Growing up in a world of adventure.
Especially as a mom tethered to naptime, and not wanting to spend too much time in the car with my young children, I sought out hikes within a reasonable distance from my home in Seattle.
Lucky for me, I quickly learned that I didn’t have to travel far to have grand adventures (in the Seattle area) with my kids.
Did you set a new years goal or intention to get outside more with your family? Chances are, walking with your kids is part of that new habit you are trying to set! To make what could seem like chore or a drag a little more fun and exciting, my kids and I compiled a list of fun things to do on a walk! These activities and items will keep the adventure moving, add learning elements, and infuse so much joy, that you’ll barely notice those steps ticking away, and the miles adding up.
We travel to Phoenix’ West Valley regularly to visit family, and love to incorporate desert hikes into our days. Over the years, we’ve hiked many trails as a family, and based on our recent November visit, we have 3 HIKES at 3 LEVELS (Easy, Moderate, and Moderate/Hard) to recommend.
How do you get your kids to walk such far distances? This is one of the questions we get asked the most! We mention to friends the hikes we go on, and the places we walk to, and they are often very surprised at the mileage our kids can cover.
It obviously didn’t happen over night, but the answer is easy: Routine and Consistency. The number one reason that our kids can walk far distances is because it’s something that we’ve weaved into the fabric of our family. Walking is the main way we get exercise. It’s how we spend time together as a family. We walk to get to where we need to go, we walk for fun, and we walk to stay healthy. We walk to ensure that we have plenty of time OUTSIDE.
Needing an adventure out of the house (and our immediate neighborhood), and not wanted to venture too far, my family, and I hopped in a car on a recent weekend to explore Westcrest Park in Southwest Seattle.
Westcrest Park is part of Seattle Parks and Recreation, but is quite close to the White Center neighborhood, located between West Seattle and Burien. We meandered around the trails, visited the large dog park, and the kids enjoyed themselves immensely on the playground.
Bergen and I ventured to Washington’s Mountain Loop Highway this week! In this western section of the Cascade Mountains (Snohomish County), we hiked to Perry Creek Falls and Mount Forgotten Meadows. I left it up to Bergen as to whether we called it a day at Perry Creek Falls.
Stopping at the falls would have made for a 6.4 mile round-trip hike. He was feeling ambitious though, and wanted to tackle the strenuous trek to Mount Forgotten Meadows. Possible snow at the top, and the idea of accomplishing his longest hike yet (10.6 miles) motivated him to continue climbing!
Follow along on our adventure by watching our YouTube video below. You can experience the scenery along with us, and sneak a peak at the critters we saw on the trail. And for a little comic relief, find out one of the ways that Bergen passes the time while hiking. While you’re at it, consider subscribing to our channel—we have tons of fun over there, and you can see our Wild Tales of… family in action! We appreciate your support.
Also mentioned in the video is our Pacific Northwest Hiking/Travel Guide giveaway with Moon Travel Guides! Come see us over on instagram to enter. The book bundle includes Moon Washington, Moon Oregon, Moon PNW Hiking (pictured below), and Moon Oregon Trail! Last day to enter the giveaway is Thursday, July 30, 2020.
Georgia and I got to go on a mother-daughter road trip to Mount Rainier National Park this past summer. Since Bergen and I traveled to Mount Rainier National Park together in the spring of 2018, she felt like she needed a special one on one trip too! We stayed at the newly renovated Paradise Inn. Paradise Inn opened in 1916, but it was just recently renovated and reopened for the start of the 2019 summer season.
The kids and I investigate nurse logs, fallen trees that decay and become habitats, often. In fact there is one that we visit on a regular basis since it is just steps away from Georgia’s forest school. Whenever we are a few minutes early, we walk over to see what might be happening that day.
I love watching the surroundings and contents change through the seasons. As we visit in summer, it’s hard to even get to the log because of all the growth happening around it! Nurse logs are a big part of our nature exploration. BUT, our latest (and final) Think Outside Box brought our investigating to whole new level.
The Think Outside Nature box provides kids with tools and information to learn about ecosystems, plants, and all kinds of wildlife while making safe choices. Thanks to detailed instructions (complete with photos) in the activity guide, we not only had a fun outing in nature, but we saw a ton more than we usually would!
