Camp Like Noodle

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, site #25 Campground||Muckleshoot (Coast Salish) land

January 8-10th, 2026

We weren’t able to go camping at all in December due to the TWO atmospheric rivers that were causing flooding. We technically could have gone earlier in the month, but I had work, so no dice. Poor Leeloo didn’t understand why I went from telling her we were going to camping to telling her she’d have to wait until January. She was sadly pushing her “CAMPING” speech button a lot. Thankfully, we were able to go camping in January with no issues!

Rolled into our campsite pretty late (well, later than usual, at around 4:30.) It was already starting to get dark, so I quickly got the inside of Majel all situated so that I could let the kids out of their Sleepypods. I got the tarp up over her so we’d have the covered “porch area” and also not have to worry about rain getting in the window where it stays slightly open for the extension cord.

While I was getting us set up, an orange tabby trotted by our campsite. I called out to them, they stopped to look at me for a moment, and then they carried on about their business. They didn’t seem skittish, so I assumed they were supposed to be here, but I did check in with a volunteer to see if anyone had lost an orange cat. Nope! Kitty lives here, and there’s a black cat, as well!

Once our campsite was sorted, I rolled on over to the iron ranger to get us checked in on paper. It was totally dark at this point! This time around I chose a campsite that was closer to the bathrooms via the paved road so that I wouldn’t have the smooth but far road vs bumpy but closer trail conundrum. 

I was so exhausted, I could have gone to sleep right away, but I had to stay up so that I could feed the kids their dinner at 7pm. Once we hit that mark, all bets were off and it was bed time, lol.

DAY TWO

Woke up all snuggly and warm with Leeloo on my chest. She slept there all night, unlike last time when she spent most of her time in Sieh’s Sleepypod. Sieh spent the night on the seat next to me, just where he sleeps when we’re in bed at home. It all felt very companionable.

Got the reflectix down from the windows and took in the view. This campsite is fairly open and has two pull through sites across from it, but there was hardly anyone in the campground at all, so we couldn’t see anyone else from our spot. And since we were in a back-in spot, I wouldn’t see anyone when I’m laying down anyway.

More train sounds this morning, which was great. I was originally worried that we wouldn’t hear any trains in Kanaskat-Palmer because they state that trains are quite rare on this line, but we actually get to hear them a couple of times each day.

Got us all our breakfasts, and settled in to chill.

Around 1pm, I got Sieh ready to explore the campsite. He got so excited when I got his harness out! Once he was warmly dressed, we headed outside…but the train was going by again, and apparently Sieh is not a fan of the rail sounds. We went back inside Majel to wait for it to pass, then tried again.

He was much more relaxed this time, and enjoyed poking about, nibbling on grass (and trying to nibble on non-grass, as well. Thankfully, I keep a close eye on him.) He saw some little birds scratching around in the fallen leaves, got to stare worshipfully up at a tree, and…ate some more grass, lol.

After he decided that he was ready to go back inside, I got Leeloo dressed in her fleece dino sweater and her harness. She was incredibly interested in looking out when Sieh and I had the door open, but she was pretty nervous about being outside, a lot like she was last time. Very strange for her.

Since Leeloo didn’t want her wander, I got both kids into the big boxy backpack and loaded them onto the rollator. We did our loop of the campground, which they really enjoyed, especially since there were hardly any other campers.

Once we completed the loop, I decided to see if we could make it down to the river. On this side of the campground you can hear it really clearly. I really wanted to take them down to see it at least once, so I decided to brave the unpaved trail. I was emboldened by the sign that said it was only .1 of a mile away. This was a really bad idea XD. I mean, we made it, and they had a nice time (Sieh especially was standing up out the top of the backpack, eagerly watching where we were going (they really miss hiking *crying emoji*)

We got down there, stared at the river for a bit, then headed back. I really should have turned back when I realized how steep the hill was getting down there, but I was determined. On the way back, Sieh walked alongside the rollator for a bit, until another camper stopped to talk to us and he wanted picking up.

Came back and COLLAPSED into Majel. Not supposed to be getting that much (or really, any) exercise. But now we can say we’ve been down to the river (which is the main selling point of this state park) so we don’t have to do it again, lol.

Lazed about reading while the kids had their post adventure baths and then naps. Since we’re officially past the 12 days of Christmas, I bid adieu to holiday music and switched to some Enya and assorted New Age music to keep with the chill vibes (I’m rocking with my old iPod, which I haven’t added music to since like, 2013.)

The kids scarfed down their dinners on top of the cooler, then went back to their favourite spots for their post-dinner baths.

It was after dark when I heard one side of the tarp come loose. The ground is super saturated, so even if I get the pegs in really well, a good gust can pull them right out, and there isn’t much stuff to physically tie down too at this site like there was at the last one. I tied down the one side to a sturdy sapling, and got back in Majel.

About half an hour later, the other side came loose. Sigh. Got out and just tied it down to the side mirror, because there really wasn’t anything else to secure it to. It wasn’t SUPPOSED to rain overnight, but I’d sleep better if I wasn’t worrying about water getting in the window or soaking my poor rollator (that has to hangout outside due to lack of space inside.)

Worked on this post, then I finished making most of the reflectix window covers for Majel (just have the back window left to do) and man, it really makes a difference in the heat retention. Leeloo slept on my chest all night, but it definitely wasn’t to keep warm. I even had to turn the heater down, because it was getting a little too roasty toasty!

DAY THREE

Woke up with Leeloo on my chest and Sieh fully on my lap.

Got up and took down the tarp since it was still a bit windy and we definitely didn’t need it anymore. Lolled about in bed for a bit longer, then got the kids their breakfast. Sieh kept trying to eat his before I had it all mixed together, lol.

After that, Leeloo snuggled up in her Sleepypod, and Sieh posted up on the cooler to keep an eye on things in the campsite. I read my book.

After a bit, I noticed that Sieh seemed to be actively watching something, so I sat up to take a peek out the back window, and it was the other campground cat! They were going to all of the spots that the kids had been walking around yesterday, with special focus paid where Sieh had been eating grass. They eventually wandered out of sight, but it was cool getting to have seen them.

Around noon I started getting us packed up to head home, because check out is at 1pm. When we camp fully contained in Majel like this, it’s so quick and easy to get packed up. I put the kids in their Sleepypods and buckle them in, fold the back seat up and chuck the bed in the far back, put my rollator back behind the passenger seat, unplug from the campsite power, and off we go!

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, site #35 Campground||Muckleshoot (Coast Salish) land

November 27-29th, 2025

FIRST DAY

Trying something different this time. We were way too chilly during our October camping trip, so this month I decided to spring for a site with partial amenities. This means electrical hook ups!

Since it’s cooler now, I opted to not bring the pop-up catio. I might make it a part of winter camping at some point (if it proves warmable with a space heater), but for now we’re rocking hanging out in Majel.

I have to say, this is the cosiest I can remember being while camping in a long time.

Sieh was a real trouper and only yelled a couple of times on the way there after we stopped at a red light. He prefers being on the freeway, or at least a long highway with no stops, and gets impatient if we stop. He’ll also yell if I get a phone call, so his grandma got a real earful when she called us when we were about 10 minutes out from the campground. Leeloo, as always, was an excellent traveler.

