Steamboat Springs

I have not posted a thing this summer! I guess I was too busy enjoying it to the fullest. That's what we'll say. Tomorrow, I head back to work - new job. More about that, perhaps, another time. For now, allow me to post some memories from our family vacation to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Since we drove out there in order to avoid planes and airports, we got to make a stop in Omaha and see some very good friends and a former neighbor. Ernie is very special to us, and we were so pleased to be able to see him for a quick visit!

Steamboat Springs was really a great spot. It's a ski town, of course, but we enjoyed hiking a couple times. This one was Fish Creek Falls. It was delightful. If we ever went back there, I'd want to be in shape enough or acclimated enough to make the hike to the second set of falls, but this was a really beautiful spot regardless.

Another short hike we did was up around the place where the lift drops you off. Erick and I tried to hike up to this point later in the week, but it was the altitude again. Everything is just a bit harder.

My favorite thing we did was rent e-bikes. Basically pedal assisted bikes helped us enjoy the scenery without having to push so hard that we couldn't breathe. It was really a fun thing. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to bike but doesn't like to struggle on vacation. 

The food in Steamboat was pretty good. This meal was excellent. A nice little tapas place, which you don't expect to be delicious in Colorado, but it was! Plus, the lighting. Look at our gorgeous girl.

None of us had ever spent any significant amount of time in Colorado, so we were very excited to get a glimpse into what people love. Colorado is the home to the heart of so many people we love. I can definitely see the appeal. It truly is some of the most beautiful landscape you can see all at once! It was a very fun trip. 

Minnesota Moments

Our original 2020 vacation was across the pond. As we're not welcome there right now, we had to think again. So, we packed up our inflatable kayaks and our dog and headed north. A few days in Grand Marais, and a few days in Duluth. It was quite pleasant. I especially loved our time in Grand Marais. 

We are the people who let our dog sit at the table with us. He's such a good guy to have around. He rarely embarrasses us. Now that we're back home, he's disappointed that he no longer gets to sit around the table with us. 

We didn't kayak as much as we thought we would, but we did get out on Two Islands Lake, and it was lovely! A really pleasant time.

We got multiple great hikes. This one was inland, and the mosquitoes were THICK. We came away with very few bites, but we were just wiping them off our necks as they settled. 

We had a couple of rainy days. On one of them, we still got out for some hikes, and Leo was less than thrilled with that particular adventure.

My favorite spot in all of Grand Marais is Artist's Point. It's beautiful and peaceful and takes some intention to get out there. I really enjoyed the scramble over the rocks to get there.

Our hotel was right on the beach of Lake Superior. The water was cold, but it still made for a lovely setting. And of course Sophia got in it.

Something I didn't know that I wanted to do was swim under a waterfall. True that this isn't the biggest waterfall we saw by a long stretch, but it made for such a nice natural freshwater swimming hole that we really enjoyed swimming here even though we had a pool back at the hotel in Duluth.

This was in Duluth on our last night of vacation. The whole trip was as relaxed as I think we're capable of being right now. Masks in public places. Washing hands and not eating inside, etc. It was much needed in terms of a change of scenery and a restart to our routine. Hoping now we have the steam to make it to the start of (online) school. 

Beautiful Oregon

I may post more details later, but for now, here are some of my favorite things from our week in Oregon.


Favorite place we stayed:
Two nights in this lovely tiny house in the Boise neighborhood of Portland. We enjoyed the restaurants and shopping within walking distance.

Favorite drive:
The drive out past Mt. Bachelor here, with the top off the rental Jeep.

Bonus: Fall Creek, which comes from snow melting from the South Sister mountain (seen here) was so cold that even our "polar bear" daughter couldn't keep her feet in for more than five minutes. It took her a while to get the feeling back to her toes so we could take a hike.

Favorite hike:
The hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness, next to Fall Creek was a marvelous one. We didn't make the whole 11 mile trek, but we plan to make it happen next time!

Favorite overall place:
Smith Rock State Park

Each turn revealed something new and beautiful. Crooked River is something special.

