Nature
-
Monument Valley
Few places have so inspired me and filled me with awe that I was left speechless. Monument Valley is now one of them. My daughter and I visited the last week of September, and took an awesome tour with a local guide. Here is a link to the campground we used which also has the…
-
Grand Lake, Olympic National Park
I took a few days off work in order to go hiking with my son up in the Olympic Mountains. We went to a new spot called Grand Lake, which neither of us had visited. It is within the national park and requires a wilderness overnight permit which can be purchased at recreation.gov. The difficult…
-
Naches Peak Trail Loop, again!
It’s July and my family spent a weekend up near Chinook Pass, and after everyone left and I finished my cleanup chores, I drove up to the pass for another dose of my favorite hike: Naches Peak Loop! It’s my go-to hike for July because of a number of factors. First the snow pack is…
-
Mount Townsend
It was a moody Juneteenth in the Olympics, with a marine layer just hanging out over the mountains and hiding them from view. I organized a hike with folks from work and over ten people participated, many hiking up into the Eastern Olympics for the first time. I was excited for them but was worried…
-
Dosewallips, Olympic National Park
The first backpacking trip of the year was a great success! I was able to invite folks from work for a first overnight hiking trip for 3 of 4 of them, and get all my gear out and put it to use! We had a great time, and this particular part of Olympic National Park…
-
Iceland is Awesome
In July of 2023, I was plotting my travel back to Seattle from Spain after leaving my son there for a semester abroad. We had developed an epic plan involving flights to London, the Chunnel, Paris, Bordeaux, and then an afternoon stop in Hendaye, and a train to Donastia, where he would be staying and…
-
It’s Lottery Season!
Yes, Mt Rainier National Park is still snowed in and will be until the 4th of July. Same with the Enchantments up near Leavenworth WA. In order to stay over night and backpack in these amazing locations, you need to enter a lottery at recreation.gov and see if randomly you get to pre-book you trip.…
-
First hike of the year…
The weather is beautiful and cold in the Northwest. We’ve had an unusual 10 days or so of clear skies and sunshine. The temperatures have been cold, but we decided to brave the chill and do a short hike to see some nature and a cute waterfall. We visited Ludlow Falls in Port Ludlow, Washington.…
-
It’s a beautiful morning…
I thought my morning walk was something I just had to get through today. Turns out, nature revealed moment after moment of scenery that literally shocked me out of my stupor. Sometimes quiet reflection is the right response…. I wish my words could do what nature does unexpectedly. I’m stunned silent by the beauty that…
-
It’s raining a bit in the Northwest…
Olympic National Park has an amazing reputation, but mostly in the summer. This time of year, the park is really one big hazard zone, especially during and after a storm. The northwest was hit by what is called a bomb cyclone last week, and the area near the Quinault entrance had 3+ inches of water…
Myhealthadventure 