We left home around 2pm and arrived at the campground a little after 3pm. Because it’s the off season, the welcome hut was closed and we went straight to our campsite.

The past two times we’ve camped here we’ve been in the non-utilities loop, so this was a bit different. Our site wasn’t very private, but the view from inside Majel was nice, so no complaints here.

Once I got us parked, I checked out the power situation. On the website, it just says that they provide 30 amp hook-ups which we don’t have since Majel isn’t technically a motorhome, lol. I’d brought an adapter though, and was sincerely hoping that it would work. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found that alongside the 30 amp, there were also 15 amp outlets! No adapters necessary!

I quickly plugged in and tested the space heater to make sure that everything was all copacetic (in case we needed to head home), then wandered off to find the Iron Ranger so I could get us checked in.

We’re definitely farther from the bathrooms in this site, and unfortunately the trails are graveled instead of paved, so my rollator shakes like crazy on the way to and from. I could just go around the loop on the paved road, but then it’s farther. Getting the bejesus shaken out of me or walking further, what a conundrum.

Got us all checked in and headed back to our site. I had just started getting the tarp set up on top of Majel when it started raining. Got pretty wet because I was too lazy to put my poncho on, but I got the tarp all set. We now have a wee covered porch where my rollator can hang out, and also we won’t get water inside Majel from having the window cracked for the extension cord.

Tried things a bit differently so far as setting up Majel inside goes. I left the smaller side of the back bench seat up, and only folded down the seat on the wider side. This makes it much easier to get in and out, as well as providing a space for the water jug in the footwell. We also had to bring our own water this time because they shut down the water spigots for winter. I’ve got a pretty sweet set up for our jug and water pump.

I’ve still got the fantastic Coleman cooler in the ‘trunk’ section, but this time it’s behind the seat I left up. I can sit the space heater on either the cooler or the seat, which is nice. We’ll see how well the cooler can keep ice in a warm car for 2 full days!

The litterbox is in the passenger seat wheel well again, which has been working well for us.

I couldn’t find the cargo hammock ceiling thing while I was setting up, but it turns out that we functioned just fine without it, and its absence actually made maneuvering inside Majel a lot easier. I’m only 5’9”, but I can’t sit up straight inside her on my Hest mattress, I have to lean forward, and having something suspended in the ceiling would have further decreased the available head room. I like it, Picasso.

Since I knew I’d be hanging out in bed, I brought extra pillows from home so that I could be super comfy.

Once I had Majel mostly set up, I released the krakens…and Leeloo promptly climbed out of her Sleepypod and into her brother’s. I love how much snugglier they get while we’re camping, and how it translates into closeness at home as well. Starting camping again has been so good for their relationship, and their mental health overall. We all needed this.

I had brought some reflectix with me so that I could get started making some basic window insulation, and got the two back door windows and the two trunk side windows cut out before I ran out of reflectix. It really does make quite a difference! Once the Black Friday black out is over, I’ll order some more and finish the job, though I’ll probably just buy a sunshade from Daiso for the windshield.

Around 6:30, Sieh finally ventured out, and after using the facilities immediately parked himself directly in front of the space heater. Once he’d warmed up a bit, he climbed onto the bed and got all snuggly in the quilts. Leeloo remained in the pod.

A little after 7, I started prepping everyone’s dinner. Leeloo finally graced us with her presence and proceeded to inhale her dinner, little kitty backhoe style, standing on the back of the seat while I held her plate for her. It’s seriously so funny how she eats. Most cats lick up their food, but she takes these massive bites straight down into the food, just like a backhoe digging a hole, haha.

Another change for this camping trip: I switched to using paper plates for the kids. I don’t have any dishes to wash and I absolutely love it. Don’t worry, I at least got the biodegradable ones so they can be composted. Another concession to my low energy stores.

After eating, Leeloo returned to the pod for her bath, while Sieh performed his ablutions in front of the space heater.

I watched this week’s episode of Kakuriyo season two, filled out our camp info in our camping journal, and then read manga on Libby until bedtime. I turned the space heater to low and we all fell asleep.

DAY TWO

Woke up this morning to Leeloo climbing onto my chest and shoulder to warm up. Apparently the pod was a bit cold so she had a little shiver going on. She warmed up pretty quickly, though, and we had a nice snuggle. Sieh was…directly in front of the space heater again, lol.

Woke up and got breakfast started for everyone.

Decided I’d better start writing this entry before I forgot what we did, lol. While I was writing, Leeloo decided to honk Majel’s horn at the rest of the campers. Which made her nervous, so she had to go hide in her brother’s Sleepypod XD

After I finished catching up on my writing, it seemed like a good time to see if the kids wanted to go for their walks around the campsite. They both seemed really keen, but Sieh was ready first, so he got first dibs.

At first he was pretty nervous. Last night, our neighbour to the left was a motorhome, so we didn’t see them outside at all. Today, a little truck pulled in and two people were setting up one of those fancy cone tents. Remember how I said our site didn’t have a lot of privacy? Yeah, turns out it was actually a bit of an issue.

I held him in my arms for a minute or two, then walked over to the grass and set him down. Immediately, he forgot about our neighbours and got to work inspecting grass and sword ferns.

He was being very sweet, and kept coming over to stand with his little peets on my knee for head kissies and pets. Such a sweet brave boy.

After a while, Sieh decided that it was time to head back to Majel, so it became Leeloo’s turn.

Leeloo was extremely not thrilled about our neighbours. She was definitely nervous, but she calmed down when I let her onto my shoulder. Did not want to be put down, but also wasn’t trying to get back into Majel, so we hung around for a bit like that.

Decided we should get in our loop stroll while the kids were all dressed and kitted up. Hauled the square backpack out of the front seat and got the kids set up in it on my rollator, and off we went!

They seemed to really enjoy this, and they didn’t even duck down when we passed by people (even though someone dropped a trailer hitch on the pavement right as we walked past.) The backpacks really are a safe space for them, even after all this time. We ran into two of the camp hosts who stopped to chat when they saw the kids. Apparently they used to have a tabby who sat on their fluffy cat jut like how Leeloo sits on Sieh, haha.

Finished our loop, got the kids in and their harnesses and sweaters off, and updated this again. Leeloo went to chill in her pod instead of Sieh’s this time, while Sieh cuddled up by my knees in the copious amounts of bedding.

I had some lunch and read some more manga.

I got the kids’ raw food out to thaw and ate a slightly early dinner myself. Leeloo finally got out of her pod and climbed up onto the backpack (I put it on its side this time so it wouldn’t topple over and have her honking the horn again, haha.

The kids ate good dinners, and settled in for their post-feed baths. Sieh ended up scootching so close to the heater that it started smelling hot, so I made him move before he caught himself on fire or burnt out the space heater. He is so my child, lol.

Did some work on a fanfic I haven’t touched in about two years (I never post until they’re complete, so at least I wasn’t keeping anyone waiting), washed my face, and went to bed.

DAY THREE

Woke up a little after 8am to the sound of the garbage truck coming through for the campground dumpsters. Poor Leeloo, she shouldn’t have to put up with LOUD NOISE while camping.