It was actually quite a warm day. I could have kept going and going. As it was, my hiking partners were troopers and we all had fun!

Every time I thought it couldn't get better.

Each time I was impressed.

This one, though. Just pure showing off. Okay. Smith Rock clearly won my heart.

Favorite river:
The Deschutes
We floated it.

In various states of togetherness in our individual tubes.

We rode through Class 2 rapids. On my first trip down, I banged my right knee. On the second trip down, I scraped my right shin. On the third (pictured) trip down, I flipped the tube and lost my hat and glasses.

Sophia flipped, too, but came out happy and whole. The adventure was worth it.

Favorite locals:
Erick's uncle Bill & Cheryl

Favorite Beer:
the Wit from pFriem Family Brewing in Hood River

Favorite sunset:
In the Hood River Park across from pFriem

Favorite activity:
Trail ride over the Columbia River Gorge

Favorite story:
We topped out here, and I'll let Sophia tell the tale of our narrow trail

We had more adventures and lots more views, but these were my favorites. I'll tell you the stories when I see you next!

Pickle Springs Hike

Last weekend was such an idyllic fall weekend. Crisp, overcast but not gloomy, and very cool. Our little family is pretty active, but a majority of us hate being hot. One of us hates it to the point of intense whining. (It's not Erick.)

So when the weather creates the perfect opportunity for being outside without boiling, we take it. Pickle Springs is down by Hawn State Park, between Farmington & Ste. Genevieve. Beautiful area.
We hiked and hiked. Sophia climbed, which also kept her entertained.

Another reason for the hike was to test out our puppy sling. Once Leo got past the point of being able to get over all the rocks and such, I carried him. Yes, I carried him. And he loved it, so I will definitely do that again.

May as well be spring!

We've gone on several great hikes in the last couple of weeks. Today's was the best. We drove down near Ste. Genevieve to Hawn State Park.

Pickle Creek is a really beautiful area. A rocky, kind of intense trail. Leo got to come with us. He got really worn out by the end.

Along with our hiking shoes, we brought Sophia's rain boots so she could explore the creek a bit. This is just what we've learned after many, many soaking shoes.

The sunshine felt so great. It was just the right temperature, too. Sophia gets hot, even when it reaches 65.

The best part of our hike was off trail. At one point, near the rock above, we looked up the bluff and decided to see if we could make it to the top.

It was steeper than it looked, but we made it. We were pretty pleased with ourselves and the view.

These have been incredible days outside. I think we found the sweet spot for hiking with Sophia. When it gets up to 70, it sounds ridiculous, but it gets harder to get her to exert this much energy. That's part of the reason we scope out all the water spots. 

Hawn State Park. Highly recommend it!

Naturalist

Sunday was a lovely day. One of many lovely days we've had this spring. My family was nice enough to let me choose what to do with our day, so I chose to go for a hike. I was surprised to find (on Facebook) just how many moms chose hiking for their day. I wonder what that says about us.

Anyhow, Sophia was happy with my choice because she has recently become the owner of a Scat, Tracks and Signs book to help us determine what wildlife we might be near.

We stopped at ever poop pile and hoof/paw print to analyze it. Pretty sure there are coyotes out at Howell Island Conservation Area. I know that because we found some poop. 

I'm also sure there's a fawn in the woods there because we found just the cutest little hoof print. I did not point out to Sophia that we should hope they stay on opposite sides of the woods...

The binoculars were a good idea, but not great in practice. But she's just so cute using them that I keep recommending it.

It really was a beautiful day to enjoy nature together as a family. I'm grateful, as always, for my allies in adventuring.

Beautiful Weekend

It was such a beautiful spring weekend! Saturday, we were in Columbia visiting Mary. Because the day was so perfect, we had to get out and enjoy nature. We were not the only ones with the idea, but the park is big enough that we weren't tripping over one another anyway.

Sophia loved it! She doesn't remember being there before, but she was happy to lead us on a different trail around the park.

And, even though she was a little anxious about it, she went into the cave at Devil's Icebox. She wanted to explore deeper into the cave. I was very surprised at how much she liked it in there. It was just just a beautiful day!