Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Finding Nature Around the Edges
We got back last week from spending two weeks with my parents. A large chunk of that time was spent driving down to California and back for my cousin’s wedding. Dad drove the truck and RV down, and we took my 94-year-old grandmother, so it was mostly a lot of driving on the freeway, staying…
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Columbia Gorge Discovery Center – Spring Break 2014
This is the fifth post from our Spring Break Trip. We are almost done! The first was about hikes from the Catherine Creek Trailhead. The second post was about the Vista House and Gorge waterfalls. The third was about camping and exploring at Columbia Hills State Park. The fourth was about the Goldendale Observatory. We have one more destination to…
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Sheep Lake Backpack
With my son off to teen camp this week, I wanted to do something special with my 8-year-old daughter (she has picked the trail name Queen Alacorn, or QA). She really wanted to go backpacking with me, and was super excited for a Girls’ Trip. But we couldn’t find anyone to come with us. Then…
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Icicle Gorge Trail – 6/26/14
I took the kids hiking at the Icicle Gorge Trail yesterday. The weather report had been worsening all week, and I really wanted somewhere dry, not drippy. So I scrapped plans to go to Longmire and headed east instead. I think I made a good decision – the flowers are amazing right now along the…
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Goldendale Observatory
This is the fourth post from our Spring Break Trip. The first was about hikes from the Catherine Creek Trailhead. The second post was about the Vista House and Gorge waterfalls. The third was about camping and exploring at Columbia Hills State Park. Future posts will include: The Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center and History Museum in…
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Columbia Hills State Park (Spring Break 2014)
This post is the third in my series about our trip to the Columbia River Gorge for Spring Break. The first was about hikes from the Catherine Creek Trailhead. The second post was about the Vista House and Gorge waterfalls. Future posts will include: Visiting the Observatory in Goldendale [Added 5/31/14] The Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center…
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Second Review of Lowepro Photo Sport Pro 30L AW Pack
Last summer I wrote a review for a photography backpack that Lowepro sent me to test. I have been using the pack a lot, and thought I’d write a follow-up to my first impressions. This pack is built as a technical backpack, but it has a special camera compartment built into the bottom of the…
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Mother’s Day Delight
I’m back after a computer hard drive crash and restoration. Let me just say how thankful I am for my techie husband who helped me fix everything. I’ll continue later with our Spring Break Trip, but wanted to let you know about a wonderful garden that is in bloom right now, and is worth visiting.…
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Vista House and Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls
This post is the second in my series about our trip to the Columbia River Gorge for Spring Break. The first was about hikes from the Catherine Creek Trailhead. Future posts will include: Columbia Hills State Park, including camping, hiking, and viewing petroglyphs (Added 5/28/14!) Visiting the Observatory in Goldendale (Added 5/31/14) The Columbia River…
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Hikes for Kids and Grandmas from the Catherine Creek Trailhead
This post will be the first in my series about our Spring Break trip to the Columbia River Gorge. I’m breaking our outings down into bite-sized chunks. Other posts in this series will include: Visiting the waterfalls on the Oregon side of the Gorge [Added 4/21/14] Columbia Hills State Park, including camping, hiking, and viewing…
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