wildtalesof.com

August 13, 2014

Adding More Adventure to 2014: A Growing {Wild Tales of…} Family

Our wild little family is growing and things around here are about to get even more adventurous! Yes! We are expecting our second baby in December, and we couldn’t be more excited (and maybe a little terrified).

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July 30, 2014

Orcas Island’s Turtleback Mountain: Thankful for the Second Chance

When planning a return trip to Orcas Island (one of Washington State’s San Juan Islands north of Seattle), Slaed and I both made short lists. Short lists of places on the island we didn’t want to miss. Restaurants, hikes, shops, and other destinations that we loved so much the first time or didn’t get to visit because time or closure.

Neither of those lists included a visit back to the Turtleback Mountain Preserve, located west of the main town of East Sound. All Slaed could remember was the long uneventful climb along a gravel trail. Yes, if we veered off, there were a few spectacular views of the water and surrounding islands, but there were other hikes, other parks that we thought were better worth our time. We were content just visiting once.

Then I heard from one of the best local hiking experts in the state, Craig Romano. His latest book, Day Hikes in the San Juan and Gulf Islands was just released, and he was interested in having some Pacific Northwest area bloggers review it. Unfortunately the book wouldn’t arrive before we hit the road for Orcas, but I jumped at the chance to consult with him on his favorite picks, especially with a little hiker in tow.

His top recommendation and in his opinion the very best hike on the island? The Turtleback Mountain Preserve hike.

With a little more research I realized that yes, the first bit of the hike was a boring uphill climb, there was just no way around that, but if we remained patient and put in the work, we’d be rewarded.

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July 23, 2014

Potty Training for Active Families: Resources to Prepare, Survive and Reinforce+Giveaway!

{Fifth and final post in a series on potty training for active families}

We’re active. Even when we’re not traveling somewhere, we’re off exploring our local area whether that’s just getting exercise through walking, hiking, and biking, getting things done around town, rooting for our favorite home teams, or participating in community events. We like to get out.

Because of this lively lifestyle that we love, visions of serious potty training terrified us. Yes, we wanted so badly to be rid of the diapers. However, the thought of being homebound for a even a few days or a weekend was paralyzing. We dreaded it. Those 3-day potty boot camps (as much as we wanted to be over with quick) just wouldn’t work for us.

So we took our time and figured out an approach that worked for us and allowed us to continue our adventurous lifestyle with just a few changes.

For this last post in the series, I’m sharing resources galore, plus I’m giving away one of these great resources, so look for that at the end of the post! From books, to games, to informative posts from my fellow outdoor and traveling bloggers, I hope to equip families with plenty information prepare, survive, and reinforce their potty training efforts.

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July 18, 2014

Holiday Reset: Golden, CO’s Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Holidays are filled with fun and excitement. They can also be overwhelming. At least for me. Even the ones that are all about celebrating–no crazy obligations, no gifts to buy, no ceremonies to attend, just a lot of gathering with family and friends. It was a 4th of July frenzy for me this year. By late morning on the the 5th of July, I was cooked, and wait, we were actually on vacation! Yes as the cliche goes, I needed a vacation from my vacation.

Lucky for me, a quick respite in the mountains was just a short drive away. I located a state park, and we were off headed for not only a quiet hike (yes, you can have those with a toddler), but a peaceful mini road trip through a canyon inviting us to take in some of the Colorado culture as we passed ranches, trailheads, and distant peaks.

Unfortunately when we arrived at Golden Gate Canyon Park (about 30 minutes from downtown Golden), we knew we didn’t have a whole lot of time. It was already later in the morning, and we needed to get back for Bergen’s nap, and more fun that evening. We asked the ranger at the window for a short, but sweet hike recommendation, and she was more than happy to steer us in the right direction.

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July 16, 2014

Potty Training for Active Families: What to Pack for Travel

{Fourth post in a series on potty training for active families}

So we took our time and figured out an approach that worked for us and allowed us to continue our adventurous lifestyle with just a few changes.

For this fourth post in the series, I’m sharing what we pack when we truly hit the road, and travel away from home overnight, plus just a few quick tips and insights to keep in mind when at the airport and on the plane. Since our potty training journey began almost 3 months ago, we’ve logged 2 road trips to destinations about 3 hours away from home, and one plane trip of about 2 1/2 hours in duration. We are off to enjoy a weekend at the lake (6 hours on the road) in just a couple days, so I’ve got packing on the brain!

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July 14, 2014

Yepp Maxi Child Seat: Family Bicycling Fun

The addition of the Yepp Maxi child seat into our outdoor adventure arsenal couldn’t have come at better time and season. This year’s late spring and early summer in Seattle has been one of the best yet. To be honest, I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough of an opportunity to properly test the seat out during this transitional time. Historically our Junes are gloomy; nicknamed Junuary due to the frequent rain, continued lower temperatures, and overcast skies. Not so in 2014, and we’ve got the outside memories to prove it.

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