August 2022
I have visited 116 NPS Units, including 34 National Parks.
August started with a significant moment … my Basel Cell Carcinoma Skin Cancer Surgery (which Dr. Obdiah got out in one pass and her team stitched me up expertly. All went well … until the lidocaine wore off and the pain hit. OMG … the pain was intense!!!). And after a week of focused healing with the help of some pain medication, I was back out on the open road to heal in nature.
Ryder and I adventured up to Bellingham then over to the Eastern Washington Lake region (to get to those parks I missed on my first swing in July). Our first stop was in Bellingham to visit my brother, and fellow National Park lover and one of my big inspirations, now lovingly known as Uncle T. We had a fun night swapping adventure stories and the kids played games. The next day, we toured Troy’s empire and the Western Washington University campus for Ryder. Then we were off to the North Cascades Highway to travel through North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake National Recreational Area. The hues of Gorge Lake, Diablo Lake, and Ross Lake are all indeed stunning in their own splendid colors. We drove through charming towns along the Stehekin River with wonderful names like Winthrop, Twisp, Carlton, and Methow. The clear waters of Lake Chelan National Recreation Area blew us away and we loved taking in the views of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Our last stop was to the Manhattan Project-Hanford Unit, which was sadly closed due to COVID … but we tried! When we arrived home Ryder said “That was a really fun trip.” Which warmed my heart … I love that kid and it is always a joy to share my love of nature with my boys.
Next, I was off to the California to take Mak back to LMU for his Sophomore year. We roadtripped down again with Auntie Lola and made some fun NPS stops along the way. We packed up the car early in the AM and drove South. On Day #1 we went to Tule Lake World War II National Monument and we finally went caving at Lava Beds National Monument in the Mushpot Cave! Day #2 took us to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and we hiked the Shasta Divide Nature Trail and then we were off to Lassen Volcanic National Park (YAY! We finally maee it there on this trip!). We explored around Manzanita Lake and then we went up, up, and up to Helen Lake and hiked the Bumpass Hell Trail to the Flying Pan at over 8,000 feet! After a long drive, on Day #3, we arrived to Mammoth Lake to explore Devil’s Postpile National Monument (which is only open July-October). Then it was to Santa Monica and Mak moved into his Quad with his car. We rented a car and explored LA one day with Field Trips to the Getty, my first visit ever (and not my last 4sure!) and Lola explored the Sunset Strip for the first time, which was so much fun! On our last full day, we will headed down to San Diego to tour Cabrillo National Monument and to ride horses down to the USA/Mexico border with Surfside Ranch, which was an incredible experience and highly recommended!
And another wonderful gift from this trip, besides the abundance of nature we enjoyed, was discovering my love of swimming again. Before the trip, Lola informed me she was going to bring her swimming suit and inquired if I would like to join her for some morning swims. After my Bi-Lateral Mastectomy, I had only been in the pool once (Thank you Four Seasons Jackson Hole) and I surprised myself for being up for the challenge. Each day of our adventure, we started our day out in the pool with “Spa Swims” which were delightfully fun. On our San Diego day-trip, we even woke up early at 6:15am so we could be in the pool early before our departure at 8am. Special thanks to the JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot for opening your pool at 6am! I am now hooked on my pool time and even went to the gym last week to do Aqua-Lates, a mixture of Swimming and Pilates. SWOON indeed!