painted hills

Blue sky, green fields, painted hills on the road from Bend, OR to Idaho.  

We learned that the stripes represent ash deposits in lake beds during long-ago times, 44 million-ish years ago.

The painted hills are off the beaten path with a surprising number of visitors (including us).

The temp was a cool 103.

Near the Deschutes

Wisdom from those living near many wild and scenic rivers (at Coho Coffee heading East into the desert after three days of camping near Crater Lake National Park).

in the tub

Not a bad way to spend the evening before our big trip of the year!

RMNP: Sandbeach Lake Backpacking Day 3

We agreed that another day in the backcountry would have been fun but heading out on Day 3 was OK, too. A note about the backpacking food for future reference:

• Evening day 1: beer and GORP
• Breakfast day 2: VIA instant coffee, instant oatmeal, pop tarts and aged gouda (yum!)
• Lunch day 2: cheese whiz, summer sausage, crackers, dried fruit
• Dinner day 2: freeze dried spaghetti with hot dogs (packed frozen), freeze dried apple crisp and hot chocolate
• Breakfast day 3:VIA instant coffee, instant oatmeal and the rest of the gouda
• Lunch day 3: peanut butter on flatbread
• Snacks: GORP, beef jerky, beer (yes!), starburst, caramels, snickers, Kind bars, Crystal Light lemonade

Only Kenedy and I appreciated the cheese whiz which took up a lot of space in the bear canister. The hot dogs leaked juice everywhere as they thawed despite being double bagged. Freeze dried spaghetti is pretty good and the apple crisp is a definite repeat.  The beer was worth it for a short trip.  We added raisins and craisins to the oatmeal which was a very nice improvement.  Snickers melted a little but not too bad.  Pop tarts crumbled but were a delicious high calorie treat for the first morning.  In sum, we will skip the hot dogs and cheese whiz in favor of summer sausage and real cheese, more raisins and possible another round of Pop Tarts next time.  If possible, we will make the extra effort to carry cans of beer. Priorities!

Teamwork saves time. It's hard for little hands to push and smoosh and pack big things into small places.

We filtered just enough water for four downhill miles.

Everybody wanted to take a turn.  This is good learning for everyone!

After packing was nearly complete we found that a water bottle had gone MIA.  You can see that Kenedy and Tucker are being very helpful and searching every nook and cranny at camp to find our missing bottle.

Finally packs were on and we were off.  Back to civilization.

We laid out check points to track progress back down the trail: 1) steep downhill, 2) Hunter's Creek (above), 3) Hunter's Creek and Beaver Mill backcountry campsites, 4) a small pond, 5) Camper's Creek and Hole in the Wall backcountry campsites, 6) a fork in the trail, 7) steep downhill into the parking lot. 

We had a quick stop to apply 2nd Skin (sidenote:  Band-Aid blister gel guards work much better for sweaty, hiking feet than 2nd Skin; moleskin is still the ultimate blister remedy) and for lunch but eventually we made it back to the parking lot.

Being in the backcountry feels pretty amazing but coming out is equally fantastic.  New shoes, a shower and un-smooshed food offer a whole new perspective.

RMNP: Sandbeach Lake Backpacking Day 2

Something unusual happens when the rhythm of civilized, industrialized, and connected life falls away and basic human needs takeover.  There is no TV, no computer, no home project, no work, no errands, no alarms, dings and vibrations.  Attention is placed on staying dry, eating when you're hungry, making sure you have water and finding a safe place to go if things take a turn for the worse.  At some point you forget to look at your phone (it doesn't work anyway) and stop worrying about what you're not doing or might be missing.  It doesn't matter.  For me, the rocks become grounding, the silence meditative and the surrounding majesty humbling.  You wake up with the sun, sleep under the stars, eat when you're hungry, and generally slow down to a moment-by moment pace.

We hiked another 2.5 miles on Day 2.  The hike was hot and beautiful.  The last mile was steep and rocky.  Tucker and I grumbled the way up that steep part and stopped often for snacks and a break. 

We had so much time to just sit on Day 2 of our backpacking trip. It has been a long, long time since we've done that; just sitting.  We had a huge flat rock at our campsite with views of Sandbeach Lake, Mount Meeker, Chief's Head and Copeland Mountain.  The sun was out, the breeze sometimes gusty but the temperature was perfect. I just sat watching the clouds pass, thinking about nothing, enjoying the dappled light and sounds of nature.

Kenedy gave Tucker a "treatment" while we were hanging around.  Tucker didn't seem to mind.

Of course we threw rocks in the lake.  Don't worry the fisherman were gone.

This is the bottom of Mount Meeker with Tucker, Kenedy and Kris on the right next to Sandbeach Lake. 

Behind Kenedy is the peak of Mount Meeker.  Kenedy is trying to smile while watching Tucker throw rocks just a little too close, i.e. within splash radius. 

RMNP: Sandbeach Lake Backpacking Day 1

A few problems with planning backpacking trips four months in advance: 1) can't account for weather; 2) can't account for traffic.  We were closely watching weather all week and knew that it was going to be bad for launch on Saturday but beautiful on Sunday and Monday.  Plan: take a late start on Saturday, eat dinner BEFORE hiking in and then set up the tents and wait for Sunday. 

We left late on Saturday afternoon and didn't think twice about traffic heading up into the mountains... until we were stuck in a long, long, line of stopped cars.  C'est la vie.  We waited in line and slowly inched forward until we were headed a different direction from everyone else.

