Two Lakes

Yakima Valley is in the molten grip of a heat wave this week. The five day forecast is all in triple digits. Mountains to the rescue! I love being able to escape our smoldering valley to the cooler mountains! We were not in the mood to camp (too much work, not enough sleep), so we decided on a day trip. After performing my signature intensive research, I selected the Bench and Snow Lake trail in Mt. Rainier National Park for a family hike. On Tuesday, (July 28th), we made the 2 hour 20 minute drive, with somewhere around 20 minutes of added time for two sections of stop-and-wait road work. We listened to music together and watched the trees flash by. 

Once we entered the official park, the road got steeper and curvier. Predictably, Rose got car sick and threw up on the side of the road. Cue the slamming of brakes and hasty opening of door for the green child to upchuck! Once Rose was all cleaned up, we forged onward. The drive was gorgeous, in spite of the sinuous road, and since Rose was all emptied out, she didn't puke again. 

A backyard walk

The day after my trail run adventure was a Saturday. Instead of going on a run, I went on a walk with the kids behind our house. They led me all over the farmland and fields, proudly showing me all of their favorite places to play, run, climb, and dig. It was sweet seeing the familiar places through their eyes. Even though the constant "Mommy, look!" can get exasperating at times, it really is fun being their number one Person To Show Everything. On this walk, I realized (again) that setting specific time aside to be fully present with my kids definitely brings that joy to the forefront. Instead of me feeling irked at being interrupted with a "come see this," I was already there in the moment, ready to look at all of their favorite places. 

Union Creek

Another Shainadventure is in the books! On Friday (July 24th), I drove 99 miles west into Chinook Pass with my sights set on a well-researched portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. In the car, when I was a scant three miles from the top of Chinook Pass, I drove into a cloud. It wasn't a fluffy white happy cloud; it was an ominous dark gray cloud that completely covered the road and the sweeping panoramic vistas that characterize Chinook Pass. When I jumped out of the car to use the vault toilet at the trail parking area, it was forty degrees, windy, wet, and dark. 

It was decision time. Did I want to have a cold, wet, possibly stormy/slick trail run with all big mountain views hidden in mist? Or did I want to turn back and drive a couple miles to one of many other unknown, un-researched trailheads lower down out of the cloud? After agonizing for a while, I reluctantly turned around and drove back the way I came until I saw a likely looking trail sign for Union Creek Trail. 

Union Creek Falls, a quarter of a mile down the trail.

Sunnyside Summertime

Summertime is in full force here in Sunnyside, with endless blazing blue skies every day and several triple digit temperatures every week. The crops are a lush, leafy green under the farmers' careful irrigation. The canal is full and deep, flowing life and color into the dry brown land. On the horizon, Mt. Adams' blanket of white snow is patchy and receding. The sunrises are early and bright; the sunsets are late and lingering. It's the season when fair Sunnyside truly lives up to her name. 

Our country cottage is in the middle of all that irrigation, agriculture, sun, and sky. We had a quiet week at home. It was noticeably quiet for two reasons. One: we did a post-trip self-quarantine, so we didn't socialize. Two: our summer screen time rule is an equal ratio of outside time to screen time, with a baseline requirement of two hours outside everyday. The kids learned to get up earlier and go outside before the heat set in, and consequently, the inside of our house was serenely peaceful for several hours every morning. When the kids came inside, they were [mostly] tame and tired, so the calm-factor continued. It is a system that works wonders for our family sanity! 

Bridger Ridge

During our last night on the road, while we were lounging in our Bozeman, Montana hotel room, I started browsing nearby trails in the All Trails app on a whim. I happened across a popular trail that was only a twelve minute drive from our hotel. Twelve minutes to a gorgeous mountainous trail? At home I drive at least two hours to get to the good trails! The riches of such proximity were too tempting to pass up. After a brief conference with Jeff, I committed. The next morning (Wednesday, July 15th), after Jeff finished his run (on firm even sidewalks to coddle his poor ankle problem), I drove that brief one dozen minutes across Bozeman to the College M and Bridger Ridge trailhead. 

Old Faithful

Our final stop in our Yellowstone day was the classic Old Faithful geyser. The parking lot was massive and packed with cars. We drove up and down rows and rows of vehicles with license plates from at least half of the states. Rose and I enjoyed reading out all of the different states on each car. It made the hunt for a parking spot a little more fun. After ten minutes or so with no parking success, Jeff and I had a quick consultation wherein I was fine with skipping Old Faithful due to the non-pandemic-friendly crowds. Jeff was determined to have our kids see Old Faithful, though, so he agreed to drop us off and keep searching for a parking spot. Jeff saw Old Faithful when he was Jay's age, so he wouldn't be crushed if he missed it. We agreed to meet back at the curb every 15 minutes to check in (no cell service).

