Being outside can inspire. It can remind you that you are, in the greater scheme of things, tiny.  It can make you marvel.  While you don’t need to travel cross-country to experience that feeling, the Cascades have given us a chance to reconnect with the outdoors.  This is wild country.

Today, we drove past tiny, old coal mining towns with little bungalows dwarfed by giant pines.  Eventually, our cell phone service disappeared.  The road turned to dirt.  We had arrived.

We hiked along the Cooper River Trail, in the Wenatchee National Forest.  Bambino spotted salmon in the river.  As the water coursed through the rapids, it changed color.  We were in the middle of “nowhere,” and in the heart of everything.

         

After a well-earned lunch, we took a swim at the resort.  We’re now all sprawled on the couch, soaking in a sunset. 

Don’t get too domesticated, friends.

We didn’t do a classic summer vacation this year.  Instead, we waited until everyone had packed up their beach umbrellas and headed back to school.  We pulled Bambino out of preschool, and went West.   We’ve been exploring the Cascade Mountains in Washington this weekend.

Honestly, the trip started off poorly.  Our initial flight got delayed.  Our ticket agent was having a bad day, and buggered up our flights and baggage.  But, we arrived.  Our bags (and car seat) arrived five hours later.  Thankfully, the United staff at Seattle-Tacoma were incredibly helpful.

The next morning, as planned, we headed to the Cascade Mountains.  We rented a beautiful condo with one of those cliché “million dollar views.”  For the record, the view is stunning.

This area feels familiar in so many ways.  There’s lots of wild beauty.  Lots of agriculture.  Lots of posh tourism.  However, we don’t have vistas like this at home.

Our first day here was dedicated to music.  We traveled to the renowned Gorge Amphitheater to see two of Bambino’s favorites:  Gary Clark Jr. and the Foo Fighters.

We didn’t stay for the whole show.  But, we saw the Foo Fighters play an extended, epic version of “The Pretender” (Bambino’s favorite).  In the midst of the song, he learned over and gave me kiss and yelled, “Thank You!!”  He later told his father the night was “awesome.”  He danced barefoot, made friends, and stayed up way past his bedtime.

This morning, the boys slept in.  I made a pot of coffee, and enjoyed the view.  After breakfast, we hiked down 1,000 steps to the Cle Elum River.

We hiked through the towering trees, examined lichen and logs, found sticks, and got good and dirty.  We’re looking forward to exploring more of the trail system tomorrow.

The rest of the day has been filled with the kind of beautiful, mundane stuff we don’t get enough of.  We went to a playground.  I shared snacks and conversation with Bambino.  We sang silly songs and started tickle wars.

Tonight, I hope to pull a blanket out, and show Bambino how big and magical a night sky can be.  It’s been a wonderful (and needed) change of scenery and perspective.