Latest Outdoor Adventures and Hikes

This first photo was taken on the same day as my last day of classes for the quarter. I took the kids to Sammamish State Park. As we walked around I kept mulling over how my last class session went over Zoom, and ways that I could have better taught the topic of Caravaggio's paintings of youths. This field of flowers helped me to focus better on the moment and on my two kids next to me. And I think it helped me to let go of the stress of online teaching from the past quarter, and begin to embrace the summer with my kids. Even though the last class didn't go as well as I had hoped (the students were understandably focused on the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests), I hope I'll have another chance to teach the Gender, Sexuality and Identity course at another time.

And so, my kids and I have slowly been transitioning into summer. They officially finished school last week, but we are still trying to have some kind of academic structure for them during the summer months. And luckily, they are interested in going on hikes and outdoor outings, since there isn't much else to do with museums, summer camps, and the Y closed. Here are some of the things we have been doing, with some things from last month too:

In the middle of May, J set up the tent for the kids to enjoy some backyard camping. That night Lucy only lasted about twenty minutes in her sleeping bag and asked to be taken inside to her own bed (so I slept in the house with her), but the boys slept outside all night.

Seahurst Park in May

Seahurst Park in May

We took a detour on our way to my brother C's wedding and drove past the Salt Flats. This is one of my favorite pictures of these two kids. The trip for the wedding was stressful and frustrating for me, in light of the ongoing pandemic and the need to social distance from my family, but I'm glad we could be at the wedding dinner for two hours to support C and S.

On our first day of true summer vacation, I took the kids to walk along the I-90 bridge into Seattle. We walked from Audrey Davis Park in Mercer Island to the Sam Smith Park in Seattle, and then back to our car. We went about five miles that day! The kids were mostly interested in the I-90 bike tunnel, which had some fun art. I think they felt like the bridge was too noisy with the nearby cars and busy with the bikes, but I think they liked the experience of walking along a bridge that is a familiar landmark.

I-90 Bike Tunnel

This outing to bike/scooter through the Snoqualmie Tunnel was a total bust, but it is worth including it since it took a lot of effort to get here with our bikes. We went here for Father's Day. Lucy got scared about 1/2 mile into the tunnel because it was dark, and plus the ground wasn't paved and completely flat to her liking. She got to a point where she wouldn't push her feet on the pedals, so I had to hold onto her bike handle with one hand and pull her and her bike along while I pedaled on my bike. Sam and J continued on for another mile, but Sam got bored in the tunnel and they didn't make it to the end. I don't think we'll go here again. I was pretty frustrated and I'm giving up on my dream of family bike rides.

These last pictures from today are evidence of a success story, though. I took the kids to hike to Talapus and Olallie Lakes. We hiked about seven miles round trip! Lucy was tired when we got to Talapus Lake and didn't want to continue on, but I got her to soldier on and even carried her for about a mile and a half. But for the most part, she did it on her own. This is a really nice hike because most of it is in the shade and he trail isn't very steep. The only real setback are the potholes in the road that leads to the trailhead; I wouldn't attempt this drive in a smaller car.

The kids pretended that the rocks were giants, like those from The Silver Chair or Frozen 2.

Talapus Lake - this lake is quite blue because it is exposed to the open sky. The lake is surrounded on a few sides by slopes with boulders

Olallie Lake in the background. This lake looks quite green due to all of the surrounding pine trees

Sam was really chatty on the way back when I asked him about The Alchemyst book by Michael Scott that he has been reading. E and T gave the book to him for his birthday. He told me about the plot in great detail. Lucy was listening carefully, and then she chimed in and explained that she and Sam are doing a pretend game that is a variant of the book's plot. In their game, she can create things out of silver and gold (due to her silver and gold "aura") and Sam is a scientist/alchemist who helps her. I'm glad that they have such fun together. It's cute to see them quoting "Bad Lip Reading" videos to each other and getting a kick out of similar types of humor.