Didn’t get the best sleep during the night because we were having big gusts of wind that were causing the tarp to make scary sounds (well, they were scary to Leeloo.) I was waking up every time she’d get tense on my upper chest and shoulder, and then I started anticipating her stress so I started waking up every time I heard the tarp start to make noise. Sigh.

Then I woke up because there was a weird smell in my dream so I immediately returned to the waking world to find Sieh lying directly against the space heater. I had it set on low, but his blocking the air flow wasn’t doing it any favours. I turned the space heater off and we just cuddled up under the blankets. From now on, I’ll put the space heater up against a ledge when we go to bed so he can’t sleep against it.

After being awoken by the garbage truck I got up and took the tarp down (no more rain in the forecast but lots of wind and we were all over it.) Then I prepped breakfast for everybody and tea for me. Gotta start my morning with my Barry’s.

Hung out and did my AM Duolingo (I’m trying to wrap up Japanese by the end of the year) until noon, then started getting Majel in order for the drive home. I was a bit lazy and just folded all the bedding and the mattress into the back.

Got Majel all situated and the kids in their Sleepypods, and we headed for home! This was such a cosy trip. Definitely going to be booking sites with utilities in the cold months from now on!

(Also, the Coleman cooler is so absolutely legit. It kept ice solid in a warm car for the entire trip, AND an extra day at home.)

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, ADA site #21 Campground||Muckleshoot (Coast Salish) land

October 9th-11th, 2025

Got Majel all loaded up, though this time with the new-to-me Yakima rooftop cargo box. I also swapped out our old igloo cooler for my big Coleman one I bought several years ago. Got the kids loaded up and off we went!

Leeloo, of course, was a model passenger. She just chills the whole time in her Sleepypod. Sieh was really good, too! I hardly heard a peep from him until we were almost to the campsite!

Got here and found that the welcome shack wasn’t open, and is only open Friday through Sunday, noon to four during the off season. This foiled my plan of popping inside to check out the tiny shop (I wanted to see if there were Kanaskat-Palmer State Park stickers.)

Last time I just checked in at the drive-up window, which was incrediby convenient. This time, I thankfully ran across a couple of camp hosts to ask them what the procedure was for checking in with a paid-in-full registration, because all the signage was for people who hadn’t paid.
Apparently, you fill out a little paper form, then pop it into what the camp host called the “Iron Ranger,” lol. Easy peasy, and now I’ll know for next time.

Got the pop-up catio all set up and moved the kids into it. Right away they climbed out of their Sleepypods and started checking out the campsite through the mesh walls.

Since it had rained earlier in the day, and the forecast called for more rain while were here (and let’s be honest, we’re in western Washington…what are the chances that it’s NOT going to rain?) I got to weather-proofing. It turns out that putting the rain fly on is a lot easier with two people! I really struggled getting it on this time! I think if I were like, 6 feet tall and less fatigued it would have been less of a battle. As it was, I wore myself out on it! Next time I might try throwing it over the catio before I even pop it up.

Then I got the front porch guyed out with the poles (my first time doing this.)  It was super easy, thankfully. Since this is an ADA site, it’s paved instead of graveled/dirt, so you can’t use tent pegs. Thankfully, I was able to score some water bags intended to work as replacements for tent pegs, and they worked great.

I didn’t want to have to tarp the whole picnic table (the water bags are fantastic, but why do more than I have to?) so I actually brought one of my new camping items: a kitchen table set up. It fits perfectly under the catio porch, and has room for everything I need.

When I decided to try camping again, I got a few items that I knew I’d need, like the pop-up catio, and then a few that I wanted, like the camp kitchen. I also got a ridiculous water pump that I have been incredibly happy with. I was wondering when I would even get a chance to use the camp kitchen, since I’ll only be doing campground camping and campgrounds almost always have picnic tables, but it’s totally come in clutch already.

After I got the pop-up catio and camping kitchen set-up, I moved on to getting our bed ready. Here’s how we do that:

Finally got everything set up, and got myself some cheese ramen started for an early dinner. The kids were all cuddled up in Sieh’s Sleepypod, because I was a bad dad and only worried about making sure that we had everything we needed to stay dry, completely forgetting to check the temperature.

It’s been in the 60s to low 70s lately, and I assumed it would just stay in the 60s, but you know what they say about when we assume. It’s in the low 50s, and it dropped down to the upper 40s last night. I didn’t bring any puffy coats, so my poor kids are wearing their vests over their jammies for warmth. They look a bit of a hot mess, poor things. Next time I’m definitely bringing their snow suits!

Next time I want to get a site with partial utilities so that we’ll have electricity and I can bring an electric space heater for the catio and the car. To be honest, we really could have done with it this time, haha.
It started getting dark, so I moved the kids and the food into Majel. I prepared their dinner for them on top of the cooler, which also worked really well as a dining table.

I’m incredibly pleased with my Coleman cooler. I talk a lot of shit about Coleman (because let’s be honest, a lot of their stuff kind of sucks) but a few years ago I was researching for a good quality but reasonably priced-cooler (sorry, YETI) and this specific cooler came up multiple times.

I never got to properly test it out back then, because that was the year of camping trips that went far, far south (carpenter ant-ed out of one trip, then couldn’t find a site without deer flies during another) and I just sort of gave up on camping at that point, because it was wearing me out.

So this is my cooler’s first offical test, and it’s doing great so far! It’s so nice to not have to buy ice after just one day. It’s a bit big (because at the time I was hoping to start making homemade dishes while camping, not realizing how disabled I was becoming,) but it works! I use a tip I found on tiktok, which is to put all your food into little rectangular trash bins inside so that if the ice melts nothing gets wets, and that’s been a winner, especially with my old Igloo cooler.

With our new cargo box on the roof, all the stuff sacks etc go in there once I get set up, so Majel stayed nice and tidy. I was able to put the litterbox in the footwell of the passenger seat (last time I had to put it on top of my suitcase,) and both that seat and the driver’s seat stayed empty. The kids even cuddled in the passenger seat for a while.

Once they decided they were cold, they climbed back and into the sleeping bag with me. So glad I got this over-the-top 0 degree sleeping bag! If it’s too hot for it, I can just unzip it and lie on top, but last night it was really helpful! Between that and the two throw quilts we stayed nice and warm all night long, even with the window open for ventilation!

I only used one of the window screens and one of the window guards, because we needed ventilation to not wake up wet, but I didn’t exactly want to encourage a breeze. It worked out well, and I could have totally left the second screen and window guard at home. If we get to camp with an electric heater, we won’t need to worry about condensation at all!

DAY TWO

Went to sleep around 9pm, and woke up at 8am. Poor Leeloo, at home we had garbage, recycle, and compost pick up on Thursday morning before we left for camping, and then Friday morning the campsite had garbage pick up! Two days of “LOUD NOISE,” as she says with her speech buttons.

I was worn out from existing and from driving and from getting the camp all set up. Eventually got out of bed and got the kids into the catio and started breakfast activities. I’m so glad I have space for a wash station in my camp kitchen, because it’s really convenient. Got the water boiling for tea, human breakfast, face-washing, and dish-washing. The kids were very impatient at the late breakfast, because they’re used to their grandma feeding them between 8 and 9.

