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:

Leavenworth

We went to Leavenworth again! This time, we camped with 3 other families for Memorial Day.

We camped, climbed, hiked, and feasted together.

Each family took turns making a meal; we had chili and biscuits, bacon chocolate chip pancakes, fish tacos, and fruit and yogurt parfaits. It was great to get to know our new friends better.

Elliott was facing away from the camera - but here is a close up:

I found 5 morels right in our campsite!

Elliott's first morel:

I love this sun bonnet on him!

Party in the Woods

Instead of doing chores around our farmhouse, we drove to Leavenworth to camp with Elliott.

We joined our climbing/bouldering friends for a party in the woods Saturday night.

Of course, Elliott was the cutest camper we've ever seen.

He thought the pine needles were strange.

We did a nice ridge hike called "The 4th of July Trail"

camping with Elliott

We are back from a successful, spur-of-the-moment, family camping trip.

We went somewhere (Ingall's Lake) where we had been before. Here's our photos from last year.

Here is a quick run-down of events:

-left around 7 pm...in the rain

-Ate about 1/2 pound of Jelly Bellies while delayed in rock blasting traffic at Snoqualmie Pass.

-missed our exit by 25 miles because we were playing a modified version of 2 person D & D :)

-set up tent at midnight

-Elliott peed through his clothes into the sleeping bag on first night.

-Ate fish tacos for breakfast! Delicious!

-Hiked to Ingalls Lake with a beautiful view of Mt. Stuart. (Adam continued further to climb around on Ingalls Peaks)

Here is Elliott laughing during a breastfeeding break in the meadow:

-Elliott's feet pooled with blood from hanging upright in the Baby Bjorn carrier during the hike. It was very sad when we held him sideways to massage his feet to get the blood circulating.He cried - probably from that bad, tingly feeling.

-Made Vietnamese-style noodle salad with beef, vegetables, and lime dressing; definitely one of our best camp meals.

-Made bacon and hash brown potatoes for breakfast before packing up to drive home.

This is our river and wading pool, but it was too cold to swim. I can't believe it's mid-September. The summer disappeared while I was recovering on the couch for 5+ weeks....

We are glad Elliott enjoyed camping. We'll keep him.