PNW Bucket List

I never really saw myself living in the Pacific Northwest.  I was born in California, raised in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, then university in Virginia.  The PNW was kind of "off my radar" and never really crossed my mind.  Now that we live here, I can't believe I never was adamant about visiting the area.  There are so many things we want to explore!  It's such an amazing part of the country with lots to do and beauty to see.  Most of these places I had never heard of before moving here, but now, I have a new appreciation.  Take, for example, the Oregon coast.  It is a completely different beach experience than the Outer Banks, North Carolina.  In July and August, you may find yourself wearing a fleece and eating s'mores by a fire on the beach in Oregon, definitely not putting more than your toes in the water (if you're like me).  At the same time in the Outer Banks, you are laying out with a little bathing suit in the heat of the day, diving in the ocean throughout the day, and still hot outside by 6pm.  I used to look at ads with people wearing cute sweaters on the beach in summer wondering, "where are these people...clearly not in North Carolina!"  Both are beautiful and fun, just so different.

(Mount Hood)

(Leavenworth, WA)

Fall/Halloween 2016

In October, it rained every day except two, I think.  I'm literally not exaggerating.  If that wasn't enough, Bryce traveled for almost 3 out of the 4 entire weeks.  Luckily, we got out every dry second we could and got lots of practice on our scooters, we had friends bring a few meals while he was gone, and it was dry on Halloween so we got to go trick-or-treating and hand out candy in our neighborhood for the first time ever with the kids.  On top of all of that, we got to go to a really fun pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island, have a little friends Halloween party and another party at gymnastics.  All the fun festivities made up for all the rain we had.  Here are a few pictures of October...

Apple orchard

At the very end of September, we made it to a local apple orchard.  It was only about 10 minutes from our house and they had so many varieties.  I couldn't believe we hadn't been before.  It was 3 moms with our army of children.

Camping at Clear Lake

Back in September, just after Maddie's birthday, we tried our hands at camping again.  We thought about going closer to home or closer to Mt. Hood or even in the Columbia River Gorge, but with it being last minute, many campsites were full.  We found this one on the map and decided to try it out.


This camping trip wasn't nearly as great as our first in Bend.  First off, it was much colder than we expected, especially at the campsite.  I think I've mentioned this before, but in Oregon, even in the warm sunny months, there can be a stark difference between standing in the sun versus standing in a shaded tree area.

Mt. Hood

Second of all, we got there before lunch and wanted to hike around Clear Lake after eating.  It's not much of a lake and you can't even get near the water's edge because of the thick layer of mud and muck.

So we had a bit of hang out time at the campsite, which was more primitive than the other.  No playground, no flush toilets or sinks, and the running water was not very clean to be washing our dishes.

Oh, and we forgot matches!  Luckily, the campsite director had some for us to use (but I felt like an idiot asking for some).

One positive: we brought the hammock.  At least one kid was on it almost the whole time.

We didn't many warm clothes, so we stopped at the Dollar Store for hats.  Geez, we need some practice :-)

And then we drove home on Sunday to warm sunny weather.  We laughed to ourselves because the kids probably would've been just as happy staying at home...plus it would've been 10x easier for us.  My heart screams, "but the memories"!  Then when the kids don't sleep great, it's cold, and the campsite isn't that great, my mind screams, "let's just go back home and enjoy the next couple weeks of sun before rain sets in for the next 8 months."  (...?...maybe the joke is on us...)

Amy visits - July 2016

Living way up in the left corner of the USA and 3 time zones away makes me feel pretty far from family.  In some ways, it feels way closer than Switzerland.  In other ways, it feels the same: far away.  One funny thing about being far, is that somehow, being in the same time zone as someone, even if they live a flight away, makes you feel closer.  Like my little sister, Amy, in Las Vegas.  I know that I can call her after I put the kids in bed and it's not too late or too early to call her.  It's also a much cheaper flight for her (or me) to go visit.  So when Bryce planned his 10 day Montana fishing trip with friends at the end of July, I asked her right away to come stay for a long weekend.  She had never been up to the Portland area.  Here are a few fun pictures of her visit...

We took the kids downtown for a few hours and tried to stop at a few yummy spots like Pips Original Donuts, the food truck block, and Salt & Straw for dessert.  

Bend Fourth of July trip: Part 2

To continue...

Day 4 (Tuesday, 7/5):

We drove along the Cascade highway towards Mt. Bachelor and stopped at Cultus Lake.  This highway passes so many lakes-Devils Lake, Elk Lake, and Cultus Lake, just to name a few.  There are tons of outdoor activities along this scenic byway like camping, hiking, boating, and mountain biking.  We really had a hankering (for lack of a better term) to rent a pontoon boat on one of the bigger lakes to picnic, swim, and hang out.  We ended up at Cultus Lake as one of the few lakes that allow motor boating.  When we got out there, it felt freezing, probably in the high 60s with a strong wind off the lake.  We rented the boat anyways and went out on the water wrapped up in our towels.  Luckily, on the far side of the lake, there was a calm beach situated perfectly without much wind.  The water was really cold, so we didn't swim, but we did picnic, play in the sand, and lay in the sun.  It had me missing the warm North Carolina lakes in the summer, but it was still fun.

