The Hiker Mama

Category: Trip Report

  • Goldendale Observatory

    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…

  • Columbia Hills State Park (Spring Break 2014)

    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…

  • Mother’s Day Delight

    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.…

  • Vista House and Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls

    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…

  • Hikes for Kids and Grandmas from the Catherine Creek Trailhead

    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…

  • Othello Sandhill Crane Festival and Columbia NWR

    Othello Sandhill Crane Festival and Columbia NWR

    The kids and I did our first big road trip adventure of the season on the last weekend in March.  We heard about a bird festival over in Central Washington, we had some free time, and we decided to go.  The kids had been requesting a trip to the desert, too, and no snowshoeing, please,…

  • Another Day in Paradise

    Another Day in Paradise

    A couple of weeks ago, we had the full day on Friday to go for an adventure, and our friend Jessie was able to come along.  We decided to do a longer trip to the snow, since winter is going to give way to spring soon, and we have so few days when we can…

  • Cranberry Lake/Cama Beach State Park

    Cranberry Lake/Cama Beach State Park

    Last Friday we were able to squeeze a quick trip in between morning and evening commitments.  We’ve had many Fridays like this lately – seems we haven’t had the time we are used to having!  We took a little drive up to Cama Beach State Park on Camano Island.  I had never been there before,…

  • Lewis Creek Park, Bellevue

    Lewis Creek Park, Bellevue

    We had the chance last Friday to check out a new park (for us) over in Bellevue.  Lewis Creek Park has about 3 miles of trails on its 55 acres.  It includes wetlands, meadows, and forests. Some of the trails are paved, and some are softer surfaces.  The Visitor Center has some interesting activities and…

  • Baby Owls at the Nisqually

    Baby Owls at the Nisqually

    The internet is full of videos and pictures of cute baby animals.  We could spend our entire day on sites like Cute Overload, getting our fill of adorableness.  Or, we could take advantage of special places and times in nature, and see some cute baby animals in real time.  And among the cutest of animals,…