Suiattle Kidspedition 2011

Last year's bike camping trip up the closed-to-motor-vehicles Suiattle River Road was such a spectacular time that we did it again this year. We invited a few new friends to come along but in the end only one new family was able to come and even they had to leave one of theirs at home. We were 5 adults and 6 children strong. Everyone had some sort of bike to ride.

We had initially planned to head out first thing Friday morning but we delayed until the afternoon to wait for some rain squalls to blow through. We got nailed by a couple intense rain cells on the 2-hour drive to the trail head but somehow we lucked out and the precipitation stopped in time for us to ride the 3-ish miles to the campground and get things set up.

When more than half your crew is under age 5 there are many reasons and opportunities to stop and take a break.

The kids went back and forth between riding their own bikes and getting rides on one of the cargo bikes or the trailer. Everyone rode at least part of the way under their own power.

We planned this as a 3-day/2-night trip because a trip always seems so much longer if you have a full day to explore and enjoy the surroundings. We took that middle-day to ride further up the road to the sand bar at the Downey Creek/Suiattle River confluence. I think everyone liked the freedom of not hauling 3-families worth of camping gear and food.

We took a side trip to a meadow and were cautiously greeted by 2 deer grazing in a field of daisies.

Once the deer had retreated, The little kids got down to some serious balance biking.

In the middle of the meadow is a structure. It looks like some sort of barn. Ma 'n Pa Egg posed in front of it for this picture. There's another building on the edge of the meadow; it's small and looks like a one-room cabin but I didn't get a picture of it.

After a brief while exploring the meadow and enjoying it's beauty, we mobilized our pedal convoy and got back on the road. We were happy to get to the bridge over Downey Creek because that meant we were within a couple hundred feet of our destination... the sandbar at the Downey/Suiattle confluence.

This bridge is the choke point of the road. Everything leading up to the Downey Creek Bridge is wide enough for a car to pass. The bridge is easily wide enough for a cargo bike or bike trailer but there's no way even a super small car like a mini (the old ones that were freaky small) or a Smart Car could drive across. I'm not sure how this will play into the plans/movement to re-open the road to motors. Maybe there are plans to replace it with an auto friendly bridge or maybe this will be the new end of the road. Time will tell.

Before we made the 50-or-so foot decent down the embankment to the sand bar we had lunch and used the outhouse at the Downey Creek Campground. We found a plank to use as a ground-level picnic table.

Some kids rode their bikes around the campground while waiting for others to finish eating. Young T is well on his way to giving Evil Knievel a run for his money.

When everyone was ready, we headed down to the beach for some diggin' and splashin'.

Someone caught a frog...

...and our casual weekend-in-the-woods was suddenly a scientific expedition.

An hour or 2 on the beach had everyone sufficiently wet and sandy, so we gathered for the only group picture of the trip.

The kids didn't ride as much the 6-miles back to camp so it went relatively quick.

Unfortunately the HawkFam had other obligations the rest of the weekend and had to leave early. The following morning we woke to blue skies. Once the sun got above the ridge we even had warmth and sunshine. On the previous day's ride we had noticed this road closed sign on an overgrown spur road and wondered what was down that green tunnel of a road.

It was only a mile from our camp so we decided to ride up and check it out. Turns out it's the road to the Suiattle Guard Station. This cabin (the guard station) used to be available as a weekend rental but with the road closure it's boarded up and no longer available to rent.

Not sure I'd want to camp here because it was more buggy than the campground, road, or beach, but it was a pleasant place for the kids to explore and to have a picnic lunch in the tall grass.

After we'd had enough of the bugs at the guard station, we returned to our campsite to begin breaking down our camp. We didn't leave without playing in the river a bit though. The ride out was relatively uneventful until we met a guy who's living up there for the summer in a lean-to type structure he built down by the river. His story was that he's escaping the Louisiana heat for the summer. Our encounter with him was pleasant and entertaining enough. He saw us ride by and chased us down because he hadn't had any human contact for a while and just wanted to talk. But it was a reminder that you never know who's hanging around near roads in the woods.

For other versions of what really happened click here or here.

What in the what?

Some Smitty friends invited us to drive halfway across the state with them to launch their freshly built rocket at this year's Fire In The Sky. We Smittys have built a few rockets of our own but the ones we built are children's toys that can be bought as kits at any hobby shop and launched at the local field. The rockets at FITS are quite a bit more serious... composite fuselages, on-board electronics, engines as big as a man's forearm, FAA clearance required to launch, and a whole slew of other details that set them apart from the kid's toy version. There were kids at the event but this was definitely for big people.

The pre-flight set up is somewhat similar to the toy version but there's more motivation to do it right 'cause if these rockets get lost or destroyed there's more at stake than a $10 kit and 2 hours of build time. Basically you need to make sure the parachute and a bunch of cordage is neatly packed in the body tube and the nosecone is put on right.