Bend Fourth of July trip: Part 1

We took an unforgettable trip to Bend over the 4th of July.  Bryce took a week off and the four of us had a different adventure every day.  We were able to stay at our friend's house (free!) for the entire week.  Back in July, the weather was actually cooler than usual not only in the Portland area but even in Bend on the other side of the mountains.  It was low 70s and sunny every day, so perfect for hiking and getting outside, but not quite warm enough for throwing on swimsuits and swimming as much as we had hoped.  Although we did spend the warmest day swimming all day.  It felt like a perfectly packed itinerary with lots of different things and the kids loved it as much as we did.  So, here's what we did, day by day.



Day 1 (Saturday, 7/2):

On the way to Bend, we actually stopped to do a hike.  It was on the way to Bend and a very nice place to hop out and take a break from the 3.5 hour drive.  The McKenzie River Trail to the Tamolitch Blue Pool was a hike we really wanted to check out.  Since it goes along the river, it wasn't straight up hill.  This was the first hike that we only brought one backpack for Carter.  Bryce and I miscommunicated about the length...I thought it was about 2 miles round trip so I was sure that Maddie could do it.  When we got started, Bryce said it was almost 4 miles round trip!  With lots of encouragement and probably less than 1/4 mile riding piggy back, she made it!  The blue pool was amazing, but difficult to hike/scramble down to actually put our feet it.  Lots of people were jumping in or just sitting around it.  One negative about the hike-mountain bikers shared the trail, so many times, we had to quickly move to the side.  Plus, it was pretty crowded, but with good reason.  Carter even enjoyed hiking a little bit when we first got started.

Angel's Rest Hike

The Columbia River Gorge ("the Gorge" around these parts) is a short drive from our house.  It's full of hikes with lots of beautiful waterfalls.  We've hiked at the most well known waterfall, Multnomah Falls, as well as Latourell Falls, and even a hike with falls at Mitchell Point.  Recently, we did my new favorite hike in the gorge: Angel's Rest.

The trail is 2.4 miles to the top passing two waterfalls, over a bridge, and the most amazing views at the top.  Maddie was such a big girl.  She basically ran the trail for the first 1.5 miles playing the chasing game.  Every time Daddy and Matt got near, she turned and ran further...until she got worn out and asked to be carried.  

Our good friend, Matt, was in town for the weekend.  He moved to Bend and we miss him.

The top is a huge bluff with 270 degree views.  It's a pretty scary drop so we didn't let the kids roam without holding our hands or being carried.  It was pretty crowded.  Lots of people were eating and hanging out at the top.

Not poop or dirt on his hands...chocolate! :-)

Memorial Day in Bend

The best things happening to us in the car lately: gum and the DVD player in our new to us Honda Pilot.  These kids are troopers.  We drove for 3.5 hours to Bend with no breaks or stops.  We have our car routines in any which order depending on the day: 1. snacks: a few options and always a treat-usually lollipop because they last longer-for when things sour, 2. "I spy" game which can last awhile and Carter even tries to play, 3. Stretching: I talk them through different stretches in a very calm, quiet voice ("Now reeeeeach for the sky as high as you can, now rotate your wrists, now tighten your fists as tight as they go, now relax them, now stretch your neck rolling your head one way...then the other...", etc.), 4. Talking about adventures we are going to go on or what we think might happen, almost like imagining different scenarios, 5. Telling stories about when they were born, when we were married, making it interesting for Maddie-if she's interested, Carter is, or if she is calm, he is usually calm, 6. DVD player!, or 7. iPad-for games like this "Talking Angela" game she loves-it's like a virtual pet, or a matching/memory one on there, or this puzzle one kind of like tetris.  

We left on a Saturday morning and returned on Monday afternoon.  It was a quick trip, but we love going there and it was great catching up with Matt.

He's renting a house near downtown and it just so happens to have an awesome tire swing.

We spent our first full day at Smith Rock State Park.  It's about 30 minutes outside of Bend.  It's super popular for rock climbers and a great place to go hiking or walking.

There are two rock climbers sitting on top of the monkey face rock.  Can you find them?

Carter slept on Bryce's back on the way up while Maddie rested on Matt's as soon as the hike got steep.  This was the main trail/hike at Smith Rock.  Not only was it very crowded, but it was also a little treacherous with slipping rocks and gravel near steep sides.

Last time, we went up this way-it's called Misery Ridge Trail.  This time, we went down this way.  It's hard to do either way.

The next day, Bryce and I went out to breakfast together while Matt and Kristin watched the kids.  Then we went fishing for a little while in the afternoon.  This was the first time for the kids.  It was at a little 18 and under pond.  Daddy caught one and they helped reel it in.  They had more fun throwing power bait in the water and seeing the fish swim to get it.  Overall, it lasted longer than I had expected.

"Ohh! BIG fish!"

Daddy is so good about cleaning the car right after road trips.  One of the reasons it's nice to get back earlier in the day.

We went back to Bend for July 4th and had lots of adventures in the area.  Excited to share!