July 30 - Naches Loop Trail Hike

To celebrate our 11-year anniversary, we dropped off the kids with Nana/Popa and went to one of our favorite hiking spots, the 3.8 mile Naches Loop trail near Mount Rainier. The cloudy morning gave way to a glorious sunny and breezy day on the mountain. The meadow areas of the hike were completely covered in at least 10 different types of wildflowers. The area was busy but not overwhelming and the trail was not crowded. Also, no park or hiking passes are needed in this area. We hiked the loop trail in the clockwise direction, which is highly recommended due to the uphill in the beginning and the second half is walking directly towards the Mount Rainier peak. It was a wonderful hike and one we plan to do with the kids in August. 

Naches Loop Trail - Located at the WA State Route 410 mountain pass.

Luke and Jessica - Happy Anniversary - July 31 

The trail with grand views of Rainier.

#whatislukedoingnow

Dewey Lake

Not a cloud in sight.

Whistler-Blackcomb, B.C. - July 5th Adventure

July 5th was our check-out day at Whistler, B.C. We spent the entire afternoon riding up and over to Blackcomb Mountain on the Peak-to-peak gondola. Many of the alpine hiking trails were open, so we were able to hike up and around a bit. We saw some marmots and some chipmunks on the mountain, as well as some great views in all directions. 

Luke - Jessica - Claire - Levi

Snow in the mountains.

 

The Peak-to-Peak station on Blackcomb.

Leaving the station on the gondola.

Claire loving the gondola ride.

Cruising across the valley on the Peak-to-Peak.

Snow machines.

Hiking trails!

Snowboarder heading down the mountain.

Mountain Marmots

LOVE

Levi

They built a snowman.

All smiles!

Big guy.

Check out my snow gloves.

Can a marmot ride the gondola?

Blackcomb glacier.

Hiking on Blackcomb.

Whistler-Blackcomb, B.C. - July 3rd and 4th Adventures

For the July 4th holiday we booked a Whistler condo using airbnb and headed north of the border for some hiking and snow adventures. We spent July 3rd on Whistler Mountain, hiking and playing in the snow. It was on-and-off rain and was cold and windy, so basically standard Seattle weather. The kids just love the snow and checking out all of the different color rocks. On July 4th, we checked out a few valley hikes, and found the Ancient Cedars trail. We hiked this trail for a while, but the kids were not really enjoying it. Then there was the "mosquito incident", so we returned closer to the village and hiked along the Cheakamus River. We returned to the village and took advantage of the USD-CAD exchange rate to get some back-to-school clothes for Claire and soccer cleats for the kids.

Alright, now for the food. We highly recommend these food places:

Dups Burrito

Crepe Montange

La Cantina - Urban Taco Bar

Pure Bread

Avalanche Pizza

Whistler 2016

Snow, rain, blue skies. Perfect.

Love that snow.

And, more rain.

Claire

Levi

Mr. Mountain

Peak-to-Peak

Snow capped mountains.

No stopping when hiking.

Three different colored rocks.

Uphill trail, "the air is thin up here."

Family photo, in the rain.

"The sun is in my eyes!"

Ancient Cedars Trail-head. Drive 4-km down a rocky road at 6 km/hr and then you are there.

Unimproved logging road to the trail-head.

Nice, well maintained trail used for hiking and snow-shoeing.

Rough road.

Red tail hawk.

Cheakamus River.

Cheakamus River.

Hiking along the Cheakamus River.