NP #10 - Day 4 August 12, 2014

Day 4: August 12, 2014:

We were up at 6:00, well, all of us except Ryan who was woken at 7:00.  Grant went out and fed the bunnies again, we all ate some breakfast and we packed up.  A little after 7:00 the kids walked down to The Eatery (the restaurant on the resort) and each of them ordered a Tootsie’s famous cinnamon roll.   

They were amazing but full of raisins so more amazing for grownups.  But still, we can say we’ve had them.

It had rained the night before and drizzled the whole way in to the park.  At around 8:30 we started out on the Thunder Knob trail (3.6 mi round trip) to a stunning overlook of Diablo Lake.  The trail was spectacular – the very first of it involved crossing two small streams via log bridges.   

We took turns being the hiking leader and the sweep and the kids were, once again, complain-free.   

We then drove all the way east on Hwy 20 out the other side of the park and stopped at the Washington Pass Overlook where we stopped for a picnic and went on ¼ overlook hike out to a stunning view of the mountains.

At around 12:30 we left the picnic area and headed a few miles back west to the Rainy Lake Trail.  I was a little bit concerned that we were running out of time and wasn’t sure we should take the hike.  I also thought it was one mile, round trip and it turns out, it was 1 mile, one way.  But we went ahead and did it and the payoff was huge – my favorite part of the trip so far – a miniature Crater Lake with a  ~250 ft (just guessing) water fall feeding into it that wasn’t even mentioned on the map – don’t even know if it has a name.

We got back in the car at 1:30 or so, and crossed the street to a PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) trailhead and just ran up and down a portion of it so that we could say we’ve run the PCT!!

At 2:00 we hit the road to Sequim, Washington, a small town outside of Olympic National Park. I originally thought we would drive back through Seattle, which had me a little bit worried about the traffic again, but my phone directed us straight west towards Anacortez, then south through Whidbey Island and took the ferry over to Port Townsend.  The ferry ride was about $20 and took 30 minutes.  It was well worth the extra time but it did get us into Sequim quite late.   

(We did stop at a DQ just east of Burlington on Hwy 20 for treats.  I still don’t know the name of the town but it was very cute.)

We first stopped at the Black Bear Diner in Sequim for dinner a little after 7pm and after being told there was a 20 minute wait, I felt this strange need to go check into the Days Inn (4/10 of a mi from the diner).  Earlier in the trip I couldn’t find my email reservation confirmation and for some reason had a bad feeling about things.  Turns out they did not have our reservation but informed me that they were the only place in town that still had rooms so luck was once again on our side – it really had been the entire trip.

Ryan and I got our room key then returned to the diner and had a great dinner.  (Nick and I had eaten at a Black Bear Diner in Sonoma, CA earlier this year and had liked it and knew the kids would love it too.)

Back at the motel at 8:30, we changed into swim suits and walked down to the indoor pool/spa.  The spa was closed so Nick and I stayed out and planned our next day in Olympic while the kids swam.  Despite advising Grant not to go underwater due to a swimmers’ ear infection, he did anyway.  We’ll see…

We finally got to bed around 10pm – it was a VERY long day.

NP #10 - Day 3 - August 11, 2014

Day 3: August 11, 2014

We had a quick breakfast in our cabin, then got the obligatory pictures under the national park sign,

 

then hit the road to Seattle, just in time to mesh up with rush hour traffic.  We parked a little northwest of the Space Needle, and walked down to it through much of the Seattle fair park area – very neat.  We paid about $84 for four tickets to go up the Space Needle, road the elevator up and spent a total of about 10-15 minutes tops. The kids liked it and it was a clear day but it’s certainly JUST a bucket list thing.  We actually spent more time in the gift shop than we did at the top of the Needle.  

