With @mini.turbodb getting bigger, only two viable seats in the Tacoma, and having sold the family 4Runner, it's a lot harder to get the whole family out to our favorite camp site on a regular basis. Of course, with @mini.turbodb getting older, the thought of spending time in the woods…
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I have to say, it was so pleasant sleeping next to the Hoh River, as it quietly rippled by through the night, bringing cooler temperatures along for the ride. Those temperatures - along with the fact that we were parked in a valley - meant that sunrise wasn't on the agenda,…
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Wanting to get an early start, we were up before 7:00am - right along with the sun as it crested the ridges to the east. Climbing out of the tent, we were pleasantly surprised to find the rain fly completely dry, having expected that it'd be dripping wet after a…
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It was a little strange to be heading back to the Olympic Peninsula only a few days after having bailed on a trip to the same location, but such is life sometimes. This time - not wanting to retrace our steps through the same terrain to kick off the trip…
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In all of our exploration, we've done relatively little in our home state of Washington. Partly, this is because the weather window here is relatively short each year; partly, it's due to our desire to explore lands further afield; and partly it's due to the landscape. Western Washington is so…
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For the last week or so, I've had the itch. That's because - for the last couple of weeks - a family vacation to the Mt. Shasta area in California has kept us occupied and off the trail. Not that I'm complaining - we were duly pampered with fabulous food…
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Well, I've got to say, we could really get used to this whole, "camping in perfect weather with great views" thing that we had going on. For the third night in a row, it was somewhere in the high 50°Fs to low 60s, with only a slight breeze, clear skies,…
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With a our picture-frame like view of Mt. Rainier, and a reasonably clear night, I'd setup the camera to take a series of photos that I could use to generate a time-lapse star trail. And, as a bonus, I hoped to catch the head lamps of early morning climbers on…
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There's nothing like waking up in the morning when you hit the sack on the top of the ridge with a view of one of the largest mountains on the west coast. I hung out under the warm covers for as long as I could stand it - really only…
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Do you have a recommended place to buy Toyota parts? ...I need a rear taillight and quarterpanel. ...We were camping near Greenwater and even though we had an awesome Rainier view I hatched this plan to explore a new area that may reveal some riverside spots. Only hitch was that…
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Summer is a great time in the state of Washington. While much of the rest of the year might be dreary and gray, the long days and clear air between mid-July and September are nothing short of perfection for getting out to enjoy the mountainous terrain in the western part…
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It's been a busy month. I'd been home for less than 48 hours in the last 3 weeks, our trips to the Nevada BDR, a special place in California, and a family vacation to an amazing little place on the Sacramento River in Castella, CA. keeping me on the move.…
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Any other year, a trip to Icicle Creek near Leavenworth, WA in early June would be our second or third visit of the season. But with everything going on this year, the Forest Service delayed opening of the road - generally used to access campgrounds and trailheads until after Memorial…
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The day started off like so many others in the last several weeks - we woke up in our own beds. We didn't wake up early... or late, it was just the normal time. And, we knew - or at least, I thought we knew - what we were going…
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This trip is going to be EPIC. In fact, once we complete our 8 days in the Mojave National Preserve, we'll probably be done exploring the area - we'll hit all the important bits, and will have no reason to go back - except to show of the coolest areas…
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August 27, 2019. Most of the trips I do require a full day - or more - of freeway driving just to reach the trailhead, so you can imagine my delight when we decided to do a trip on the west coast. Sort-of. At least, our meeting location was only…
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July 31 - Aug 1, 2019. We hadn't been back from our adventure on the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route (IDBDR) long when we decided that we should really get out with the child. After all, we had this nice 4Runner for her to sleep in and the last time we'd gone…
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Every year, during the month of October, a really great thing happens at Microsoft. Teams of all sizes - from just a few folks, to organizations thousands strong - rally around a common cause. Every year, that rallying cry gets stronger - millions of dollars stronger than just the year…
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Having wrapped up the dual battery install approximately 12 hours before departure time, we were off the next morning for a couple relaxed days of camping and hiking in one of our favorite areas of the Cascades, near Leavenworth, WA. Not only would this be the first trip with the…
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With all the recent work on the 4Runner, I wasn't the only one who wanted to put it all to the test. Upon seeing the storage/sleeping platform, @mini.turbodb had declared, "We need to go camping right away!" I don't know if she's been well-trained or it was just a wrinkle…
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