After breakfast we hung out for a bit, and the kids cuddled in the mini tent for warmth, until Sieh decided he’d like to have a walk around the campsite. We went out and of course my small and fancy cow kept trying to eat every single blade of grass that we saw.

He did take a break from the grass to go and worship some trees, though. The way he looks at trees, man.

As the ADA site, we’re right across a lawn from the bathrooms, and a bunch of people came all at once to use the facilities, so Sieh decided it was time to retreat to the tent. They’ve both actually been doing really well with having people being out and about at this campground, which is a relief. The last time I took them camping out on the Olympic Peninsula, we had a trail right next to our campsite and they just wanted to hide from people the whole time, which had not been their norm. Glad to see that it was mostly just a fluke.

Once I got back with Sieh, Leeloo decided she’d like to have a go, so we went out to patrol the perimeter. First she checked out that sweet, sweet grass, but then she got down to business. She marched all over the camp site, then wanted on top of Majel (I think she’s too bundled up to jump up herself (“you can put your arms down when you get to school.”).

After she felt like she’d seen all she needed to see, I actually got her to ride on the rollator! We’ve never tried this before, aside from them being in a Sleepypod to go to the vet. Pro tip: if you have one of the big round Sleepypods and are despairing at having to carry them (I love them for their safety features but they are AWKWARD to haul around,) they actually fit perfectly into a strap-back rollator! Our vet’s office actually thought it was a specialized Sleepypod stroller, haha.

Anyhow, Leeloo did great on the rollator, we rolled all over the campsite until I got too worn out and had to go lie down for a bit.

Right as we got back into the pop-up catio the rain started up, so perfect timing!
I love that there’s just the right amount of room for the camp kitchen and my rollator to stay dry.

Leeloo joined Sieh under the fluffy camp throws, and I settled in to start getting this typed. It rained off and on while I worked, and then I took a break to make some cup ramen for lunch (very YuruKyan style.)

Finally tried out my Ohuhu markers that I bought a while ago. They seem pretty legit (not that I know anything about alcohol markers,) and I got to mess around trying some different things. I’m pretty bad, but I just got them for fun as a step up from the mild liners that I use for my book journaling.

I got two small packs (the ones that have fine tip/chisel tip and the chisel tip/brush tip type.) To be honest, I like all of the tips, but I think I might lean slightly towards chisel/brush, since you can make fine lines with the chisel tip, and beyond fine lines the fine point doesn’t really have many uses.  I’d have drawn my kids but they’re all snuggled up under blankets staying warm, so I drew the pop-up catio porch view instead.

Around 6, I started getting the kids settled into Majel ahead of the temperature drop. I made a thermos of tea and settled in with them for the night. At 8 I prepared their dinner, which they scarfed down, and then they both crawled into the sleeping bag with me.

We listened to the rain coming down, and enjoyed our mutual snuggles as we drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately, I forgot to put a diaper on Leeloo and she ended up wetting the bed during a sleep sprint. Thankfully, I had the waterproof blanket over the fancy Hest mattress, so it escaped unscathed!

THIRD DAY

We woke up slightly wetter, and definitely stinkier than we were when we went to bed. I ended up covering the window that I had open for ventilation due to how cold it got, but of course if you neglect ventilation you invite condensation.

(Thankfully it had stopped raining by the time I went to get out of bed, so I was able to pull out everything but the kids’ Sleepypods from the pop-up catio while I waited for my tea water to boil. I served the kids their breakfast in bed, then, when they were done, transferred them into the catio so I could start getting us packed up.
Since I was packing right up to the wire last time I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t rushed this time. I leisurely washed the dishes, got all the stuff sacks down from the rooftop cargo box, and started packing things up.

I really can’t overstate what a gamechanger the rooftop cargo box is. Instead of having to perfectly tetris everything away as I’m packing up, I’m able to be much more relaxed. If I was going camping by myself, space wouldn’t be at such a premium, but with the kids, just like with human kids, I end up bringing at least double the stuff! Aside from the bed set up, I’d probably just bring a tarp, a chair, and a table if it was just me, haha.

I had to take a break from packing, because while Leeloo settled into her Sleepypod to digest her breakfast, Sieh had other plans. He yelled and yelled and yelled, and smashed his face against the catio zipper until I finally gave in and took him for a walk around the campsite.  Where he, predictably, just wanted to eat grass. Sigh.

Even after that, he was still cranky about being in the catio, so I hurried up and finished packing everything aside from the kids, the litterbox, and the catio. I went and got their big square grey and green backpack out of Majel, and put it on my rollator. Then I summoned the kids.

Sieh was annoyed that he wasn’t coming out for more fancy cow activities, but he settled down pretty quickly once I got them pushed out to the road that runs through the campsite.

First we rolled down the lane and back, and then I took them on the RV loop to check things out. Sieh got a little nervous about the people we were passing, so he retreated down inside the backpack, but Leeloo stayed popped up and taking it all in. She did so well! I’m so relieved that she’s starting to overcome her acquired nervousness around people while “on the trail.”

The park employees were hard at work, cleaning bathrooms and doing whatever else needed doing. We saw two of their trucks, and the cute little golf carts that the camp hosts drive while out and about.

When we got back, I popped the kids into Majel with their litterbox, just loose so they could take care of business and hang out while I got the catio taken down.

Only two spiders this time (and two baby slugs!). The slugs are indigenous, which is great, but why do they have to get on the catio when they have so many great plants they could be crawling on? Also, one of the spiders was another great big reddish one in between the catio floor and the footprint. Ugh.

Right as I was bundling the collapsed catio into its carry bag, the rain started up again! We actually had really good luck with not being caught out by the rain, so I’m grateful. Tossed the catio into the trunk, took a last look around the now empty campsite, then we hit the road!

I did manage to check out the little gift shop on our way out of the park this time! There’s a small display of postcards, keychains, stickers, stuffed animals, and a couple of other things. Pretty minimal, but I managed to score vinyl stickers for 3 of the state parks I’ve been to with the kids! And for only a buck a pop!

Just like on the way to the campsite, Sieh was such a good boy and only yelled for a couple of minutes at one point. Leeloo, of course was silent. She’s a really excellent traveler.

The kids were so happy to see their grandma when she came out to the car to fetch them when we got home. It took so long to take off their ridiculous outfits (I totally forgot to do it before we left, so I couldn’t blast the heat like I’d planned) but then they were free! Free to groom, free to run around the house and the actual, permanent catio, and free to groom their little bodies that had been covered in multiple layers of clothes.

That’s all ’til next time!

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, ADA site #21 Campground||Muckleshoot (Coast Salish) land

September 19th-21st, 2025

Wow, our first camping trip in several years!  I was so excited, that I basically couldn’t sleep from the time I made the reservation until we went, haha.  Since it had been so long, I kind of packed absolutely everything I thought we might possibly need.  Oops.  At least it was with the intention of paring down for the next trip, though.

The kids’ grandma helped me get Majel, my 2003 Toyota Highlander, all loaded up.  Having someone to help with these things really helps keep my energy levels from getting depleted too quickly.  Once we were all set, we carried the kids out, and got their Sleepypods all buckled in.

Sieh yelled a couple of times as we were pulling out of the driveway, but other than that he was really chill. I made sure to play the Music for Cats CD (that I helped crowdfund!) and kept the AC on for most of the trip so that the kids wouldn’t get hot.  I also have little window shades I can still see through but that block the sun.

