Steamboat Rock State Park

About nine months ago, some of our friends invited us to go camping with them over Memorial Day weekend. They booked campsites at Steamboat Rock State Park in Eastern Washington, which none of us had been to, but we'd heard great things.  Nine months ago, in the cold and rain, it sounded like a terrific idea.  When the time drew closer, and the weather was getting sunnier here, and we realized it was a six hour drive, it started sounding less appealing.  But we had committed to go, so we went. And I'm so glad we did! It was amazing!

This is Steamboat rock as you drive into the camp ground.  The scenery is incredible!  I've never been to this part of Washington.  It was like being in a different state.  Maybe even a different country!

The camp ground is on a huge lake, created by the Grand Coulee Dam.

After we set up camp, some of us decided to hike to the top of Steamboat Rock.  It's about 2 miles each way with 700 feet elevation gain.  We thought the younger kids would start with us and turn around when they got tired.

The view from 1/2 way looking down...

and looking up.

This shows how steep the trail was!  

We thought for sure little Andre wouldn't make it up, but we were wrong!  He did a great job scrambling up the rocky path.

So did Ben! He was the first to make it to the very top.

Who wouldn't want to meditate on top of the world?

I wish the rest of the family would have joined us.  It was so beautiful and peaceful.  The scripture reference Psalm 24:3-6 was painted on the rock, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?" 

By zooming way in on my camera, we could see our camping spot! That's our white van in the second spot.

More scenery, looking one direction (not sure if this is north, south, east or west!  I didn't have my usual landmarks to give me direction.)

and looking the other direction. Are we still in Washington?  Really?  It felt more like Southern Utah.

Coming down was a little more difficult that going up!

Isn't it beautiful?  Just like a postcard!

That was our first day.  In the evening we went to a "Dam Laser Show" at the Grand Coulee Dam, about 15 minutes up the road. We sat in the grass at the park in front of the Dam to watch.  The show gave the history of the Columbia River and was very patriotic.  Of course there were plenty of Dam jokes all night.  

The next day, Saturday, was our only full day so we wanted to make the most of it.  

Jillian was our beautician and braided hair in the morning to get us off to the right start. She does a good job!

Brad took Jillian and Kylie out in the Kollodge's boat for an early morning paddle. It was beautiful! I wish we would have had room to bring my kayak, but our car was bursting at the seams and we even had a car- top carrier full of stuff!

Later in the morning, about half the group went on another hike, this time a 7 mile hike up Northrup Canyon.  We thought since the elevation gain was going to be about the same as Steamboat Rock, but spread out over a longer distance, it would be easier, but we were in for a surprise!  The first 1.5 miles was very flat and scenic, leading to an abandoned homestead.  We left later in the morning than we'd anticipated, due to the logistics of gathering 14 people and a dog, so it was pretty hot and we drank lots of our water on the way up.  We were counting on a dip in the lake at the top to cool us off.

So picturesque! The homestead was occupied from 1889 to 1927, and the lilacs are still blooming!

The hike from this point went behind this abandoned bunk house up into the mountains.  It was up and down on a rocky trail for the next two miles, with some very steep ups and downs!  We saw a group riding horses and I was seriously afraid the horses were going to lose their footing on the steep, rocky path and plummet over the edge of a cliff! I didn't take many pictures on this part of the hike, but it was beautiful, too.

We finally made it to the lake.  Kylie jumped right in and convinced us the water was great!  It wasn't.  It was full of slimy, mucky green stuff.  I jumped in anyway since I was so hot, and we convinced Jillian, Harrison and Aubrey to jump in, too.  Matzo loved it and I was glad he was able to cool down a bit.

Another view of the lake.  It's pretty small, but there was a guy with an inflatable boat fishing.  He hiked up the whole way carrying a boat on his back!

Almost back to the homestead, where the trail is flat again!  

When we got back to the campground, everyone who didn't go on the hike was playing at the beach.  Both days we were there, the sky clouded over in the late afternoon and it cooled down about 10 degrees.  We ended up hiking at the hottest part of the day!

Doesn't he look exhausted?  It's tiring sitting around all day!

It was nice to have some time to relax and visit with the Kollodges.  Our lives are so busy, we don't get much time to just talk and enjoy their company like we did when the kids were little.

Monday morning, after packing up, I wanted to go see the Dam in the day light.  It's very impressive!

I put the camera on a rock and ran around to get in the shot.  Kylie quipped, "Hurry up and get in the Dam picture!"  We also went into the visitor's center and learned more about how the Dam was built.  The main dam was under construction from 1933 to 1950, part of FDR's New Deal and the WPA.  We learned that it takes 100 years for the concrete to fully cure.  Pretty amazing!

When we got back from seeing the dam, the kids wanted to swim and play until it was time to check out.  

Jillian and Kylie swam out to a little island and were disappointed that it was covered in duck poop.

But that didn't stop Ben from wanting to see it for himself.  Kylie and Aubrey towed him out on his inner

tube.

He thought it was pretty gross, too!

Right before we left, we tried to get a picture of all the kids together.  I think only Nate is missing. 

L to R:  Andre, Angelina, Jillian, Daisy, Aubrey, Harrison, Kylie, Adrian, Russ, Ben, and Adda, with Matzo in the front!