Your handy work must pass inspection to get a "flight card" and you gotta have a flight card to get assigned a launch pad.

Eventually they call your group over the loud speaker and you can put your rocket on the launch pad and do the final preparation to launch.

Meanwhile, all the kids are running around having a great time in the fields of eastern WA. Pre-school age kids seemed largely uninterested in the rocket thing, but were happy to have a lot of space to run and dirt to dig.

Don't forget to snap that potentially final picture... you know... just in case.

Then you sit around and wait some more...

... until finally you hear your name over the PA and it's your turn to launch.

We hung around the rocket thing for a few hours and decided it was time to drive to the campsite we had reserved at Lake Chelan State Park.

The Eastern WA weather wasn't the picture perfect sunny, warm and blue skies that citizens of Pugetopolis head east for but it was warm, sunny, and dry enough to play around the water and get a little wet. We took turns paddling our new (to us) canoe to explore nearby coves and collect the small pieces of driftwood that the kids were fascinated with. The water was a beautiful shade of blue and when the wind wasn't blowing you could see the bottom quite a ways out.

The lake level is down 8 or so feet right now so there are several sandy beaches exposed that would otherwise be at the bottom of the lake. The kids took full advantage of the dry and accessible sand.

On the drive home we stopped at the Rocky Reach Dam on the Columbia River. It was interesting but I was a bit disappointed that the tour didn't go into the dam the same way I remember the tour of the Hoover Dam being when I went as a kid. I didn't think to ask if they used to have a more in-depth tour (pre 9/11/01) or if it's always been so lame.

In the end we saw new sights, went new places, and hung out with good friends, so it was an excellent weekend.

People Powered Pedal & Pedestrian Parade

Beacon Bikes hosted a walking speed tour of what will likely be Seattle's first Neighborhood Greenway. We met up with about 100 of our closest bikey and walky friends at Jefferson Park this morning for the tour.

When we grouped up to cross a street we condensed down to a pack that more-less filled the street 4-5 houses back from the intersection. When we were moving and spread out to comfortable riding distance we were close to a city block long. I'm sure we were quite the unexpected spectacle for the few neighbors that were in their yards or happened to be looking out their windows as we rode by.

Lil Girl Smitty held her own riding with local bike blog celebrities...
... Julian of Totcycle.com fame is behind her on the bike with the windshield, and that's Tom of SeattleBikeBlog.com to her left.

This little fella seemed to have a good time riding stoker on the big dummy even though every few blocks he asked if he could ride his balance bike.

What has 20 legs, 10 heads, 4 wheels, and moves at 2 mph?

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This thing...............

Perhaps "Jalopy Bike" is an appropriate term to describe it.

Whatever it's called, it's an impressive feat of engineering. The steering, brakes and transmission are more-less as they were when this was a petroleum powered vehicle. The motor has been replaced by a network of chains, gears, shafts, and pedals that would bring a tear of joy to Rube Goldberg's eye.

McSchwinn Likes It

The last week has looked pretty good on the BBQ index (days above 60F). We've gone on several wonderful adventures, and true to form I haven't taken many pictures. This post is a synopsis of our adventures over the last week or so.

First we went to Honk Fest West on 5/14. It was more a cacophonous mingling of multiple simultaneous performances than a traditional music festival. The laid-back atmosphere was welcoming and people of all walks of life seemed to be mingling and having a great time.

There was music and dancing like this:

and Mrs Smitty got to test her slack rope skills.
We had a lull in the stellar skies for the next couple days so the little Smitties and I stayed indoors and did a little baking. We made white bread with oats and currants. It was quite delicious no matter what we put on it or even if we didn't put anything on it at all. Embarrassingly the loaf lasted less than 24 hours. We can have cookies, ice cream or brownies in the house and I can not eat them but fresh bread is my weakness.

Blue skies returned just in time for Mrs Smitty to have a half day at work. We took advantage of the extra day light family time by riding our bikes to the Seattle Center to play in the fountain.

We stopped on our way to the fountain at South Lake Union Park to watch the float planes land and take off. Sorry, no pics of float planes, but aren't we a cute family?

There were a bunch of people around when we showed up but nobody was playing in the water. We weren't shy about being the first ones to get wet. Dogs and bikes can have fun in the water too.

Snack time on one of the many lawns at the Seattle Center

This was actually a re-attempt of a failed trip to the fountain last summer when the fountain was closed for maintenance on the day we went. For some reason we never got back there last year. The fountain is choreographed to go along with music that plays over loudspeakers in the vicinity. Even though most of the music is familiar it's mixed in such a way that you don't always know when the fountain is going to instantly transform from a gurgling trickle to a raging torrent. The informal game is to touch the metal dome and stay there longer than anyone else. Mrs Smitty had a few lengthy stretches with her hand on the dome but her clothes got soaked.

We were pleased the fountain was going strong for this visit. After we dried out from the fountain we took the scenic route home along the water front.