When is the last time you actually used a compass? Do you know how to navigate to a place without using your phone or GPS device?
Thanks to the Think Outside Navigation Box, I was able to brush up skills I haven’t used in years, and learn along side my 7.5 year old. While his sister slept, we put together a backyard treasure hunt for her. This was just the motivation we both needed to follow the well written instructions in the Activity Guide for using a compass.
This post in written in collaboration with MONTyBOCA. Special thanks to Chef Corso for partnering with us!
For our most recent camping trip to Conconully State Park in Washington State’s Okanogan region, we partnered with a chef! No, he didn’t come along with us, and cook all of our food. That would have been a dream! But Chef Corso from MONTyBOCA put together a meal plan for us, and we tested out several recipes for him.
With MONTyBOCA, Chef Corso is on a mission to elevate the meals we enjoy outdoors. He wants us to think beyond boring oatmeal packets, and dehydrated backpacking meals. Rather, MontyBoca is inspiring us to cook real, healthy, delicious meals. Meals that fuel us while we hike, bike, camp, and generally explore the world outside.
Our trip to Fernie, British Columbia last summer started off a little rocky. However, we ended our 4-day adventure with a mountain of amazing memories.
I’m not just having fun with puns over here. But you have to admit, that was pretty good, right? Rocky…mountain…
In all seriousness though, we did have quite the mishap! En route to Fernie, from our annual summer visit to Hayden Lake, Idaho, we got a flat tire. We’d decided to take a the scenic route, and by pass the busier highway. The scenic (dirt) road was lovely, but was a bit bumpier than we anticipated. Halfway through the trek, we slowed down to show the kids a rabbit on side of the road.
This turned out to be our lucky rabbit, because just after we continued driving, I looked in the rear view mirror. I immediately noticed that the back tire was getting shredded to pieces! The road was so bumpy to begin with that we barely noticed the blowout. Who knows when we would have realized the tire was flat if it hadn’t been for that cute hopper? Probably would have been a much worse situation.
We were traveling a lot slower as it was on the forest road. With our doughnut installed, we crept along, and all breathed a big sigh of relief when we finally met back up with the main road. Right away, Slaed began to research tire shops, and as soon as we got settled at the resort, he raced off to go about getting the tire replaced.
Our 4-year old Georgia has been watching Bergen (her 7-year old brother), and I explore with Think Outside Boxes since the fall. Since the subscription service is geared toward kids 7+, she’s been a little out of the loop.
Then we were introduced to the Outdoor Kids Exploration Kit from Imagilane! While Imagilane is not a subscription service, it is a box full of fun gear that encourages kids 3+ to get outside and explore. As soon as we unwrapped the box from it’s packaging, Georgia started playing.
She took a more imaginative play approach, setting her baby doll up along side her as she described each item. In no time, she was outside in our backyard getting a closer look at a fly, and watching birds come and snack from our feeders.
Squak Mountain State Park holds a very special place in my heart. In the early spring of 2014, I ran a trail half marathon there. The very next day, I found out that I was pregnant with our youngest, now 4-year old, Georgia. Fun to say that I ran a trail half marathon while pregnant, right?
Tucked away from the other more popular Issaquah Alps, Squak Mountain is a little less known, and therefore a little less crowded. Admittedly I even overlooked the park initially when I was charged with finding a “moms only” hike this past weekend. Wanting to spend more time on the trail, than driving, we needed an option that wasn’t too terribly far from Seattle. Snow was also something we wanted to avoid. And of course crowds (or the hope of the lack there of) were a concern.
Most of our family travels are scheduled and planned, very far in advance. In fact, we often get teased by family and friends that we already have a full calendar before others even begin to start making plans. What can we say? We just love having travel and adventure to look forward to!
Everyone once in a while though, we get a wild hair, and will spontaneously plan a trip. This was the case over the kid’s winter break this past year. For the first time ever, we weren’t traveling over the holidays, AND we didn’t have family coming to visit. After the excitement of Christmas subsided, I think we got itchy. Slaed started researching, and found a very reasonable and adorable cottage rental with beach access. Just our style for ringing in the new year.