 

After the needle, we walked over to some sort of indoor food court and all four ordered different food but it was quite relaxing.  We got back in the car and after another small traffic jam heading east to get on to Interstate 5, we headed north then west to North Cascades National Park.  The drive was fairly uneventful.  The kids watched The Little Rascals movie for I think the second time that day and third time in total, including the plane ride out.   The only humorous part of the drive can best be shown with the following pictures:

 

We arrived at the Skagit River Resort exactly at 3:00, check-in time, and the temp was 93 degrees – surprisingly hot!  We checked it and got to pick out our own coffee beans to grind at the cabin.  We were also directed to three different trash cans on the facilities, all of which were full of “bunny bread”.  The kids could go get all they wanted to feed the bunnies that roamed all over the resort. 

We checked into cabin #5 and it was awesome – a full house with kitchen, bath with tub, a living room and two bedrooms.  The only thing noticeably missing was air conditioning! 

At 3:30 we headed into the park and at 4:00ish, we arrived at the Newhalem Visitor’s Center.  This park was quite different from Rainier in that it seems that very few people frequent it.  It’s actually a no-fee park.   

We bought the kids’ magnets and hat pins and got the passbooks stamped then the park ranger gave us some good suggestions as to how to spend our time there.  From the Visitor’s Center back door, we took a 1.9 mi loop hike down to the Skagit River (the River Loop Trail)   

The water was freezing at the river but the kids and I got our feet it and I walked about 1/3 of the way out into the river.  It was fun.  

We hiked back up to the car then headed a little further east on Hwy 20 over to the Gorge Falls and to another set of falls just east of Gorge Falls (mile marker 124.5).  They were both amazing.

 At a little before 6pm, the kids, which generally have been phenomenal on this trip, were starting to lose it with each other.  We left the park and ate at the Buffalo Run restaurant just outside of the park in the town of Marblemount.  The restaurant had this need outdoor garden seating area that was beautiful.  We had a good dinner then went back to our cabin.  

At the resort is an “obstacle course” that we ran through and the kids played on the playground and feed the bunnies, which was just adorable and reminded me of when they were very little, feeding the bunnies in Oregon those first few years.

We took showers then went to bed and boy was it hot.  The one fan in the entire cabin went to the adults in the room with the queen bed which put the kids in bed together, which didn’t last long.  Eventually, as usual, it was time for musical beds which eventually put Grant in bed with me and I’m surprised that I’m not covered in bruises. 

But all-in-all, another great day.

NP #9 Rainier - Day 2 - August 10, 2014

Day 2:  August 10, 2014: Everyone was up bright and early the next morning.  After a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, oatmeal, sausage and coffee (all in the room), we headed into the park at 7:30, through the Nisqually entrance (SW corner of the park).

Our first stop was a few miles in where we stopped to hike back to Carter Falls.   

It was an unplanned stop and was a 1.1 mile hike back but I don’t think we made it all the way.  After crossing a log bridge, which was a little unnerving because 6-year-old Grant could have slipped right off the side, we hiked along a creek and saw lots of little falls but I think we turned around prematurely.   

Despite probably not seeing the grand finale, we had a great time.  The weather was quite cool and the entire hike was completely tree covered (with the exception of the very beginning).  Part of the trail back was on the Wonderland Trail, a trail I’d like to take in its entirety sometime in the future.  I am guessing it’s a 90-mile trail but it looks spectacular. (I think we probably went a total of 1.5 miles roundtrip).

After the Carter Falls trail, we drove past the Paradise area, the Ohanapecosh area, and up north to the Sunrise Visitor Center for our main attraction of the day – the Sourdough Ridge Trail.  We started from the Visitor Center parking lot, elevation 6,400 ft. and walked straight up a hill, that frankly, took my breath away.  The air was thin and the elevation change was pretty steep.  We hiked over to Frozen Lake, which was spectacular, then went, questionably legally, off the trail and onto a snow patch where we just had no choice but to eat some snow. 

