Our Summer – 2011

Well, we haven’t done such a good job posting this summer. I guess we were so busy seeing stuff in and around Seattle!

Here are five things we did this summer since our last post in early July:

1. In July, we took a trip down to Mount Saint Helens, which is about two hours south of Seattle. It’s a very impressive sight – as you get closer, you see the mountain in the distance, and it looks unlike any other mountain in the area – an entire side of it has been blown off. It’s amazing to think that this happened just a mere thirty years ago. We visited two visitors centers and did a very nice hike through a forest with views of the crater. Here are some photos!

2. Dad and the boys drove up to North Cascades National Park, about two hours north of Seattle. This was the sixth National Park we visited this year! There are some waterfalls and some beautiful overlooks. We did a great hike that started along an old riverbed, with rocks and boulders to climb over, and ended with some great views of a lake. 

3. In August, we all went camping at Mt. Rainier – the seventh (and final!) national park we visited this year. We stayed at Cougar Rock Campground; it was a lot of fun (except for the really big tree root that was right underneath Dad’s sleeping bag L). We had visited Mount Rainier before, but always as day trips, which meant we got to spend about 4-5 hours at the park (and about the same amount of time in the car!). Camping there lets us spend a lot more time there and ‘get to know’ the park a bit more. We did a hike to Snow Lake (there are still snow fields even though it’s August) and were able to visit both main visitors center – the one at Paradise (where we usually go) and the one at Sunrise (where we hadn’t been yet). On the way home we went to Crystal Mountain, which is a ski resort in the winter but stays open in the summer and runs the gondola up to the top of the mountain. We were able to see some amazing views of Rainier from the top. Here are some photos!

4. Also in August, we took a ferry to Orcas Island, an island in the Puget Sound between Washington and Canada. This is an amazing island and a pretty big tourist destination. We are able to drive up to the highest point and get some great views across the Sound into Canada, as well as of Mount Baker. We also hike down to a waterfall where we’re able to sit under the water as it comes down. The ferry is about 45 minutes each direction. It’s great to be out on the water; we pass by dozens of other smaller islands on the way.

5. Dad’s Birthday. We all go up to Snoqualmie Pass (where we go skiing in the winter) for a kayaking outing on a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains, and the older boys and Dad take a bike ride through a 2.5-mile tunnel. It used to be a railroad tunnel through the mountain, they’ve just re-opened it as a bike path. There are no lights at all in the tunnel; you have to use a head lamp or flash light to be able to see (once you’re about 50 yards into the tunnel if you don’t have a light it is absolutely pitch black).