With the sun shining a bit more than usual, and the temperatures staying above 55 a tad longer, the family is more inclined to hit the trail more frequently. On a favorable hiking day, we tend to do 2-4 mile hikes with the kids. Those miles don’t always work well in the winter or rainy …

In the San Francisco Bay Area, I cut my teeth hiking in the coastal redwood forest. As a resilient species that deserves respect,  I found solace in their beauty and sheer presence.  They will always be my favorite, especially those found at Sanborn County Park, but cedar and hemlock have a unique beauty that shouldn’t be …

What a great weekend to be out and about in the Seattle area. The weather was just splendid and the kids (and parents) in excellent moods! On Saturday we headed north to meet up with my coworker Bryan and his family Annie, Lucy, and Luke for a visit to Jetty Island. Jetty Island is a …

“That banana slug has antlers!” Our little naturalist has a great view of the natural world and he calls it as he sees it. It’s our job to encourage his curiosity and his sense of wonder and if that means he sees antlers, then they’re…well, we’ll help him out and let him know that they’re …

Did you grab the camera? Shoot, forgot it. Did you bring our iPod for the drive? Nope. Boy those kids are eating a lot on this drive to the trailhead. Do we have extra food? No. Ugh, my pants are too tight. Why didn’t I wear others?!? Hey, did you grab the Northwest Forest Pass before …

A quick 6am stop by Countryside Donut House (our favorite) and we were heading east to Yakima to visit our good friends Phil, Jessica, and Evan. We made good time arriving in Yakima around 9am. A quick bathroom break for everyone and off to Cowiche Canyon for a Father’s Day morning hike. Before we go …

We rarely hike without Ethan. Actually, this was only our second time hiking without him since he was born. Ethan is with his Grandma and Grandpa in Oregon this weekend. But it was our first time hiking with just Autumn and we did our best to engage her fully while making good time (something we …

A good friend of Laura’s recommended visiting Seattle’s Carkeek Park a couple months ago. After her first visit with the kids during one of her weekday outtings, she came home and told me that I’ve got to see this park. It’s fantastic! We’ve since been to this great park in north Seattle four times. It …

With a foreseen break in our dreary weather this weekend, and knowing  it was Easter, we planned for a few outdoor activities to catch some Vitamin D. Saturday Mountlake Terrace held its annual Easter egg hunt for kids on Saturday morning. It was perfect morning to be out looking for eggs because the sun was …

In keeping with our streak for the New Year, we’ve spent at least one day the last three weekends hiking or playing in the outdoors. We’ve always been avid hikers but took some time off in November and December due to travel, weather, and illness. We’ve been working hard these past few weeks to ensure …

After enjoying a great day in the snow last weekend, we thought we’d give it another try today. The difference between the two weekends is that we bought the “Blue Bomber” sled for the kids last Thursday and would take it on its inaugural run! We first thought we head up I-90 and find a …

  Summer 1996 (Yosemite National Park): Lacerated pupil. On the evening of June 12, my roommate Greg and friend Melissa were in Oakhurst doing our weekly shopping. At about 10pm, we received a page to return to Yosemite Valley to assist in an ongoing rescue operation on North Dome gully. A climber had slipped down …

Another gorgeous weekend in the Seattle area provided the opportunity to hit the trail. We got a mid-morning start today and headed back to the Darrington District on the Snoqualmie-Mt. Baker National Forest where we hiked the Big Four Ice Caves trail – located about 1.5 hour north of Seattle on the Mountain Loop Highway. …

A break in the weather last weekend allowed us to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. We spent the most of three days cooped up as the rain came down and down and down. On the final day of our four day weekend the sun popped out, we packed up the kids, and headed northeast …

September 2010 has come and gone. Up here in Seattle it was a beautiful month to be outdoors and enjoying the natural resources that this area has to offer. Its’ claimed this was the coolest September on record since Eisenhower was in office (or something like that), but we wouldn’t know since we’ve been here …