wanted to do when we pulled up to the house was wrestle with daddy. ha! four days of close space and they needed more daddy time. I love it.
i am thankful for this time we had. minus the bedtime craziness, everything went really well for a "camping" trip with littles. my husband and i had a lot of catch-up time on the drives to and from destinations, and we made some fun memories!
now for pictures! {a little jumbled order, but a ton of pictures, nonetheless}
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| ducks! |
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| ethan's a duck! |
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| love this sweet girl. |
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| taking a peek into Lake Crescent. |
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| on the pier. |
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| I adore my boys! |
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| lake and mountains. great combo. |
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| checking out the map with daddy. |
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| Neah Bay. |
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| more Neah Bay. |
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| and more bay. |
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| Brian shooting a deer. ;) |
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| oh my goodness, I want to eat her up. |
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| feeling like a big girl. |
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| my mountain man. |
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| the kids were all asleep in the van, so we took advantage of a few moments to take photos of each other! |
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| us. |
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| daddy and his {little} girl. |
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| sunset over Lake Crescent. |
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| Rialto Beach! |
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| let the road trip begin! {told you these were out of order} |
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| me and my little monkeys! |
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| levi's happy place. throwing rocks in the river {all day long}. |
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| lots of bridges made the hikes even more exciting for my boys. |
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| Marymere Falls! |
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| our view of Lake Crescent from the lodge. yes, please. |
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| more bridge and woods beauty. |
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| hours spent climbing on and playing with daddy. they just can't get enough! |
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| more lake beauty from our lodge room porch. |
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| Cape Flattery hike. love these views! |
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| and I love adventures with this man. he is truly the best. |
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| our family {all looking!} in front of Tatoosh Island. |
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| lots of naps in the van for these kiddos. this is how Levi rolls. |
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| ...and the yoga-inspired sleeping position for ethan. |
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| Rialto Beach, in all its uniqueness. |
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| I seriously couldn't stop picking out rocks to take home! gorgeous! |
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| such a sweet baby. |
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| these boys spent most of our lodge time on this HUGE tree stump in front of our room! they both could climb up by themselves! |
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| hey-Hoh! rainforest time. |
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| and it rained almost the entire hike. not a problem, says trooper-baby Evelyn! the cold never bothered me anyway. {wink} |
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| family hiking selfie! |
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| back to Rialto-- ethan's happy place: climbing on all the logs! |
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| more Rialto. different, but beautiful. |
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| woods and beach is an awesome combo. |
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| I loved watching and listening to the waves come crashing in. so powerful. |
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| the obligatory {and surprise} "mom making lunch at the back of the van" picture. ;) |
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| with this view behind us. |
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| ah, now this beauty I could look at all day. |
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| hello, Pacific. |
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| the Hoh rainforest was full of these moss-covered, all growing on top of each other trees. the boys had a blast! |
What a fun vacay! Beautiful beautiful! I want to go there sometime soon! Thanks for posting pics if your awesome family!
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