Slip (Denny) Slidin' Away

Met up with a hiking friend and her kids today for a hike up to the Denny Slide. The Denny Slide is a kid friendly piece of exposed granite bedrock in Denny Creek near Snoqualmie Pass. It’s about a 1 mile hike with moderate elevation gain, so is perfect for short legs. We were on the trail about 10am. We went at kid pace so it took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the slide.

The kids were super excited to get in the water. It was all I could do to keep them (more specifically their clothes) dry while I changed them into their swim suits. The day started out cool and cloudy but the sun came out and it warmed up not too long after we got to the slide. The water was cool and refreshing to stand in but Mo's only options (because he doesn't stand) were to sit in the stream or slap at the water surface. He grew tired of these options so found entertainment elsewhere.

There were some older kids there (young teens) who were sliding down the natural waterslides. Anza was fascinated to watch them but when one of them offered to let her try his sliding pad she declined. Insteasd she opted to follow the example of our hiking friend's 3-year-old daughter and perfected a technique to get wet at both ends but keep the middle dry.

Mo never quite regained his composition after getting bit by 3 black flies in rapid succession (they -the 3- were the only bugs of consequence that we encountered). I'm not sure the logic that led me to it but I decided that if I carried the kids up to this waterfall (150 yards upstream from where we were playing) for a picture Mo would calm down.

Who cries while they're having their picture taken in front of a waterfall? He finally crashed on the hike out. We got back through Seattle before afternoon traffic which made for an uneventful and speedy drive home.

Fire In The Hole... Monroe Mormon Style

On one level the following is a tragic tale of failure and dissapointment. On another level it's a story of success. You dear reader can decide for yourself which it is to you.

Our friends in Monroe chopped down some trees and one of them was hollow. Rather than split the hollow logs they've developed a unique method to cook hot dogs. Basically they build a fire and get the hole burning then roll the hollow log off to the side. If the cook does everything right, it only takes a few seconds to cook a hot dog to perfection. I watched Hyrum do the first one and it looked easy enough. I gave it a try. Mo was very interested in the fire, so I held him at a safe distance.
All seemed to be going well. The dog was starting to sizzle and I could smell the deliciousness. I was just about to pull it out when the the end of my roasting stick burst into flame.

I was able to extinguish the fire with a swift breath.

The dog had a little blackening but that wasn't the real problem. The flare-up had comprimised the integrity of my roasting stick. My dinner fell to the dirt.

It was tragic, exciting and funny all at the same time.

The dirt dog did get eaten and many more dogs were cooked in the log that evening with great success.

Gettin Our Island On On Jetty Island

Made a few calls this morning and rounded up a few friends to go check out man-made Jetty Island in Port Gardner Bay in Everett. The ferry dock is near the public boat launch. Once on the ferry it was a very pleasant trip. The ride across the channel takes maybe 3 minutes plus a minute or 2 for docking on either side. For some reason most people wanted to ride on the water-level deck of the ferry. We had to ride on the upper deck both ways but that's where I wanted to ride. We waited for the deck to clear out and had Taylor snap a shot of the Smitty crew. The Island is surrounded by a wide flat shelf. We showed up at low tide so the water was a ways away from the sandy beach. Once the tide started to come in it made for excellent kid wading conditions.

Even Mo got in on the action and was able to practice an amphibious version of his scoot.

We only walked from the ferry to the beach, but apparently there's a trail to the north end of the island about a mile from the ferry dock.

When we got back to the mainland we saw this guy cruising the dock. He seemed as interested in the dozen people on the dock as we were of him.

For those who might be considering going to Jetty Island... I would recommend making resevations for the ferry. If you want to just show up, the late morning boats were full. People were having to wait 30+ minutes to get on a ferry. Apparently the first ferry often has space available and when we left in the early afternoon there was no crowd. Also, the folks who operate the ferry like you to be there 10 minutes before the boat leaves.