The next day, today, Mrs Smitty took the day off work to volunteer at the Lil' Smitty's preschool. She led a nature scavenger hunt and made some delicious treats.

The day was so nice we felt compelled to follow pre-school with a bike ride along the Burke Gilman Trail to the "bike-to-work-day after-party". At the after-party Mike "McSchwinn" McGinn, the Mayor of Seattle, stopped me and asked about my Big Dummy setup. It was sort of fun talking family-hauling bikes with the mayor. I wish I had gotten a picture of him with me and my bike.

The BG Trail was once a railroad grade that followed the shore of Lake Washington. This pic doesn't really show the details very well (wooden truss, creosote treated logs, old bridge smell, etc) but this bridge appears to largely be a remnant of those RR days.

There are rumors of some sort of pedestrian/pedal powered parade tomorrow. Not sure if we're going to make it or not. If we do, perhaps I'll remember to take a few pics and there will be more to report on from this fabulous week.

When Gas Works For Fun

It's been a pretty cool and wet spring even by northwest standards, so when the forecast called for partly sunny and 65, I was determined to get outside. A few friends and I were recently talking about doing some kite flying at Gas Works Park, so I sent out an email to my usual cohorts. I got a few responses so it was on.

Gas Works Park is a defunct refinery that's been cleaned up and turned into a public space. There isn't a proper playground but there is a sand box, a grassy hill, old machinery, a picnic area, a beach, lots of grass, and a beautiful view of the Seattle skyline.

The little Smittys get bored of riding on the Big Dummy but their friends jump at the opportunity to ride on a family bike.

The wind was a bit gusty for consistent kite flying but we did manage to get the fairy kite up a couple times before we put it away for another day with better kite wind.

And of course no trip to a park with a grassy hill would be complete without rolling down the hill.

Jam Con... Strawberry Freezer Style

While recently having a discussion with my bro-in-law about baking I revealed that the family Smitty doesn't have a food processor and must do all our chopping by hand. Our conversation ended and I thought nothing of my Luddite-esq confession until a few days later an unanticipated package arrived on our porch. We opened it to find a food processor attachment for our Bosch mixer. Strawberries are cheap right now, so we picked up a few pounds to inaugurate the new appliance by making strawberry freezer jam.

For the sake of letting the little Smittys participate more we had them pre-cut the strawberries before we put them in the food processor.
As always, the kiddos jumped at the opportunity to operate an appliance.

I think we may have over processed the strawberries. The directions on the pectin packet said to crush the fruit but ours were more pulverized. Regardless of our overzealous use of the chopper, it made a potent and sweet smelling bowl of mush.

We probably weren't the most efficient machine at getting the jam into the jars but we had a good time doing it, and the clean-up was easy enough.

Ta-da!

Perhaps french toast tomorrow morning would be an appropriate way to celebrate. And maybe the morning after that too.

Tulip Traffic Tie-up

The Family Smitty took a trip to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival this past weekend. The nice weather brought out the masses and the freeway was reduced to stop-and-go a few miles before we got to Mount Vernon. Bringing the bikes gave us the freedom to get off the freeway, park the car, and pedal the rest of the way into town and across the river to the land of tulips.

This was our first time at the tulip festival. The fields are impressive but I was more surprised by how few fields there were. For some reason I thought the tulips would go for miles rather than be isolated into a half dozen fields each a mile or 2 apart.

Most of our riding was on the shoulder of paved roads but we got off the blacktop onto less crowded and more quiet dirt lanes for a couple brief stretches.

We started talking to a guy who had the same bike as Mrs. Smitty. We were doing the same route in opposite directions so we each shared a bit of info about fields and road conditions ahead. He offered to snap a family portrait of the the Smitty clan. We don't have many pics with all of us together. Few things say "family" like matching helmets.

I didn't see it in any of the other fields, but for some reason the fields of yellow tulips were speckled with the occasional red loner.

It was an excellent family friendly outing. The bikes made it so much more accessible and relaxing than if we had tried to do it by car.

When 48F is "nice"

The official start of Spring is just around the corner, and the weather this weekend was like a bugler blowing reveille. The mercury didn't quite get up to 50F but the sun was most alluring. I should have been working on a freelance job but a family bike ride sounded more fun. We donned our mittens + helmets and hit the trail.

We often cross this bridge. The kids like to stop here and watch traffic go under them.

We've been working on teaching the kids safe riding habits like staying right and stopping at intersections. We're also trying to get M to transition to a pedal bike 'cause he's getting too big for his balance bike.

Perhaps we should also be working on generally paying attention.

There's a small grassy area that the kids like to stop and play at. It's actually some sort of storm-water containment/settling pond thing that often has mud that the kids like to stomp around in. Today it was too dry for mud-stomping so we played a few rounds of "stop and go".

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and loaded the kids and their bikes on the family bike. This was the first time I got to use my trailer hitch.