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I’m hopping in early with our SPRING BUCKLET LIST, because we are ready! We are ready to say goodbye to snow, and ice, and cold. We are ready to welcome a little color back into our landscape, and can’t wait for the temperatures to warm up…just a bit!
I want to challenge you to do the same. However you feel about the upcoming season change, jot down a quick list of special things you want to do with your family to celebrate spring. I love how this exercise helps with intentionality, and allows us to prioritize our most treasured and valued family activities.
If you aren’t familiar with our seasonal bucket lists, here’s the scoop: Each season, we create a list of about 10 fun adventures or projects that are specific to the season.
We dig through our favorite nature books, think about our favorite happenings of that particular season, and look at our calendars to gather the best things that nature has for us. To learn more, check out our spring, summer, fall & winter bucket lists of past years.
We are back with another fun Think Outside Unboxing! This is our Eighth Think Outside box, and this time the theme is SHELTER. In case you’ve missed our previous Think Outside unboxings, here’s a quick overview:
Think Outside Boxes is a year-long monthly subscription service that’s geared towards kids 7 and up! Each month, subscribers receive a box in the mail based around a theme. The service begins with an introductory box that includes a backpack (color of your child’s choice), and some other small goodies to encourage outdoor exploration. The boxes that follow depend on when the subscription is initiated.
As a mom, outdoor adventurer, and frequent traveler, I’m on my feet a heck of a lot. Since walking is more than just exercise and leisure, but a form of transportation most days, I can’t mess around with footwear. In the fall, winter, and even spring (spring lasts from March to July in Seattle!), I need boots that will protect my feet from the elements, provide comfort, hold up, and even help me look a little put together!
Over the years I have tested several different brands and styles of women’s winter boots, and I have compiled my favorites here in a round-up. Of course, different boots serve different purposes. You’ll see in each description what conditions and situations each pair works best in.
Know that for each of the the winter boots featured here, many miles have been walked, so I consider the testing fairly rigorous! Miles logged include hiking on trails, long city walks, snowy treks, rainy visits to the playground, and everything in between.
Also keep in mind that we live in Seattle, so my frame of reference is going to be centered around, “What’s going to keep my feet dry?”.
While we’ve been sharing our monthly Think Outside Boxes unboxing on instagram and YouTube, it’s been a while since we’ve talked about the subscription service here on the blog!
We traveled back to Kauai this past fall for our biannual trip to the Hawaiian Islands! Yes, for the past 10 years we’ve made it our family tradition to travel to the Aloha State every 2 years. Here’s a quick recap:
We are back with another fun Think Outside Boxes unboxing! Though this is a monthly subscription service (geared toward kids 7+), we’ve received several boxes in advance. That way we can share our thoughts to help you decide if this service is a good match for your young explorer! In case you missed last week’s unboxing, head to our YouTube channel to view the first box!
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The kids and I were invited to an event with the National Park Service at the end of this summer. A pop-up park was created in downtown Seattle’s Westlake Park in order for visitors to specifically experience the sounds of some of our national parks.
If you’d asked me on the first evening of our 3-night camping trip at Scenic Beach State Park if I’d go camping with my children again, I would have answered with a definitive, NO. A couple of quick (and vulnerable) excerpts from my journal:
“I’m not that enthusiastic about camping. The kids drive me crazy. The absence of routine things makes me realize what I take for granted.”
“Everything makes me anxious—Georgia humming as I wait for her to fall asleep. Slaed breaking apart boxes and throwing pieces into the fire. He’s making noise and I fear it’ll keep the kids up.
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KickBackWithCanadaDry
As a family travel advocate, most of our adventures happen with our wild and wonderful children. From time to time though, we enjoy (and recommend) taking a break from full time caregiving for a bit!
I’m happy to report that my girlfriends and I just recently returned from our 3rd annual Mom’s Weekend. We’ve been friends since our now 3.5 year olds were newborns, and treasure this special time to get away. This year we traveled to La Conner, Washington for the 2nd time, renting an amazing home that worked out so perfectly last year, we decided to return. La Conner is about 60 miles north of Seattle, located in Skagit Valley, well known for it’s Tulip Festival each spring.
