Things I Have Found in Charlotte’s Fur: A Non-Comprehensive List

Never have I had a floof as floofy as Charlotte. Never have I had a dog the color of a lightly toasted marshmallow, with fur in beautiful shades of gold and russet. But for every strand of hair that Charlotte sheds, she picks something up in return. She is the canine equivalent of a white […]

Welcome to the Washington Desert, it’s Hot AF: Coyote Wall

Hiked: July 21, 2019 Distance: 8 miles, felt like more Midwest summers are humid, steamy affairs. Maybe not “Lousiana swamp” humid, but they’re close. My hair is in a constant state of panic; vinyl car seats stick your thighs. Your thighs stick to your thighs. That’s why when anyone complains about it being hot somewhere else, […]

Act the Fool: Taidnapam Park

Visited: Aug 17-18, 2019 A cholera-infected snake bit your broken arm while you were fording the river. You died. Sorry. Return to Independence, Missouri and start over. Gee, wasn’t Oregon Trail fun? Playing on an ancient computer in the basement of the pastor’s house, where sometimes, for fun, you filled your wagon party with people […]

Places We Heart: Nisqually State Park

Last visit: August 13, 2019 Why we HEART: No crowds, lots of meandering trails, diverse foliage, river, hard to get lost Watch out for: Horse poop, shooting galleries with broken glass Whenever I visit Nisqually State Park, it feels like home, but in a dream. Home for me is the Midwest, mostly Illinois but also […]

Aggie’s Take – Potlatch State Park, Hood Canal, Lower Big Quilcene River, Notch Pass, Mount Walker

Hiked/Swam/Camped/Drove – Aug. 6-8, 2019 Miles – 10+ Hello! Aggie here, writing about the AMAZING and HORRIBLE trip we made to the Hood Canal. I’m writing it because Mom is LAZY (just like Charlotte!) After Mom got her lazy butt up on Tuesday, we packed the car. I knew we were going somewhere FUN because […]

Booty Scratch Birthday: An Origin Story

Happy Birthday my Floofers! My Toasted Marshmallow! My Golden Eagle! My Sweet, Good Charlotte! Because we don’t know exactly when Charlotte was born or even how old she actually is, we celebrate her birthday on her “Gotcha Day,” which is August 11th. She was picked up as a stray off the streets of Tacoma, and […]

The Great Olympic Adventure, Part III: Lake Crescent, Sequim Bay State Park

It’s pronounced “Squim,” alright! Oh, if I had a snacky-snack for every time someone corrected my pronunciation of a Washington place. Naches (Na-cheez), Wapato (WA-pa-to), Dosewallips (doe-say-wall-ips.) I absolutely appreciate pronouncing words correctly, but do you have to be so smug about it? You know what happens when someone pronounces Illinois as “Ill-i-noise?” I smile […]

The Great Olympic Adventure, Part II: Bogachiel State Park and Hoh Rainforest

When we last left you, we had just visited Griffiths-Priday State Park, frolicked on the beach, and met our Bald Eagle spirit guide. Two hours up the coast, with neat peekaboo glimpses of the ocean, the majestic hills of the Olympic peninsula, a whole lot of clear cuts, and the simple pleasure of driving highway […]

The Great Olympic Adventure, Part I: Griffiths-Priday State Park

Visited: July 16, 2019 I write Adventure, when I should really write “Adventure,” the quotation marks being a necessary qualifier to this trip. While there were no overt disasters, there was a snafu or two, the ill-boding omens, the minor upsets. But for now, let’s talk about the first leg of our journey around the […]

In the Footsteps of Elk: Dry Creek Trail, Lake Cushman

Hiked: March 15, 2019 Mileage: 6.5 Elevation Gain: 1170 feet WARNING: Lake Cushman has some of the most terrifying port-a-potties (In Washington, we call them “Honey Buckets”) you will ever see. Do like the dogs doo-doo and go in the woods. I discovered Lake Cushman last year on our hike up Mount Rose. Just west […]