I definitely froze from the AC, though. My hands were actually so stiff from the cold that I could barely get my mask on as we were approaching the check-in window at the welcome station, let alone the trouble of getting my ID and disability card out of my wallet, haha.

Got to our site around 3:30pm, and had only just barely gotten started setting up when our friend who is camping the first night with us arrived.  Got the pop-up catio set up and moved the kids into it while I got everything else set up.

They were definitely pretty hesitant, and aside from Leeloo doing a quick skulk around the catio, they stayed in their pods and the mini-tent I brought.  I was worried it was going to be like when our friend and I went to a campground at Lake Quinalt in the Olympic National Forest and they were nervous the whole time (mostly due to how many people were contantly walking past our campsite.)

Since we’re in the ADA site, the bathrooms, water, and garbage are all super close and convenient.  The bathrooms are all private and they each have their own shower in them.  The showers are free to use, with hot water until 10pm.  So posh!

You can buy ice and firewood from the welcome station with a card until they close at 4pm, and with cash from the two campground hosts for several hours after.  Since I decided to not bring my big rubbermaid container of wood to save on space, I bought firewood from one of the hosts for $7 and got to meet Phoenix, his super cute and fat frenchie.  She was very sweet and had fun showing me all her naughtiest behaviours, much to her dad’s annoyance, haha.

I got back to our site and fixed the kids their dinner…except I couldn’t find the churu that I KNOW I packed.  We started including the churu when I had to get the kids off of chicken and turkey due to the risk of bird flu transmission with raw food.  I put them on one of the only fish-based raw foods, but my kids are not fish stick kids, they are chicken nuggie kids. Thanksgiving dinner kids.

It took a whole month for their little imprint eater brains to rewire to understand the raw fish as food, and churu is the only thing that got them through that, so they’re like, pretty committed to it.  They barely ate their dinners because they didn’t want their “fish sticks” without their Inaba churu. Sigh.

Our friend and I had a really good fire for several hours, using the bundle that I’d bought and some random, like, wood baseboards or siding that someone had left behind.

We also roasted Japanese sweet potatoes (satsumaimo) in the fire.  As our friend put it “well, we made sweet potato briquettes,” because the outsides were cremated, haha.  I broke mine in half and ate the center out with a spoon. Better than ice cream!

On the Kanaskat-Palmer State Park website, they mention that there can be infrequent train sounds due to a nearby line, so I honestly wasn’t expecting much. I was absolutely delighted when it turned out I’d be getting distinct train whistles throughout both night and day!  I grew up in a small town where freight trains passed through every 15 minutes, so I am a huge fan of all sorts of train noise.  Listening to the trains and the crackle of the fire was pure perfection.

The fire was perfect, with small snaps and crackles, and sparks that floated up into the night sky. It eventually burned down into a lovely bed of coals that glowed in pulsating bright red, and then died after burning every scrap of wood. The ideal.

After that, we washed up, and got ready for bed.  I hauled the kids into Majel and got them in their pajamas.  Leeloo has a new onesie to wear as a base layer, and it definitely helped keep her warmer than she would have been otherwise.  One of Leeloo’s TBI manifestations is difficulty with temperature regulation.  She gets chilled (and over-heated) much more easily than her brother.

In the past, she’s ended up in the sleeping bag with me, and Sieh would sleep elsewhere in the tent, or next to me.  This time, Sieh was the one who crammed himself down by my hip, and Leeloo slept on my shoulder and chest, which is her norm at home.  I kept opening the sleeping bag to make sure that Sieh got enough oxygen, haha.

The new Hest Foamy mattress I got was AMAZING.  I absolutely cannot sleep on traditional camp sleeping pads anymore, and this mattress is like, as comfortable as my bed at home!  I bought it because I was looking for something that was totally made of foam (no air mattresses to eventually end up leaking,) and I was hoping to get something from REI because I have a ton of reward points to use.  I was not only able to get it for free, but it was even on sale, so I still have loads of points left.  I love a good deal.

Overall, our bed set up worked great!  I was able to keep the windows open about halfway because I had a combination of screens with mini awnings, and I also built some window frames with metal grid in the center to prevent the kids from going walkabout during the night.  We stayed nice and dry thanks to the excellent ventilation!

DAY 2

I woke up first, and started heating the water for tea.  The kids appreciated getting their jammies off so that they could perform their morning ablutions.

After making tea, I heated up more water so that I could wash my face.  I’ve finally found a combination of products that keep my skin clear (apparently I should have been using Japanese products all along,) and I wasn’t willing to risk my skin breaking out again by not taking care of it just because I was in the woods.

I got the kids’ breakfast ready, but I still couldn’t find the Churu, and no one wanted to eat without it *cries.* In spite of not having had her breakfast, Leeloo still wanted to come out of the pop-up catio for a wander around the campsite. I caved.

She was super interested in checking out Majel, and climbed all over her, jumping up into the window screen, and then climbing onto the roof and looking all around.  Then she climbed on top of Majel again, taking advantage of the fine vantage point to take in the sights.

A newer development in the Life and Times of Leeloo, is that in her ongoing quest to become more cat-like, she has recently started mimicking her brother when he eats his cat grass.  At first she was just sort of haphazardly chewing and licking at the air, but she did eventually start actually eating a bit of the grass.

Unfortunately, this means that I no longer have just one kid who gets excited to try and eat all the greenery around us.  She immediately started trying to eat the grass. Then, when I stopped her, she went for EVERY. OTHER. PLANT.  Exhausting, haha.

Popped her back in the catio and started a systematic search for the Inaba Churu, and finally found it!  They decided that the breakfast I’d made for them was perhaps a bit more palatable with it.  I have to say, if Leeloo’s stomach could tolerate it, I’d totally feed them canned food when we go camping, because it would be a lot less hassle than the frozen raw.

Leeloo wanted to come out again, so we had another bit of a wander. Our friend was packing up since they were going to be leaving in the evening, so Leeloo took the opportunity to check out the inside of their car.  Apparently it was SO INTERESTING.

Then she got out to go and sniff a sword fern.  She is obsessed with sniffing sword ferns.  We have one at home that she has to be carried away from, because she’ll just never stop sniffing it.  I dunno what they put in those things, but apparently it’s crack.

We all went into the catio to hang out for a while.  Our friend and I played our bad licensed card games that we’d brought. 

Mine was Friends of the Zodiac, which is based on the first, terrible anime adaptation of the Fruits Basket manga (the more recent adaptation is really good, though! You should watch it!)  This adaptation was released several years before the end of the manga, so, like I said, it was bad.  Two of the characters never even made it into the show, so they’re not represented in the card game with their names or pictures, haha.

In spite of this, the game was surprisingly playable, if a bit complicated by my standards.  Then again, I never play tabletop games, so I’m really not the best judge, haha.

After we collected all 12 Soumas for the Friends of the Zodiac, Sieh decided that he was ready to explore beyond the catio.  He of course needed to eat some grass, as his number one small and fancy cow activity.

He also got some tree worship in.  Seriously, the way this kid looks at trees.

