We were privileged enough to be invited to the wedding of two of our favorite people here in Seattle. They were married at Deception Pass State Park and invited guests to camp at Bowman Bay Campground both Friday and Saturday nights. We had never been to this part of the state and probably never would’ve gone, given the size and popularity of the area. We generally look for more privacy and quiet when camping on the weekends. But, this was the perfect campground for a large group. The park is a “4,134-acre marine and camping park with 77,000 feet of saltwater shoreline,…
Mineral Park Campground
Last weekend the urge for adventure and the outdoors struck us as we arose early on a beautiful summer day in Seattle. Bobby would be headed for New York on a business trip on Sunday afternoon so we decided not to go backpacking but to once again spend the night car camping. The hardest part of preparing is deciding where to go. The plethora of options for camping in the Cascades is, at times, overwhelming. The Northern Cascades holds a special place in our hearts with its unbelievable glory and beauty so we decided to make the trek North. It…
Campbell Tree Grove Campground
Camping is one of my favorite things to do. It brings back many happy memories of my childhood and the numerous camping adventures we would take that would define my summer holidays. Our family vacations involved cramming my parents, six kids, enough gear to house and feed all of us, bikes for each person, and sometimes a canoe into our fifteen passenger van with a homemade trailer for the bikes and canoe attached behind us. The back seat of the van had been removed and was replaced with a large wooden storage box that my Dad had custom built that…
Chatter Creek Campground
Chatter Creek Campground is a very popular campground in the summer months when it’s open. With 12 spacious campsites, mildly good screening between sites, and the chattering creek that ran through our campsite it’s no wonder why. The sites are priced at $15 a night with a $9 charge for any additional vehicles. Because we were camping so early in the season there was no fee. This also meant that the water wasn’t turned on, luckily we had planned ahead for that scenario and had brought plenty of water along. The sites at this campground cannot be reserved and the usage…
Deschutes River
The Kerry Way in Ireland is a long distance walk that circles around County Kerry in southwestern Ireland. At 210 km/130 miles in length it will prove to be both challenging and picturesque. According to the guidebook we purchased, “The Kerry Way” by Sandra Bardwell, the walk takes the traveler through, arguably, some of Ireland’s most scenic landscapes. As Bobby and I began discussions about a summer trip we began researching backpacking trip possibilities. I discovered the Kerry Way after researching airline prices for numerous European destinations and discovered that Ireland might prove to be the cheapest destination available and…
Vantage Camping and Climbing
September is one of the most popular months to venture to Vantage for some of the best climbing in Washington. We set off on Saturday morning with our friends Paul and Marie and their Portuguese Water Dog, Beth. The car was crammed with climbing and camping gear, dogs, and people. Our Yakima Rocketbox had been given it’s place of honor atop the roof and was filled to capacity. Vantage is a little bit more than a two hour drive from Seattle, but it’s easy to get to, just head east on 90! The eastern side of the Cascades is far…
Horseback Riding in the Sierras
Once at Cottonwood Pass, we weren’t mounted on our horses and mules and ready to set off into the unknown wilderness that lay ahead for several hours. The horse I was given was a dapple gray named Ears. Ears was aptly named considering the fact that his ears flopped sideways and swayed in time with the his gait. He was a horse that was prone to falling asleep the minute I dismounted and greatly enjoyed apple cores. Bobby was given a mule named Sweeper. She had lovely eyes and used them to size Bobby up pretty quickly. Lets just say…
Horseback Riding in the Sierras, Travel Day
After years of Bobby hearing about my horseback riding adventures in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana he decided that he wanted to join me on a horseback adventure through the wilderness. We looked at a variety of options including riding in Yellowstone, the Sierras, or doing the same trip I’d already done in the Bob. We decided to go with the Sierras trip for several reasons. Firstly it was the most affordable of the trips we were looking at. Secondly, in order to get from the airport to our rendezvous point we would get to drive through Yosemite, a…