Tri-State Road Trip - Part 2

Hi everyone,

Although we were in a fairly dry area there were a lot of lakes in close proximity to us. Fishing season had not opened yet so there were a few fly fisherman out on the lakes but it was pretty quiet. One of the days we were there we drove about 30 miles upriver to where the dam was. We were too early in the morning for tours (too early to even see if they still do tours) so we didn’t stick around for long. It was neat seeing that huge concrete structure though and to see the water levels on each side that were so different.

 

We also stopped at the viewpoint just above our state park and got a great view of the surrounding area. Mom likened it to Washington’s version of the Grand Canyon. The information we read even said that it was as much as one mile wide in some places. Not quite as deep as the Grand Canyon but we really marveled at the variety of topography and environments that you can find in Washington State.

And how can we not end with a picture of me mugging to the camera!

(Why, yes, there will be more posts of our Tri-State Road Trip!)

Until next time . . .

Tri-State Road Trip - Part 1

Hi everyone,

 

When we left home on Thursday afternoon it was a little later than we had planned. Isn’t that usually how it goes when you are packing up for a trip? We never seem to get out of the house when we want to, but I can tell you after multiple pack ups and tear downs we are getting faster. After dropping off the puppy dog at Grandma’s house we headed east of the mountains.

You can imagine that Mom and Dad were a little surprised to see the white stuff coming down while heading over the pass. Thankfully once we got to the other side it was blue skies for us.

We enjoyed a little ice cream treat courtesy of our free kids treat coupons and hopped back on the road. While Mom and Dad were setting up the tent at the campsite I familiarized myself with the local area.

We took in a bit of the surrounding country the next morning, Dad and me on the trail-a-bike and Mom going for a run. We mostly stuck to the campground area and some of the service roads but we ventured out onto a somewhat deserted trail to a very obscure little lake. We had big plans the next day to complete three of the six trails biking/running and then bike the other three on all our bikes. Imagine our surprise when we came out the next morning to do another bike ride/run only to find all three tires on our trail-a-bike completely flat. Yep. That obscure little trail we went on had miniature thorns everywhere and there were at least three sticking in each of the tires. Thank goodness Mom’s bike and my little bike were okay because we were able to ride those down to the playground while Mom went and did her 6 miles by herself. I’m not sure that she enjoyed worrying about rattlesnakes sunning themselves on her running path but she seemed to manage okay.

Stay tuned for more posts about our Tri-State Road Trip!

Until next time . . .

Zoo and Aquarium

Hi everyone,

We went to the zoo and aquarium when my cousins were over visiting Grandma! It was fun. I don't know how educational it was, though. Since there were two 4 year olds in the party we pretty much just flitted from exhibit to exhibit. Mom tried to read a few signs but we weren't too interested in listening so I think it was mostly Grandma and Dad who listened to the info.

Why do zoos always have wandering peacocks? The front side is so beautiful, 

but take a look at the back side. Not so pretty, huh. 

Chillin' on the Carousel

 

Thanks, Grandma!

Just outside Fort Nisqually

 

 Until next time . . .

Roller Skating Cousins

Hi everyone,

Over the spring break week Grandma brought up my two cousins so that we could go skating together. It was really fun! Sam is the same age as me so we stuck together, but Summer who is older than us decided to have a go at it by herself even though it was her first time skating. We didn't fall too many times. We both liked skating when the lights were off and it was dark. They didn't play any games that we could participate in, like limbo or the hokey pokey, because it was open skating for all ages instead of just preschool age. It was still fun though!

Until next time . . . (stay tuned for more spring break fun)

Camping: Part 2

Hi everyone,

The camping adventures continue! Did I ever mention that one of the perks of Dad being broken and retired is that we get a lifetime park pass for a few states and the national parks? Not only that, but we can have up to 8 in our party, so anytime you want to join us feel free to come along.

More boardwalks . . .

Deep Lake . . .

Bicycling all over the park . . .

Until next time . . .

The Lost Camping Post

Hi everyone,

Yahoo! Spring has sprung! We went on our first camping trip of 2011! Can you tell I’m excited since I’ve used exclamation marks at the end of each sentence so far!?! 

So, the reason why it is entitled the "The Lost Camping Post" is because I had this all ready to go during the long stretch of time from the April 1st to the April 11th posting only I forgot that I had it ready to go. How convenient, huh. It doesn't always pay to plan ahead when you've forgotten that you planned ahead.

We decided to try a state park down south that we hadn’t been to yet. It was pretty fun and it turned out to have a lot of hiking/biking trails around the park. The weather was supposed to be uncooperative and rain the entire 6 days we were there but surprisingly we had patches of nice weather. If it wasn’t pouring we tried to get out and hike, bike, or walk the dog. It’s a good thing mom and dad bought me a new rain jacket/biking jacket though because even when we started out with no rain sometimes it came on while we were out enjoying nature.

Out for a walk . . .

Trees, trees everywhere . . .

The two puddles (on the bottom left) became one over the rain filled trip and all the boys (including me)  in the park had fun stomping or riding through it . . .

Love the boardwalks! Immediately after mom snapped this picture I was down. That wood was super slippery and you can see there is a slight decline to the walk that I am coming upon . . .

Neat old growth trees! Dad is standing near a tree growing out of a nurse stump . . .

Mom wanted to capture how tall the tree was but it just wasn’t possible. Dad is adding his perspective . . .

Same monster old growth tree that mom was trying to capture in the other photo . . .

Continued in part 2 . . .

April Fool's Dinner

AHi everyone,

April Fool's dinner was another success! Last year it was Dad who got pranked with a Chicken Not-Pie. This year it was me. Mom brought out a TV Dinner, the first I've ever seen, and a plate of cupcakes for dessert.

I decided that the only thing from the TV dinner I wanted was the chocolate cake. Mom said I had to have something else, a piece of chicken, mashed potatoes, or peas and carrots. I chose peas and carrots. I was a little surprised at how Mom served the peas and carrots. She just lifted it as one big mass right out of the TV dinner tray. However, it only took me biting into it to realize that it was candy on top of a cupcake! She moved that off my plate and told me I would need to wait until a little later to eat what was really my dessert and not my dinner. I then had to try the cupcakes which were actually meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting. I didn't like those quite so much.

It's a little blurry.

Even after knowing that the peas and carrots were really a cupcake I still vehemently refused to have one of the pieces of fried chicken. "I don't like chicken. You guys can have the fried chicken, because I don't chicken. I don't like chicken." It was only after Mom served herself a piece of chicken and cut it down the center and it fell open to reveal yet another cupcake that I finally agreed I would be okay with a piece of fried chicken.

Until next time . . .

Camera Work

Hi everyone,

Mom has been experimenting with her camera and trying out the different settings. She is just starting to tap into all that she and her camera can do, but here is a brief sampling of the beginning stages. This is also a teaser for my next post (or two) about our recent camping trip.

Trying out the 50mm lens . . .

 The last shot of a set of 3 while trying out consecutive shots (while on close up) . . .

 Landscape mode . . .

 Action mode (riding down a slope) . . .

 

Portrait mode (a little dark but the background is blurry like it should be) . . .

 Until next time . . .