After that, it was time for our friend to head out for a legit boardgames night in the city, so we bid them a fond farewell.  I was so glad they could be part of our return to camping!

The kids and I all piled into Majel and took a nap in the car together (card games take a lot of energy!)

In anticipation of some overnight rain, I got up briefly to put the rainfly on the catio, which I hadn’t done when I trialed it at home.  It’s really thick, high quality fabric, very pleased with it.

I made the kids their dinners and then got settled back into bed for the night.  We all put on our jammies and got snuggled up. It felt much warmer the second night!  I had to fold my sleeping bag open and sleep on top of it with the blankets, because I kept getting overheated. And, of course, I had my two little heaters with me.

The rain came as predicted, and it was really lovely to be lying there, all warm and dry, listening to it pattering on the roof.  The Roadie screens with their little awnings worked perfectly all night long, keeping bugs and rain out.

DAY 3

Climbed out of our warm and lovely nest to check on how the catio had fared in the rain.  Just in case, I’d put the Sleepypods and the mini-tent up on the table and chair, but I needn’t have bothered.  The floor of the tent was totally dry and everything inside stayed nice and dry.  So incredibly pleased with this high-quality purchase.

I made the kids their breakfast, which they took in the catio, and fixed myself some instant miso and some milky tea to quickly fuel myself for my coming labours.

I started by packing up the kitchen stuff, and getting everything else organized.  I had to pack up what I could while leaving the catio set up for the kids so that they wouldn’t have to be in their Sleepypods the whole time.  I left the litterbox in for them as well.  Once I had everything else in Majel, then they got buckled in.

Also, I swear it seems like every kind of spider ever tried to come home with us.  One was on the food bag, but it was a super adorable jumping spider.  I adore those are they don’t scare me at all. [Mini jump scare warning…get it? JUMP scare? Jumping spider?…I’ll just see myself out.]

Then there was big one on the rainfly, which was yikes. [YIKES WARNING]

Lastly, was the giant one missing a leg that had decided to insert itself between the floor of the catio and the groundcloth/footprint.  Like, dude, WHY.  It was so gross.  I can’t even watch the video I took of it crawling. (There was also a secret 4th spider that DID make it home with us that I didn’t find until I was drying the catio out and went to put it away with the rainfly. Ugh.) Also, [BIGGER YIKES WARNING]

This katydid made it all the way home with us, but we do see maybe 1 or 2 of these a year, so transporting it an hour from its base shouldn’t be harmful.  Hopefully, lol.

I was working down to the wire to get us all packed up in time for checkout (and I actually went 5 minutes over, sorry park rangers and camp hosts!) I had to fit everything in just perfectly because I brought so much stuff and I didn’t want to block my vision while driving.  It was a really time-consuming strenuous process. Totally wore me out.

I gave the campsite a final, thorough inspection, and then we headed out.  Home until next time!

Wow, it’s been like, six years since we posted on here. Initially, things had slowed down due to COVID hitting and needing to stay home when I wasn’t at work. Being an essential worker sucked, but it really reinforced a lot of the reasons that I was working on my masters degree so that I could get out of retail and become a teacher.

Since I wouldn’t be able to continue working and do my student teaching at the same time, I had to quit my job and say goodbye to my apartment in Seattle to move back home with my mom.

I don’t know if I ever got COVID asymptomatically from working with the public unmasked (back when we were told to reserve PPE for medical workers and the immunicompromised,) but once I moved home I crashed and I never recovered.

I made it through my student teaching and had a couple of months off before I could start subbing, and thought I’d be able to recover. I kept trying to take the kids for regular walks, especially since we now had a FANTASTIC paved trail a 5 minute drive from us, but I could only make it two or maybe three days in a row before I’d find myself back in bed for weeks.

Thankfully, I’d built a full size walk-in catio for them in my mom’s backyard that summer. They have access to it 24/7 (unless the air quality isn’t good,) and then spend a good amount of their days out there. So at least they still had easy access to fresh air and the outdoors.

I tried rehabing myself, assuming I’d just deconditioned after having gone from a super active lifestyle to being largely sedentary. No matter how slowly I worked myself up, I’d always hit a wall after a couple of days. I was completely baffled.

When I lived in Seattle, I worked a physically demanding retail job (lots of heavy lifting) 40 hours a week. Then, on my Friday, I’d drive up to my mom’s house, do her grocery shopping, her laundry, and clean the house. I’d stay the “weekend” so that I could volunteer at her school the next day for experience. On my “Sunday,” I’d volunteer for the morning class, then take my kids on a nice long hike, before heading back into the city. All this while taking anywhere from 12 to 18 master’s degree credits. I felt amazing. I felt unstoppable

After we moved home, I suddenly couldn’t even stay awake through the afternoon, and then the aforementioned issues with trying to be active. I kept trying and trying, and I kept failing. I also did PT for a few issues I’d been having, and while it totally fixed one of the issues, both sequences left me far worse off energy-wise. I couldn’t understand it.

Suddenly, I had a whole health care team I was bouncing around between. The cardiologist I saw while getting diagnosed with POTS told me that I had not actually deconditioned at all, which was my initial assumption.

Since we now knew I had POTS (thank you, Tiktok, for pushing those videos my way, haha,) I started trying to recover in a POTS kind of way. Starting super slowly, 2 minutes of very chill exercise on an elliptical I got off of Buy Nothing, increasing slowly. Nope, back in bed after a couple of days.

It would be 5 years from onset of symptoms until I finally got my ME/CFS diagnosis. I’d been having one of my regular appointments with my neurologist (who I was seeing for my POTS and migraines,) and I was explaining to her how it was so frustrating especially because I’d been so active before. I told her what a regular week used to look like for me before I got whammied, and she was like “you know you match the diagnostic criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, right?”

Which like, really fucking sucks. There’s no treatment and no cure. But at least now I know what I need to do to avoid making myself worse and losing more functionality.

So we don’t hike anymore. The kids loved it even more than I did, and I loved being able to give that to them, but it’s just not a realistic thing for me to do anymore.

I actually thought we’d lost camping, too. I tried a couple of times since becoming so disabled, but it was a bit of a mess, and would put me out of commission for ages. All while I was already getting worse from working my subbing jobs.

Since getting diagnosed with ME/CFS, though, I’ve been able to identify more specific things that make me worse, which allows me to eliminate or mitigate them.

Some big ones:

Driving: I’ve always found driving really relaxing. I’ve been the designated UHAUL driver for my extended friend group because it doesn’t stress me out at all. Once I drove 8 hours to my aunt and uncle’s vow renewal, hung out for the day, then drove 8 hours back, all because I could only get one day off from work for it, haha.

Now, if I have to drive half an hour somewhere, and then half an hour the next day, I’ll be in a Post-Exertional Malaise-induced crash for at least a week. I’ve found that if I only drive an hour, and then rest for the next day or so, it’s sort of doable.

Sadly, this means that every single one of the off grid wilderness campsites I used to go to is beyond my range. I’ve had to pivot to staying at paid campgrounds. This means that I’ve also had to do a bunch of research trying to find campgrounds that are open for tent camping year round, as I prefer camping in the off-season. Thankfully, with the Washington State permanent disabled parking placard I’m able to get half off of all campground stays in Washington State Parks. It also allows me to book ADA sites, and works as a Discover pass. Pretty handy!

