Darrington 4th of July

For our second trip in the Argosy, we drove north to Darrington at the Northern end of the Mountain Loop Highway. We arrived the night before the 4th of July and met our friends, Stephanie, Gabe, and their little Stella.

We camped at Cold Creek at the start of the Mountain Loop Highway. There was a beautiful, wide riverbed full of moss covered rocks:

We ate fish salad for dinner and Elliott discovered Otter Pops (love his hand position...zen moment):

The next day we ate crepes for breakfast filled with ricotta cheese and sliced oranges.

Then we headed out for a hike. Gab and Adam wanted to climb Green Giant Buttress, so Stephanie and I took our time on the approach since we had babies and then wouldn't have to wait as long for the men to finish.

Unfortunately, by the time the boys got near the base of the climb, they realized there wouldn't be enough daylight to finish the route, so they decided to wait for us and eat lunch all together.

Gabe set up a rope to help us cross the stream while Adam walked along the trail toward us to make sure we hadn't turned around.

The hike was through thick bush and trees along an old mining trail. We saw old water pipe and machinery from their operations.

A nurse log:

Crossing the stream was fun!

The view from the other side was gorgeous:

What a wonderful place to eat lunch:

Elliott enjoying the river rocks:

We watched the Darrington town firework show from our Argosy in the high school parkinglot:

In the morning we were on the road early to get back to work (after figuring out how to dump our black water...)

To many more adventures.....

Ingalls Peak III

Our first trip in the Argosy was to Ingalls Peak - one of our favorite places to hike, climb, and camp.

Here is Adam, driving the Argosy:

Our huge windows make for great views of the Pacific Northwest. I think my favorite part about the Argosy is driving around looking at everything. It feels significantly different than in a car :)

Elliott loved being forward-facing for the first time. He stared at Adam, who was driving, for about 20 minutes.

Dinner in the Argosy is usually quesadillas, beans, guacamole, chips, and salsa or fish salad.

This time to Ingalls, we met up with Adam's friend from Elementary School, Tim Starr and his wife, Kelly. They have been travelling the country with their trailer and skiing for the last few months. Luckily, it worked to meet up with them while they were stationed at Mt. Rainier.

In the morning, Adam and Tim hiked ahead of us so they could climb the South Ridge of Ingalls North Peak. Elliott and I hiked with Kelly, and it was fun to get to know her.

Elliott and I at the pass with Mount Stuart in the background. Yes, I hiked like an idiot with this shoulder bag. It was easier to carry Elliott in the Ergo, but it has no storage...

Elliott wore his fleecy layers:

Ingalls lake beginning to melt:

A sneaky goat came up behind us:

For breakfast we ate a giant fruit salad: