It took some advance planning, and a bit of preparation, but this past weekend, I got the chance to hike without my kids. While I love hiking along side my children, well..carrying one of them, and either chasing after or encouraging the other to keep up, I needed the chance to trek at my own pace.
Pacific Northwest Cabins and Yurts: 5 Family Favorites
Here in the Pacific Northwest, our little clan is lucky to have so many family friendly cabin and yurt rental options available to us!
We’re fans of renting cabins and yurts as our accommodations when traveling for two reasons:
- Cabin and yurt rentals in state parks and other campgrounds are often inexpensive.
- Cabins and yurts provide what we love about camping–being close to nature–but allow for some creature comforts like heat, beds & electricity.
We’ve compiled a list of 5 of our favorite cabins and yurts from over the past few years of traveling in the Pacific Northwest as a family. You’ll see that our choices range in their geographical location to include coastal escapes, mountain retreats, and lake front getaways. The common thread between them though is their coziness, comfort, and ability to allow us to unwind & enjoy the natural beauty of our surroundings. That and a good campfire too!
Cape Disappointment State Park, WA
Washington State Travel: 5 Destinations for Families
Seattle area aside (since we live here and all), Washington State has so many amazing destinations for families to enjoy a getaway together. Here I’m featuring just 5 of our favorite areas to explore. So many more places await us though (and I’ll have another batch of 5 next month), from spots that we’ve mearly passed through to areas we haven’t even touched.
Of course not everyone lives in the Seattle area, but I also wanted to note that each of these destinations is within a 3 hour drive from the city, so if you’re based here or in one of our surrounding communities, these road trips are very family friendly!
Port Townsend
Why Travel is Good for Your Parenting: Perspective from Lake Wenatchee, WA
There are so many reasons to travel:
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To see family
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To escape
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To explore the natural world
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To gain perspective
Travel also opens up my mind to the new, to change, to better myself, to realize, and see that there might be a different way to do things.
A friend of a friend, not a parent herself, taught me how to be a better mom.
Only she doesn’t even know it.
Treasure Walks and Early Spring in Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum
What is it with 3 and 1/2 year-olds and treasures? Is this a thing? Maybe its just our little guy, but lately all he can talk about is treasures, from finding treasures to receiving them as a reward. The good news? Anything can be a treasure. So as long as we call it such, anything can have the potential of being special to him. The bad news? Since everything has the potential to be a treasure, we can spend a lot of time waiting around for a lollygagging preschooler investigating every nook and cranny along our way.
Sometimes it all works out though, like during our visit to the arboretum this past weekend. As soon as Bergen was “released” from the jogging stroller to walk on his own, he requested the use of one of the bags we’d brought along for the dog’s (ahem) deposits. I credited him for his smart thinking! He declared that he was going to search for treasures, and then for the next mile or so, he picked up anything that happened to catch his eye. Rocks, sticks, leaves, blades of grass…they all went in the bag.
If you’re looking for a way to focus walks and hikes with your young children, you might just think about bringing a bag along for collecting! It’s easy, doesn’t require a whole lot of pre-planning, and Bergen was more than willing to toss the treasures back when our walk was complete.
While Bergen was focused on finding treasures, I had the chance to admire early spring in the arboretum. Yes, while the east coast is suffering through snow, ice, and bitter cold, we are experiencing abundant sunshine, flowers in bloom, warmer temperatures, and even (it seems to me) more active wildlife.
Have any more tips on holding kids’ interest while walking and hiking? We’d love more ideas!
You can also check out our other tips for hiking with a preschooler.
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Preschool Hikes: Learning and Exploring at Squak Mountain State Park
What would you do if you were stuck between a Cougar and a Tiger?
…SQUAK!
A little joke that gets tossed around in the outdoor world as an answer for why Squak Mountain has such a name since it is situated between Cougar Mountain (to the West), and Tiger Mountain (to the East).
I don’t exactly know the real reason for the name–I believe it has to do with the native people of the region–but we did go on a sweet little hike here this past weekend and found our time to be a perfectly pleasant family adventure.