It rained for almost the entire two hour drive to the Ranger's Office but traffic wasn't too bad at all after I-70.  We stuck with the plan and had dinner in Estes Park.  Launch was at about 5:30.

We stayed two miles up the trail to Sandbeach Lake at Camper's Creek.  

The first half mile was up with a few switchbacks and the beer made itself known.  The weather was perfect, the sun came out and we were dry for the whole walk.

There are moose down there somewhere!  Tucker has become quite a little backpacker. We already knew this about Kenedy.

Along the trail there are signs for the backcountry sites, we found our sign and walked through a very overgrown, old forest to our site.

Tent's up and it was time to play...and get rid of some of that beer weight.

Day 1 = success!

packing for the backcountry

Waaayyyy back in February when the ground was white and snow-covered, I dreamt of the sunnier and warmer days of summer. That dreaming turned to action and I reserved a two night backpacking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park for the weekend of July 4th.  Fast forward a very rapid several months and here we are at July 4th. Time to start packing!

Most National Parks require bear canisters for backcountry camping. Back in the old days we hung our food in bags from a tree branch in hopes that this would prevent bears from either climbing out on the branch and dropping our food, or swiping the very thin bear bag rope with one sharp claw and...success! a delicious bear meal of dried couscous and GORP.    Bear bagging was no fun.  I think we properly hung the bag maybe 10% of the time. Bear canisters are much more convenient (so far) except that they add extra pounds and limit the amount and size of food that you can bring.

For this trip, fitting all of our food with room for sunscreen and toothpaste into the bear canister was proving futile so I started reading up on how others do it. Apparently others are able to pack five to ten backpacking days of food for one person into a bear canister. A three day, four person trip should work.  Right?!  I arranged, re-arranged, smooshed, stuffed, crunched and eventually removed food.  But finally the bear canister = packed.  Whether or not we would have enough food plus room for other smelly odds and ends = ??? 

With several family backpacking trips under our belts, we have a pretty good method for packing and still keeping the kids backpacks at less than ten pounds.  The availability of water at the campsite really helps to minimize weight but we still brought two tents, four sleeping bags, the bear canister with food for three days, groundpads, a stove, fuel, filter, eating utensils, warm clothes, camera and two stuffed animals.  Surprisingly all of this fit into our packs and they weren't too heavy or unwieldly.  Well...I take that back, packs weren't too heavy until we added a six cans of delicious Sun-Drenched IPA.  Priorities!

fishing with Grandpa

The blazing heat finally let up a bit yesterday and we piled into Grandpa's fishing boat.  This is the first time this summer that we've been able to go fishing at Grandpa's lake and it's sure fun!    The big one got away from both Tucker and Kenedy but Tucker got to reel in a really big (17 inch) bass.

We had a great time! The lake is quiet and breezy.  The kids certainty felt the thrill of the catch.  We even saw a giant dead carp floating slowly toward shore.  I wish we were able to fish with Grandpa more often.

We headed back as the sun set behind the mountains.  Grandpa gave Tucker his belated birthday present, we gave him big hugs and took off for home.  

This is the new version of Life with jobs that kids want.  Ha!

back in paradise

The hot, hazy humidity of Washington, D.C. just made home so much better.  The flowers in our planter are blooming in full force.  Peas we planted last month are growing. And the yellowy-green pine pollen that coats everything for several spring weeks is finally over. 

I was trying to capture blooms and a hummingbird stopped by. No need for magnification here!

Washington, D.C.: Lincoln

Tucker studied Abraham Lincoln this year and so we made a point to see the Lincoln Memorial.  The day was miserably hot and muggy and the walk from the Smithsonian metro stop to the Lincoln Memorial, which I think is one of the best things to do in DC, turned us into dripping, grumpy zombies. 

Instead of enjoying the walk around the Washington Memorial, through the World War II memorial and along the reflecting pool, we hopped on the bus and dragged ourselves up the steps to see Honest Abe. 

We did capture Kenedy in the hot haze.  And Tucker rolling in the new grass.

"Peace does not appear so distant as it did. I hope it will come soon, and come to stay; and so come as to be worth the keeping in all future time." -Abraham Lincoln, 1863

Peace.

Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art

Kenedy and Tucker have never been to the National Gallery of Art. Neither was too excited about the visit but both, especially Tucker, ended up enjoying.

We arrived via Navy Memorial and walked across Pennsylvania Avenue with its awe-inspiring view of the National Capital.

The Art Museum is on the other side of the Sculpture Garden. 

It was so hot and muggy that most people were sitting at the fountain with their feet in the water. 

We visited several galleries in the Museum. American pelicans are present in so many of our adventures that this print of the American Pelican seemed to welcome us to our D.C. adventure.

We took an ice cream break in the museum café and rode the tunnel to the East Wing which was closed for renovation. 

Tucker was drawn to this sculpture representing the Battle of Fort Wagner where a black regiment fought in the Civil War.  War, freedom and independence was a reoccurring theme: at Mount Vernon we learned about George Washington's role in the Revolutionary War, at the National Gallery of Art we learned about art and how it can be used to document history.  At the National Museum of American History Kris and I cried as we walked through the Price of Freedom exhibit.  There was a particularly moving photo of President Ford with his head on the table in anguish, listening to news about the Vietnam war.  We talked a lot about the draft and how wars were fought in the past versus how they are fought today.  After this very serious afternoon, they were happy for a brain break. 

We walked by the White House on our way back to the Metro. Unfortunately we did not see President Obama.  Fortunately, the walk was lovely and cooler. We had dinner outside.