Then rather than circling back to the Visitor Center, we detoured over to Shadow Lake where we put down a tarp and had a picnic of turkey summer sausage, cheese sticks, crackers, cherries and apples.  It was absolutely beautiful and absolutely delicious.   

We put our feet into the lake for a little bit then headed back towards the Visitor Center.  I think that the entire trail was a little over 4 mi and the kids were amazing – complete troopers.  It was quite hot by the time we got back.  We walked straight over to the snack bar and got Gatorade and soft drinks, then went to the next door Visitor Center and bought the obligatory hat pins and magnets, and got all of our passbooks stamped.  

Around 2:00 we left the Visitor Center and headed back south towards the Ohanapecosh area but not before we had to pull off to the side of the road so that Grant could drop a duce on the side of the road – a Bomersbach trip wouldn’t be complete without one side-of-the-road #2 bathroom break by Grant.  In the Ohanapecosh area, we hiked back to Silver Falls by the shortest means possible but once we got down there, we hiked on the rocks up the falls a little bit and drank some water from the falls.  

It was amazing but very hot – luckily very shaded but still, surprisingly hot.  The hike back to the car was straight uphill and the total hike was probably 1.2 mi. Once again the kids were amazing.  They raced back up the hill as if we hadn’t been on a single hike that day.

Heading west back towards the Nisqually entrance, we made a quick stop at the Box Canyon which was a very narrow, but completely straight drop (180 feet) down to a raging river.  Grant asked is they had tanascoops (actually meant telescopes – cute).

A few miles farther west we made one last stop at Christine Falls – very beautiful, then left the park around 6:00 with the kids yelling, screaming, sassing, and otherwise being awful.   

When we told the kids we were going straight to dinner, Grant got pissed and said, “But I haven’t gotten to be in the cabin all day!”  Really?  We passed the Gateway Inn and drove a few more miles west, stopping at the Copper Creek Inn for what should have been a quick dinner.  Our waitress was a B- at best but the food was good.  We all got burgers, except Grant who got a PB&J that he didn’t like and spent most of dinner waiting in the bathroom line due to a continuation of a bought of diarrhea. 

The kids were beat.  We got back to our cabin a little after 7:00 and because we drew numbers at dinner, I got to take my shower first, then G, then Ry then Nick.  Ry and Nick got ice from the mini mart and then the three of them practiced their underarm farting ability while I sat and wrote this all down. 

It’s now 8:45 pm and I am exhausted and going to bed.  We have to be up early tomorrow to hit the Space Needle. 

But National Park #9 is in the books and what a park it was.  Spectacular.  And the first one we’ve been to where I wish we had another day.

NP #9 Rainier August 9, 2014

Day 1: August 9, 2014:  Today we left Dallas at 11:00am and flew to Seattle.  The plane trip was the least adventurous one we’ve had yet since having kids, which is a very good thing.  We arrived in Seattle at 1:00pm Seattle time, picked up our white Dodge Caravan minivan and headed south towards Mt. Rainier National Park.

We got stuck in a small traffic jam in Tacoma due to a pretty bad wreck, then we stopped at an Albertsons in Spanaway, Washington and bought some breakfast/lunch groceries and a Styrofoam ice chest.

We pulled into the Gateway Inn around 5:00pm and checked into log cabin #4. Besides being very dark, it was the perfect room for this trip.  

 If you walked to the edge of the parking lot, the Nisqually entrance to Mt. Rainier was literally 50 yards or so from our Inn.  We unpacked our luggage and groceries then walked over to the restaurant that is part of the “main lobby”, mini-mart and souvenir shop.  The kids split a chicken strip dinner, I got chicken teriyaki (the owners are some sort of Asian) and Nick got fried fish and shrimp.  The food was all decent but not worth going back to.  

We walked back to the room around 6:30 or so and were literally asleep by 7:30 (the room had 3 double beds and night 1, Nick and Grant slept together in one bed, Ryan slept in one and I slept in the one right by the front door.