A Boundy of Places Named Deception

We made a last minute change to our original plan to go on a family-backpacking trip with some friends to a lake near Stevens Pass. The forecast called for possible thunder storms at the cascade crest. Even though it was just 30% chance we thought it best to seek another destination to increase odds of kids having a good time. We ended up at Deception Creek... about 10-miles SW of Stevens Pass. Had beautiful blue skies and there was no indication that the storms ever developed at the crest, but we couldn’t see that far because we were in the bottom of a 3000ft deep valley. We were a bit disappointed to find the lone creek side campsite occupied when we got there. After a bit of scouting we located a better site. It had a gentle sandy/pebbly beach and soft sandy tent pads. Other than the people in the other site and 2 groups who were just passing through to destinations more than a mile from the trailhead, we had the valley to ourselves... except for the hordes of biting flies. Kids and adults played in the creek for a while, but whenever the breeze would slow or we would stop moving the flies would swarm and begin their feast. It was decided to truncate our stay at Deception Creek to just a day trip. We loaded up the packs and headed back to the car. The new plan was to grab dinner at a Zeeks and drop in on the A family in Monroe. The A’s were happy to see us and gladly let us camp on their relatively insect-free lawn. Their house is on top of a hill facing east with great views of the mountains. We got to use indoor plumbing and borrow some pillows. We woke to a beautiful sunrise over the Cascades. After breakfast (it was nice to toast our bagels rather than eat them cold) we took the kids to Lake Roesiger for some more water/sand play. We made our camping lunch on the beach and lounged in the shade. We timed the drive home to coincide with naps. It wasn't exactly the trip we planned but turned out to be an excellent adventure.

Note: Mrs Smitty is featured in all the photos in this post because so often she's running the rat race while Mr Smitty and the Kiddos are out having fun on her dime.

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.

No Decepticons At Deception Pass

I’m not sure how many times something has to happen for it to become a tradition, but I think our annual car camping trip with the rheas and co has become a tradition. This was our third year. We went to Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island. On the way there we did a little side trip/picnic to Mt Erie on Fidalgo Island. Apparently Mt Erie is a well-known climbing destination in addition to being a popular tourist/sight seeing stop over. There’s a road that goes all the way to the 1250ft summit, which makes it especially nice for families. From the lookout perched atop some impressive cliffs we could see the a couple lakes, several islands, the Puget Sound, and Deception Pass State Park (where we’d be spending the rest of the weekend). After enjoying the view and a picnic on Mt Erie we took the scenic route back to Hwy 20 along the west side of Fidalgo Island and drove across Deception Pass Bridge on our way to the campground. Our campsite was in a great location near the beach (with great views of the bridge), bathroom, and water spigot. The kids were mostly into playing on the beach. The last couple years we’ve camped in the mountains. This was our first year camping near the Sound. It was a pleasant change of pace. I think we’ll do it again.

Tide Chasers

Took the kiddos to Carkeek Park a couple days ago to check out the minus tide. We saw a couple critters but for the most part the kids were more interested to play in the sand and go up to the playground.

Sea Kitty Sherpa

I'm a new member of a group called the Trail Blazers. We're not an NBA franchise. We are an organization that transports fish to mountain lakes for the Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife. I've been given the responsibility to stock 3 lakes this year. This morning my family and I carried a backpack full of fish into one of them. We picked up fish at 10am under cloudy but clearing skies. Anza wouldn't stop glaring at the hatchery worker who was helping me transfer fish into the jug for transport. The dirt road to the trailhead was a little bumpy but our station wagon was able to inch along. We got about halfway up the road before we were stopped by a washout with some big rocks blocking the way. We got out and started to walk up the road. In about 10 minutes a family in an SUV gave us a ride to the trailhead. Once on the trail it was the usual hiking-with-2-toddler-age-kids scenario. It took us almost 2 hours to go a little over 2 miles. We had lunch at the lake before we released the fish. Mojave seemed to enjoy eating the wet lakeside duff as much as his PBJ sandwich.
I thought Anza would be interested to see the fish get released, but she couldn't have cared less. Instead she was more interested in the gray jays that were strategizing how to grab the abundant bits and pieces of Mojave’s lunch that were scattered around him. The birds tried a couple times to do their usual swoop and grab maneuver but whenever they got close to Mojave, he would let out a shriek of joy and would begin violently flailing his limbs. Kind of entertaining for the misses and I but terrifying to a gray jay. We had been hearing distant claps of thunder (forecast called for possible thunder showers). It started to rain. With the fish happily swimming among the rocks in their new home we packed up and headed home. The way down was quick and the kids slept for the drive home.

Totem Smitty

We've done a few things recently that I intended to blog about but I've been lazy about transfering the images to the computer. Guess enabeling laziness is the downside to an 8GB memory card. The slippery slope of it is that the more images pile up, the less interested I am to download and sift through them. Today I got the ball rolling but didn't get very far before I decided to take a break from it and let folks in on a little seceret. I've been asked several times how I hike with 2 kids. Best case scenario is that the almost-3-year-old walks. That doesn't always pan out. Here's an image of the alternative scenario taken on last weeks trip to the Heybrook Lookout Tower.