I am not lying to you when I tell you that 7 days before our vacation? We had no idea where we were going. Barkernews and I threw around a myriad of ideas ranging from the Canadian Rockies to the Sierras. Ultimately, what it boiled down to was this: How long do you want to spend in the car with a toddler whose primary goal in life is to get OUT of the car? That kind of killed some of our grand ideas because before vacation, we all liked each other well enough. The goal was to like each other even more after vacation, not like each other less.
Barkernews was the one who came up the Barker Family Vacation Grand Plan of Summer 2010, aka BFVGPS10: Three days in the northeast corner of Mt. Rainier (which we have never visited), three days in Stehekin on Lake Chelan (which we have never visited) and three days in Sunlands (which have visited many, many times). It had all the elements of a successful vacation with a toddler: camping, hiking, lakes, some cycling and running thrown in for good measure and, ultimately, car trips that were no longer than 3 hours at a stretch. Oh yeah, and it was fairly cheap. Barkernews is a genius.
We promptly drove to the northeast corner of Mt. Rainier. This journey was delayed a little by stopping for cash, stopping at the waffle cart, stopping at Safeway, losing wallet at Safeway, driving past Vancouver before realizing that wallet was lost at Safeway, sitting in traffic on the I5 bridge to get back to Safeway, buying more diapers at Safeway, placating toddler at Safeway...all of that and we still got to Mt. Rainier by 4pm.
The weather was perfect. The scenery was perfect. The toddler was nearly perfect. During our three days at Mt. Rainier, we hiked, we camped, we ran, we cycled, we swung in the hammock and we sat around the campfire. Oh yeah, and we didn't check our cell phones.
I should probably discuss that part of our vacation for a brief minute. Before vacation, Barkernews and I agree that the entire week was to be a "communication-free zone". As in, no computers, no phones. Period. We couldn't even turn them on. And so, to follow the rules, we dutifully turned off our phones and stowed them away in our luggage and didn't look at them again. Of course, we don't have a DVD player in our car (and never ever ever will), so tv and media were out as well.
It was a beautiful, beautiful thing. No one could reach us. We couldn't reach anyone. We were forced to talk to *gasp* EACH OTHER. We were blessedly oblivious to whatever was happening in the outside world for 9 whole days. And isn't that what a true vacation should be? I plan to write a separate blog post on going tech-free when you are tech-addicted (as I am). Save up some energy to read that one.
Back to the topic at hand: Rainier. I realize that the word fun is overused so often, but it's true- Rainier was just so much FUN. We had nowhere to be and no one to be accountable to. Given those parameters, we did what we do best- were active, active, active and then relaxed, relaxed, relaxed, all within view of an amazing mountain. Honestly, neither of wanted to leave Rainier, but Stehekin was calling our name.
At the trailhead for the White River Glacier, Hazel decided that she needed a hiking stick. Fine, we said. Just don't impale yourself. She didn't. Goal for the day? Accomplished.
Hazel and I admire the view from Mt. Fremont. Huh, I thought to myself. Nothing around here is "small".
My peeps.
Look who showed up to meet me on Chinook Pass! Let's see...me going 9mph up the ridiculously long hill, her traveling 40mph in her car seat...I think she won.
Finally cresting the pass. Where is my cold drink? Now, on to Yakima.