As the kids and I walked up the long sidewalk towards the geyser, we saw a sign with the next eruption prediction. It said 1:40pm. It was 1:39!! We ran for it and way up ahead the geyser began spouting! We stood and watched from afar while the steam and water shot into the air. It lasted longer than I expected it to, and out of the blue, Jeff came sprinting up. He had found a parking spot right after dropping us off! So we all got to see Old Faithful together after all. 

Paint Pots

Our second stop in Yellowstone was the Paint Pots geothermal area. We had planned on seeing the famous rainbow Grand Prismatic Spring, but decided to see Paint Pots first since they popped up first along the park loop road. We were glad we stopped when we did because later when we drove past the Grand Prismatic Spring area, there was a long line of cars waiting to turn into the full-to-bursting parking lot and hoards of people swarming the place. We skipped it. Paint Pots gave us our fill of rainbow-edged hot springs, bubbling hot mud pits, and we even saw a few geysers spout along the path. 

The place was otherworldly. It seemed like a cross between Mars and the moon, with the contrast between the bright orange "bacteria mats" and the desolate white cratered expanse of bubbly mud and geysers. There were several holes that were gurgling and sucking like an old drain. The boiling mud bubbles rose and popped endlessly. The steam never stopped rising from the hot springs. The colors and complete foreign novelty of the place kept us entranced.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

The day we drove through Yellowstone, we mapped out three key sights along our path through the park. The main road in the park is a big loop, which was confusing at times because there would be arrows pointing in both directions, informing us that Old Faithful was a either left or right turn. It just depended on how long of a drive we wanted before we arrived. We decided to save Old Faithful for last, even with potential afternoon crowds, because it was the farthest away from our point of entry on the park loop road. Our first sight of the day was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. 

This was my first grand canyon! I'm sure it's tiny compared to Arizona's version, but it was still quite rugged and impressive. We parked in a fast-filling lot and walked a mile and a half down a trail to a waterfall viewpoint partway down the canyon wall. Knowing Jay's fear of heights, I asked him how he was feeling regularly throughout our hike. In response to my first inquiry, he said "my fear of heights is in full force." He walked slowly and cautiously the whole way, and never went too close to any ledges, railing or no. 

Cody and beyond

After two weeks in the mile high city, we prepped for our journey home. The plan was to stop one night in Cody, Wyoming, spend the following day in Yellowstone National Park, and then stay in Bozeman, Montana that night before driving the remaining 8.5 hours home the following morning. I find a bullet-point outline to be more straightforward: 

• Day 1: drive 7.5 hours from Denver to Cody, WY
• Day 2: explore Yellowstone, sleep in Bozeman, MT
• Day 3: drive from Bozeman to home (8.5 hours)

Brown Family Pictures

(Dread + Anticipation) x Hope = family pictures

Having a sister who's a professional photographer eases the pressure somewhat. We had a quick backyard family photo shoot on June 30th. Even though it's a hassle getting everyone cleaned up, family pictures are always worth the effort!

Three trails, two sisters

My sister-in-law Dani recently discovered the JOY of trail running, so you'd better believe I capitalized on that shared interest during our Denver visit. We went on three trail runs together in two weeks! It was a pure delight to have a trail running buddy. I love my solitude as much as the next introvert, but I also love running with a friend. Conversation flows most easily when I'm on the move, and like-minded similarly-paced running partners are scarce. I've had less than five in the fifteen years since my college track team. Dani and I preferred to run-hike, running the smooth sections and hiking the steeper/rocky sections. It was an ideal blend. We had a blast absorbing the scenery and sisterhood while we chatted our way around the rocky trails.

Cousin central

The main Brown Family get-together with my parents and all five of their kids plus spouses plus 12 grandchildren lasted for the first week of our stay in Denver. All of my siblings left my parents' house during the second week we were there. Em left her four kids at the house for the second week, and Dani and Alivia (who live near Denver) visited several times during the week, so there was plenty of quality cousin time. As usual, I barely saw my three kids while we were in Denver. Cousin central is their favorite place to be! The stayed at the house the whole time we were there and played every day away: board games, card games, Dungeons and Dragons, videoing skits, swimming, and watching plenty of Studio C comedy sketches together (and then quoting it at anyone with ears). 

Grand Teton National Park

Our one and only summer trip is done. It lasted from June 25th-July 15th: three weeks of family bonding, road trip and reunion style. While we were away, I completely ignored all photo-organization and now, twenty-one days and a thousand pictures later, I am facing a messy mega-sized morass of adventure pictures! This post is my first foray into sorting through the photographic evidence of our three week journey. I love looking at my pictures, but organizing them is a daunting project. As my tenth grade geometry teacher used to say, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" Here's the first mouthful. Hopefully it's not too chewy.