And then we piled into the car to make the journey home!  You can see how it was pretty full! We took one of the middle seats out so Matzo would have a place to lay, but we had coolers in between him and Jillian.

One last look at the lake as we left the camp ground.  This trip really sparked a desire to see more new places and experience different parts of our state, our country, and our world!

A Day with the Cousins

My parents are out of town visiting their newest grandson, Levi Beifuss Swolgaard, so Corey and Jeff and their kids are staying at their house holding down the fort (and making sure the horses get fed!)  Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided we had to get out and enjoy it together.  First we stopped at Corey and Jeff's property in Poulsbo.    They have a nice five acre piece of horse-friendly land where they will someday build a home.  Buying property and sitting on it for a while seems to run in our family.  My parents bought their BI property when I was four or five and finally built on it when I was 18.  It only took Brad and I three years to build on ours, so hopefully Corey and Jeff's timeline will be closer to ours than to my parents!

Then we headed over to Poulsbo's Fish Park, which we hadn't been to since this time last year!  We really need to go when there are leaves on the trees, but it is still a nice place to walk and enjoy a warm, winter day.

Hyrum has always been very attached to Jillian.  She is very patient with him, walking with him and holding his hand.

Isn't it great that they have to squint because the SUN is in their eyes!

Our attempt at a group photo.  Where's Mariann when we need her?!  I didn't even try to get in it. 

Ben found this big stick and kindly gave it to Jonah.  I love this picture of him hiking along.  He reminds me of my dad!

Then Kylie had an even bigger stick, and Jonah somehow ended up with that one! 

This giant "whale" is at the end of the trail.  Jonah's in the whale...ha ha!

After the Fish Park, we had to stop at Sluy's Bakery to get a treat.  And then we headed back home, made pizza and played games.   Thanks cousins, for spending a great day with us!

Port Townsend Weekend

A few months ago, our friends Jimmy and Mariann planned a weekend trip to Port Townsend for our two families.  Earlier this week, Mariann had to have emergency surgery, so I assumed we would cancel the trip.  After much discussion, we all decided that she would be able to relax even better away from home and would have six extra people to wait on her if we kept our plans.  Since Mariann's mom had come to town to help out after the surgery and was flying home Saturday morning, Brad and I and the kids went up Friday night, and Jimmy, Mariann and Izaac joined us Saturday afternoon.

Saturday morning, the view from our balcony looked like this:

Next time we're bringing the kayaks! 

Since we had a few hours before the Wises arrived, we decided to drive over to Fort Worden and play in the bunkers. 

This is the bunker down by the beach, for those of you who have been there (this was my first time!)  We're standing at the very top of a three story cement structure, with railings that are definitely not up to current safety codes!  I don't think safety codes were invented 100 years ago... Notice the look on Jillian's face, she's trying really hard not to look down!

Inside the bunkers are these cool narrow passageways that are pitch black!  We didn't bring our flashlight, but fortunately I had the camera, so by holding down the button half-way, I was able to turn on the "red eye reducer" and shine an orange light in front of us so we could see where we were going.  And every so often I'd take a picture, which set off the flash.  I was pretty impressed with the way the flash lit things up.  These pictures were honestly taken in total darkness!

There were all sorts of cool stairways on the outside of the bunker, too.

The beach was beautiful, but it was pretty windy and cold, so we didn't go down to the sand.

I love this picture of Jillian.  It looks like she's in a picture frame.  The colors in bunker were so in harmony with winter.  Greys, whites, dull greens and blues. 

After we'd explored the "beach bunker" for a while, we drove up the hill and then walked up to the upper bunkers. 

This is where my dad takes the scouts on an outing every fall to play Capture the Flag.  There's at least 1/2 a mile of bunkers waiting to be explored! 

Ben was so excited about going into the dank, dark tunnels.  One time he went in ahead of us and when we got to the end, he wasn't there.  I called his name and he didn't answer.  I was totally freaked out for a second, until he popped around a corner, giggling.  He obviously hasn't ever watched a horror flick!

Kylie wanted to climb on top of everything she could, and of course Ben followed her. 

Every time we saw a small room with a door, Ben asked if it was the jail.  We finally found what we thought could have been the jail, but the sign says it's the store house.  Bummer.

Some of you know I have a thing for doors.  I don't know why, but I'm very attracted to pictures of doors.  These were too good to pass up!  Look at the colors, the textures, the details.  What's inside?  Where do they lead?  One of them I took a picture of had profanity graffitied on it; I didn't even notice until Brad pointed it out.  I decided not to post that one.  Now that Ben knows how to read, it's pretty hard to explain why people write certain things in really big letters all over walls!

All that running around left us with a big appetite!  Fat Smitty's was only five minutes away from where we stayed, so of course we had to stop for lunch.   I finally got to eat there!  Every other time I've stopped, they've been closed.  Of course I made the kids pose in front of the giant burger, even though they were starving. 

When we pulled up, we saw my dad's red pickup truck with a bunch of bicycles in the back!  He always stops at Fat Smitty's after Scout outings, and yesterday he had taken the boys up to the Discovery Trail for a bike outing to train for their big bike trip this summer.  We had no idea he was going to be there at the same time, but it sure was a treat to eat at Fat Smitty's with my dad!

And it was a treat for Kylie to eat with three of her adoring fans!

The Wises arrived a little later that afternoon, and we spent the rest of the weekend like this: