Concluding Post 3 of 4
The call for home was strong after our time in Mt. Ranier. We had 3 more quick stops planned on our way back to Texas. First stop, Spokane, WA to visit with Joe and Katelyn and The Machines (Jim and Tracey)! We love Spokane, and have been anticipating our time with these awesome people as well as in the city.
We arrived around dinnertime, and after getting the girls down for bed, Joe and Katelyn and I went for a night ride to downtown Spokane. This is one of my favorite ways to see a city, and their tour or waterfalls, Riverside Park, a light show, and a final stop at a local brewery was a perfect reintroduction.
The next morning we took the girls to Riverside Park and enjoyed the brand new playground. Huge slides, lots of climbing options, and a sand pit full of dinosaur fossils for the girls to excavate.
Next stop that morning was the carousel!
After naptime we followed Joe and Katelyn to Mt. Spokane State Park for a short hike to pick huckleberries!
Sybil did more eating than picking. :-) After several minutes of picking, she wiggled up to Katelyn and asked if she could switch berry jugs with her. Katelyn had been picking with an Aller's intensity and didn't fall for this sly tactic to get at more berries. The Aller's had fashioned old plastic bottles into perfect berry jugs by cutting off the top and inverting it so that it was easy for berries to go in and not come out if you accidently dropped the jug.
Huckleberry picking, while time consuming because they are so small, is quite peaceful because you are not dealing with any thorns or stickers. You can just take a seat and imagine you are a black bear picking to your heart's content.
Parker also enjoyed the picking/eating.
The next morning we dropped off the girls with Jim and Tracey and we headed to the Spokane River for a river trip! Cara and I rode Stand Up Paddle-boards which was an awesome vehicle to navigate the river which vacillated between deep and calm and fun nontechnical rapids. We learned that sitting and using a kayak paddle on a SUP is a great way to ride!
We ended the day with a burrito dinner at Jim and Tracey's house. We could have easily spent more time, but we knew we needed to get S&P home. So the next morning, we left early for a big drive (over 700 miles) to Salt Lake City.
Sybil had trouble sleeping during the early morning hours. When we stopped for gas, we found that she had transformed her monkey into a Queen! Although we sometimes wished we had brought Sybil's iPad for road trip distraction/entertainment, this was a great reminder of what boredom induced creativity can produce.
Thankfully it was an uneventful day besides picking up a huge rock on our front windshield and we rolled into Judson and Jenny's house around dinnertime. Judson and Jenny had just moved into their new home from Houston. He had just started his first Pediatric Cardiologist gig at the Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. He is an awesome frisbee friend that was so gracious in letting us stay and visit with them, and it was great spending time with their 1 year old daughter Lily.
The next morning I met Brett at Millcreek Canyon for a trail run with our dogs. Brett had also recently moved to SLC for his first gig out of grad school to work with the national speed skating team! He helps to monitor the athletes and set their gym workouts. I had plenty of questions for him, and still fantasize about having the resources of a professional athlete.
This trail was only 10 minutes from Judson's house, and I had forgotten how close the mountains were to downtown SLC. The access to nature/mountains is what excites most about Spokane and SLC.
In the afternoon, Judson and Jenny treated us to one of Lily's favorite places, the Aviary! The toucans were a highlight.
Just checking our wingspans against turkey vultures and condors. My 6 feet equals Austin's own turkey vultures, but is not even close to the Andean Condor's of 10.5 feet!
Meredith, Showdown Alumn, invited us over and cooked us an awesome meal. She is an adaptive PE teacher, and it was great to catch up with her after several years.
We left the next morning for drive 2 of 3, about 500 miles to Denver. We had one last relaxing breakfast with JJ&L before hitting the road.
Dave's parents were kind enough to open their unoccupied rental home to us, which could not have come at a better time. Denver was a great time for us to recharge before our final push home. With our comfortable accommodations, Cara and I were both able to sneak away to the Apex Trail in Golden, CO for a 5 mile trail run.
Later that morning, Hud and I went to Cherry Creek State Park aka Dog Paradise. They have a huge off leash area with the creek running through it. We visited this park a few years ago, and it was good to be back.
Post nap, we headed over to Matt and Crissna's for the girls to play with Madelyn and to meet Benjamin! It was great to catch up over dinner.
We returned the next day for some pool time and another meal. We always value anytime we can get together with Matt and his family. We all look forward to visiting again.
With a final destination of Nana and Papa's house just north of Houston, we originally thought we'd stop for the night in Amarillo but then decided we hate hotels :-) and we'd just drive the 1,000 miles from Denver to Houston in one go! So we put the girls to sleep, packed the car, and set the alarm for a midnight wake up and departure.
The girls were ROAD WARRIORS! Our first stop came at a playground in Amarillo. Poptarts, raspberries, yogurt, and a zipline fueled our next 200 mile pull.
1,004 miles, and only about 10 minutes of uncomfortable crying. It's not always easy finding time to yourself in a compact SUV, but Sybil found a way. We finished the long day (our family record) around 5:30pm to a home cooked Nana meal and comfy beds. It's good to be back in Texas. TIME FOR BED!
