Camping in the North Cascades

I have taken Lydia and Ammon and trekked to Washington State for a month while Brigham stays in Utah to work (what a good husband to let us go! Thank you!). We made it up in time for Fourth of July fireworks, and then left the following Monday for a camping trip to the North Cascades in Washington.

Being the kids' first ever camping trip, I was interested to see how things would go. Toddlers and dirt and bugs and fire and cold nights. Those things don't sound like they would combine very well.

After arriving and two hours into camp, Ammon already looked like this:

He sampled all manner of rocks and dirt. He was in heaven. I could tell it was going to be fun.

And it was!

The first night we set up camp and got acquainted with the area. We camped near the Skagit river but it was so swollen and high, due to record rainfall in June, that there were no banks to play on. Also, we learned that  we would be continually swarmed with mosquitoes. Luckily, Sadie decided to put on body spray and lotion right before coming and attracted the majority of the bites at first. Oh boy did I laugh at that mistake! By the end of the camp-out she sat in double layered clothes, moon boots, her hoodie-hood over her head and her hair flipped over and covering her face to stay safe from the bugs because she was swollen all over from being eaten alive. Hahahahaha :)

The first full day we had, we headed out to hike. The first place we walked around was a water power place that had a fun footbridge that you had to cross over.

After the footbridge, a pond, some stairs, and bridges, there was a gorgeous waterfall to see.

At the campground, three-minute showers cost fifty cents and half of me was embarrassed when my siblings started fishing quarters out of the pond to use for free showers (the other half of me thought it was kind of funny). I believe they ended up with two and half free showers until my Mom ordered a halt to the quarter swiping. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sign up next time saying "leave coins in pond".

After that first small hike, we ate lunch and then played at a nearby playground that had train you can climb and play on.

The next hike on the agenda was to the top of the Gorge Dam.  Once we hiked to the destination, I took a pictures looking down from the top and the opposite of the dam, which is now a lake.

It was high up and gorgeous!

While the hike wasn't too long, it included a 500 foot elevation drop! While that might be a good climb for anybody, these two little girls sure had a lot of ground to cover for their little legs:

This is what they looked like while they were resting at the top of the dam. Tired, hot, and miserable. And we still had to hike back up!

Luckily, they made it back for snacks, water, and a longer rest as we drove to the next destination: Diablo lake. First we stopped at an overview of the lake.

I couldn't get over how gorgeous it was!

Then we stopped at the actual lake so the kids could attempt to get in. I say attempt because the water is a runoff from a glacier and you are only supposed to be able to stand it for 3.7 seconds. Cold!

I'm not sure how long Kenny stayed in the water, but it wasn't very much time before we were back in the van.

We saw one more waterfall before heading back. I have to point out here that Kenny makes an excellent babysitter if anyone wants to know:

Not only was he carrying Ammon on his back, but he was pushing Lydia in the stroller as well. Don't worry I took Lydia from him, but Kenny did carry Ammon on the hikes the entire trip. He's a good brother :)

Day two, we started with the best hike of the trip. We drove over Baker dam and then hiked along the lake. I wish I had taken pictures of the hike because it is one of my favorites I have ever been on. It was on a ridge overlooking the forest and the lake with lots of fun nature aspects to enjoy. We stopped when we hiked down to a river running into the lake.

My siblings explored all over the rocks and logs and eventually made their way to the lake to wade around from log to log.

My mom and I stayed back with my kids as they threw rocks into the river. 

Eventually we made our way down to the lake with the babies as well, but just as we climbed over all the rocks with two toddlers, it was time to head back. My poor mom lost her foot into the water as she was climbing back, while trying to hold Lydia. Heehee, it was pretty funny.

After the hike back and lunch, we found a better beach and let the kids swim around.

So many beautiful, beautiful areas with lakes, rivers, and other things to see. It was gorgeous and I loved it.

Though there were swarms of mosquitoes, wet bedding, cranky toddlers, dirty toddlers, and too many bathroom trips to count, we had bug spray and sweaters, extra blankets, lots of wipes, Benadryll, flushing toilets, tons of delicious food, and great company.

We even found a road just for Ammon!

Here are a few more extras from the trip:

Thanks to my parents that put everything together and took us around to so many fun things. You're the best! It made camping with little kids a good experience :)