Altitude: So, I live a bit above sea level. Which means the only way is up, haha. I really can’t handle elevation gain anymore. It can increase a little, but not a lot.

Bending over/lifting my arms/standing: My rollator takes care of the standing bit, but setting up camp requires a lot of bending and lifting. Neither are totally avoidable, but I’ve found ways to mitigate and limit how much I need to do either.

I bought what I call the “pop-up catio” that I can take for the kids to hang out in while we’re camping. It’s a screened in room with a floor, and a rainfly that can be put on. It’s incredibly sturdy, and easy to set up, with a pop-up roof, and walls that you pop out. There’s no working on the ground with poles, etc like there would be with a regular tent. This item was a real find, and none of this would be possible without it.

I also got (again, for free on Buy Nothing) one of those Yakima rooftop cargo boxes. While I do have to lift my arms to load and unload it, it saves me from having to super carefully Tetris everything into the car, which is less time spent standing, walking, and lifting. It’s a worthwhile trade off.

We’ve also pivoted to sleeping in the car when we go. It’s warmer, and I don’t have to worry about the kids somehow getting out during the night to go exploring (Sieh might try to go hunting.)

Anyhow, we’ve had to really change how we get outside. I plan on picking back up with updating this blog again, but it’s definitely going to look different from now on. No more hiking, and none of the road trips I always thought I’d be taking with my kids once I had summers off.

Location: Iron Horse State Park & Olallie State Park || Duwamish, sdukʷalbixʷ (Snoqualmie), and Puget Sound Salish land
Date: December 3rd, 2019
Activity: Winter Hike

We were originally going to do the Palouse to Cascades tunnel trail, but it’s not actually marked on any of the maps we saw at the various kiosks (there are quite a few trailheads in this area), and we didn’t have cell service, so we decided to try out the Iron Horse State Park trail. When I initially set the goal to visit as many of the Washington State Parks with the kids as possible, I had intended on leaving this state park towards the end. I assumed that with such a wide trail (and bikes…Leeloo HATES bikes), it couldn’t possibly offer a good hike. I am happy to have been proven wrong! It also gave us a chance to work on some desensitization concerning the bikes.

And here’s Banana again!  She’s down to 18.2 pounds from her adoption weight of 24 pounds!

Sometimes this is how Leeloo rides.

And sometimes like this.

She had a lot of fun stomping through the dry grass at the side of the trail.

We saw a smaller service-looking trail off to the left at one point, and hiked up a small hill to check out the view of the other side. Cool view, but it looks like it wasn’t actually an official trail, so I feel badly about using it. We try to only stick to official trails as part of Leave No Trace, and for preventing erosion.

While we were up on the hill, I snapped this sweet selfie with Sieh. For some reason he really reminds me of Baby Yoda!

Even Sieh decided that he wanted to get out and hike a bit!  Also, what is with this sultry look??

There were so many interesting things to see (and climb on) along the way

After a couple of miles we came upon the connection with Olallie State Park’s trail.

This trail is WONDERFUL.  It’s a gentle grade with switchbacks that you almost don’t notice, and the scenery is GORGEOUS.  I kept exclaiming how beautiful it was the whole way.  We really are so lucky to live in such a beautiful state, and especially on the west side of the mountains where it’s so GREEN. Phew!  That was a lot of capslock!

Look at this ridiculous animal.

Sieh wanted to get his walk on for a bit. Check out his saunter!

What is this pose??

So majestic~

He’s so ridiculously cute.

How is he so pure?

So many beautiful sights~

Here comes Banana again! She’s such a great little hiker!

And then back to the Iron Horse trail!

We finished our adventure by letting Sieh have a wander in the park near the parking lot.  He ate some grass, and had a potty in the moss.

Then he sat in the back of Majel with me for some downtime before heading out.

Leeloo was ready to go home, so after gazing out the window for a bit she put herself in Sieh’s Sleepypod.

All tuckered out after adventuring~

Extra Photos:

Funny little owl~

I am exactly this charming in real life.

Thanks for following along with our adventure!

Location: Rockport State Park ||Nłeʔkepmx Tmíxʷ (Nlaka’pamux), Skagit, and Puget Sound Salish land
Date: November 20th, 2019
Activity: Leeloo’s winter birthday hike!

This was Leeloo’s birthday adventure! Leeloo loves narrow forested trails the best, so I made sure to pick a hike that she would particularly enjoy.

This park has a few short trails, including the ‘interpretive loop’ that is considered ADA-compliant.  It is not paved, but it did seem to be well maintained and 36″ wide, with ‘challenge-grade’ sections.  I believe that it should be paved if they want it to be truly accessible.

Leeloo leapt out of the backpack right away to get her hike started!

Jamie and Banana came along, too!

Early on, the trail diverged with one short segment of path going to a massive downed tree. On its side, this tree was as tall as I am!  (I look taller in this photo because Jamie is shorter than I am and standing slightly downhill.)

The kids had so much fun clambering all over the log!

Leeloo wanted to climb on every interpretive sign that we came across!  It was so funny, especially since she’s never shown an interest in signs before.

Leeloo did quite a bit of hiking,

and she also took some breaks and rode on and in the backpack (and often ON Sieh!  She’s sitting on him in the backpack, you can see his sweater through the mesh.)

We found this cool living wall covered in plants and fungi.

Check out this sweet frame that the forest made!  Leeloo is so cute, giving me a kiss!  Both kids greet me when I come home from work with kisses.

All too soon we finished our hike and it was time to go! Since Sieh didn’t hike much this time I made sure to let him have a bit of an explore around the picnic area before we left. He was very satisfied and went into his Sleepypod without a complaint.

This is such a beautiful area, we are looking forward to visiting nearby Rasar State Park soon, as well.

SIDE NOTES FROM THE ADVENTURE

I had tried to save some money by using my mom’s 25+ year-old hiking boots that I found in her garage instead of buying new boots.  Unfortunately, this ended about as well as you might imagine. By the time we got to the park, my left boot had detached at the back from the sole, and partway through the hike detached the rest of the way with the right boot joining it. Thankfully, I always carry a small amount of paracord in my car, Majel, so I was able to tie the soles to the boots. It worked surprisingly well, except on pavement it felt like I had slices of bread tied to my feet. I looked like someone through-hiking the PCT, not taking a short and easy ramble!

This place is so gorgeous! It’s so special and amazing to be in a virgin-growth forest.

Don’t you want to follow this grassy path wherever it may go?

Check out this little mushroom Banana and Jamie found. [Never let your dog eat rando mushrooms they find outside. Yet another reason to keep your dog on leash.]

At first, I read this sign as “Hosts of Duty”, which of course lead to me bellowing it in to the tune of “Lost in Space”/”Pigs in Space”. Was rather disappointed when, upon getting closer, I saw there were two ‘F’s.

Here’s Jamie and Banana with the state park sign.

Look at this ridiculous animal with her holiday bow.

Folx, these TRAILS.

Location: Fort Casey State Park || Klallam and Tulalip land
Date: 11/12/19
Activity: Exploration!

Sorry for the lack of updates! I’m now in grad school working on my masters in addition to working retail full-time, so we haven’t been doing quite as much adventuring lately (no camping at all this year!) Now that I’m into the swing of things with balancing school, work, and life, I’m going to try to post a little more diligently. (I may even get to some of the backlog of adventure photos that have built up.)

Jamie and I took the kids to Fort Casey! I hadn’t been there since my entire 5th grade class did an overnighter there (“Camp Casey”). I remembered how much fun it was to run around in the old fort, and thought it would make a great outing for the kids.

We also brought along our newest companion! Jamie adopted Banana at the beginning of September. She’s been learning all about leash manners, manners with other dogs, manners with humans…she’s learning a lot of manners. And she’s doing great! She’s quite clever, and has been quick to figure out the ins and outs of being a city dog. She’s a delight to have around, and she always makes us laugh with her crazy antics. [Also, yes, we know she’s a bit plump. She’s already lost more than 4 pounds and is on her way to losing more! Follow along to watch her get slimmer with every adventure!]

It was cool and drizzly, so there was hardly anyone else there, which is just the way we like it!

We may have gotten a bit silly with our unsupervised antics (yes, we loaded her into the gun…CANNONBALL!!!), but Banana was on her best behaviour.

I kept checking to see if the kids were interested in getting out of their backpack, but they were quite happy to take in the experience through the mesh.

It took a while, but eventually Leeloo got used to the weird echoing sounds (the Fort is like, 100% concrete) and decided to chance some exploration!

She had fun stomping around the one end of the fort, and even dragged me into some areas that were pitch black to human eyes! Thankfully Jamie had his phone flashlight handy!

A grandpa playing with his grandkids and making spooky yelling sounds proper freaked out Leeloo, so we decided we’d go check out the light house, which is a good ways away. On the walk over, it started drizzling again and Leeloo decided she’d had enough of this outing and asked to be let back into the backpack.

The lighthouse is pretty cute, and seasonally has an interpretive center and gift shop available. Today was not seasonal, unfortunately.

The field we’d crossed to get to the lighthouse was COVERED in lots of different kinds of poop (rabbit, deer, goose…???), so we decided to take a different path back to the car. See those quail? They’re probably pooping on the lawn, too.

Sieh decided that he wanted to get out and stretch his legs for a bit.

And by ‘stretch his legs’ I of course mean ‘eat grass like some sort of tiny fluffy grazing animal.’

I let him wander and graze for a bit, and then it was time to go.

Goodbye until next time, Fort Casey! You were fun!

Other photos of the fort:
This was definitely the freakiest part of the entire fort! It was like something out of a horror or survival video game. Jamie was too scared to even make it past the threshold, but I went all the way in! I couldn’t really video or take photos because it was pitch black, so just imagine something super scary. One whole room was covered in moths…just the one room.
This place is like an old playground: super fun because it’s super dangerous! I’m not kidding, when you’re on the very top level of the fort, there’s no railing. You could just fall off, lol! Let’s just say that this place is not up to current building code, and is DEFINITELY not ADA-compliant. Though they’re adding in a sidewalk for a bit of increased access?
I love a good blasted tree.
Peaceful birds, yo.
This sign is so delightful. In my opinion, the park shop should sell gear with THIS printed on it.
There’s so many cool places to take photos here! I’m in some sort of guard towery-bunker thing!
If you squint, you can see Jamie doing his very best Kilroy impression.
You can actually get down to the beach from the top of the fort.
Obligatory Washington state ferry photo.
Photos just look so much more interesting when you take them from inside a concrete box!
This is apparently where they kept their dragons tethered.
This area was neat, but only one part of it wasn’t blocked off. Makes you wonder what all the extra dangerous stuff is that they have to protect us from.

Location: Cougar Mountain, Bellevue, WA – stolen Duwamish land

Date: March 5th, 2019

Activity: Hike and trail walking

The snow finally melted enough for us to get out for a real walk! All of the trails have been snowed in for weeks, but we were able to power through today! It was cold, and there was snow still on the ground, but the sun was shining really brightly! A beautiful day for a hike!

The kids have really lost a lot of their trail walking manners! I was so appalled! By the end of last hiking season, they were both heeling on a walk, and staying really focussed on the trail, but now they’re all over the place wanting to off-road explore and sniff everything. Obviously they get to do a lot of that anyway, but we had it worked out so that they got their farting around done during rest breaks. Obviously this means that I just need to get them back out on some actual hikes ASAP.

We started off with tio Jamie and me each walking a kid, but quickly found that they were much less distracted being out one at a time.

Leeloo responds very well to whistles, so I kept up a little melody as we walked to encourage her to keep the pace.

The kids had a BLAST. They got to cross bridges and streams, check out trees, and stomp through the snow. Sieh got to inspect plenty of trees. I was really impressed with Leeloo, because she normally asked to be picked up immediately when there’s ice or snow, but she just kept going today! I really need to see about getting the kids something for their feet, but none of the really good boot brands make them small enough. Maybe some latex-dipped socks just to help a bit.

Downed trees are a lot of fun.

Leeloo begged to climb a tree that had a large part of its trunk split off (we normally don’t get snow like we had, so the trees really suffered). She was so happy, she couldn’t stop kneading the air!

Lunch break!

Leeloo likes to ride on top of the backpack, but I have to make sure I hold tight to the leash because she falls off easily. Most of the time her balance issues aren’t that noticeable, but for feats like this her cerebellar hypoplasia becomes very apparent!

Sieh was very brave and leapt across this icy stream! (Check out his instagram @sweetyboysieh for footage of the event!)

He then sat very patiently while I took a picture of him sitting on a log,

and he was rewarded with being lifted up to investigate some strange marks on a tree.

I didn’t manage to get a video of it, but after watching me pick my way carefully across a stream, Leeloo started to follow. She carefully chose all the same stones I had stepped on, until she got distracted, and then just stomped the rest of the way through the frigid water.

This is Sieh’s most favourite tree of all time.

Near the end of our hike, we found a great big hollow tree. Sieh found a lair at its base and decided that he was now a forest cat, and that the hole was his home. I had to trick him with freeze-dried minnows to get him to come out!

Then, when I let him climb up in a split section of the tree, he got SO MAD when I told him he couldn’t climb any higher. He yelled so loudly, with his best angry face. He was pissed!

This was such a nice start to the hiking season, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings!

Location: Tambark Creek Park – stolen Snohomish land

Date: February 26th, 2019

Activity: Stroll

Took a break from my konmari efforts (finishing up by going through all my childhood stuff that I’ve had stored at my mom’s, it’s quite the undertaking but I’m getting rid of almost everything, which feels great!) to get the kids outside. It’s still super cold so we were all bundled up. Their gramma, auntie Haley, cousin Kai, and friend Jackson came too! We made quite the procession through the neighbourhood, haha.

Most of the way the kids rode in the stroller because it was so cold, but they did get out to walk once we got to the park and they could check out the trail.

I put Leeloo up on the railing of this bridge so that she wouldn’t have to walk on the icy snow (she’s a big baby about the cold, just like her momma!)

Even Sieh appreciated the lift!

We didn’t hang around long because it was cold and getting colder as the light faded, but I did manage to capture this crazy action shot of Leeloo before we left. I have no idea how my phone camera managed this, haha.