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been out playing...want to see where?

7/15/2016

2 Comments

 
By Abby McAllister
So...we don't blog much in the summer...that's because we're too busy being outside!  Duh!  I am in between trips at the moment and am struggling to get photos downloaded, sorted, edited and posted.  I recently shared on FB our gallery of photos from Pinnacles NP and today got photos from Sequoia NP up.  You can find the inspiration galleries for each park under our "trip reports" tab above and then under the "National Parks" tab or by clicking the green linked text above.  We loved our time in California and will be posting more photos from the other parks as soon as we quit playing outdoors and find the time to get in front of the computer again!
Family in Sequoia national park
checking out lady bugs
Family together in Pinnacles NP Picture
Nothing beats family time at Pinnacles NP
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Saltese Uplands Natural Area

2/24/2016

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by Harley McAllister

 There is a travel brochure for Spokane that describes our town as "Near Nature, Near Perfect."  And indeed, one of the things we love about living here is that a short drive from our house in most any direction will provide us with places to be outdoors. This Spring we plan to review some of our favorites  - all the nearby State Parks, Conservation Areas, Natural Areas, County Parks, etc. that we can go and play in.  And the first of these is the Saltese Uplands Conservation Area.

Just this past weekend I found myself alone with my youngest son because all the other boys had activities.  The weather was nice for February and so the mountains called.  I only had a couple hours to get out so I immediately thought of this nearby retreat.

This area is roughly 550 acres of rolling hills that overlooks the Saltese flats below to the west, Liberty Lake to the east, with views of Mica Peak and the surrounding mountains above.  There are 7 miles of trails that gently rise and fall with the terrain making it a great destination for hikers, dog walkers, hikers, bird watchers, and mountain bikers alike.  The pictures will show you what it has to offer, and all of this is located but a 5 minute drive south of the Barker exit of I-90 in the Spokane Valley. Perfect for a quick getaway.

One thing to keep in mind when visiting here is that there are no trees on this parcel, so consider that on a hot day.  But for that same reason we love to visit on bluebird days in the Winter and Spring so we can soak up the sunshine.  The mountain bike trails here are well maintained, and the boys and I patrolled them a number of times last year.  And we almost always see a raptor or two out there, and occasionally a whitetail at dawn or dusk.

cont'd with map at the bottom...
Picture of Saltese Uplands Conservation Area
View from the trail in the Saltese Uplands Conservation Area
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So if you live anywhere near the Spokane Valley, you owe it to yourself to check this place out.  See the map below.
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Countdown!  Utah book release coming in March!

2/12/2016

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We are excited to begin a countdown to our official Utah guide book release.  Although it is already available on Amazon and doing well, we have been planning to have a special release event in March.  In order to count us down to March 11th we will be posting our favorite Utah national park moments each Friday.  We will feature a favorite moment from one parent (Harley or I) and one moment shared by one of our kids.  Today we kick off the countdown with our Zion National Park most memorable moments!

Surprised by Unexpected Beauty

By Abby McAllister
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​Although Zion National Park offers stunningly deep canyons, famous peaks and terrific hiking, canyoning and climbing, my favorite moment came one evening after dark.  It is probably my favorite because it was totally unexpected.  I like to be surprised.  I like a moment when my breath is taken away by unexpexted beauty.  When that happens, it feels like a special gift.  When it occurs in nature it feels like I am blessed beyond measure to be in the right place at the right time to take in a sight that will never be repeated in exactly the same way.  In Zion I had one of those once-in-a-lifetime gift experiences when we came out of the lodge after the evening ranger led program.  It was late, the baby had fallen asleep on my lap and I was just expecting to head to the car, get all the kids buckled in and head back to the campground.  As we exited the lodge and walked across the big lawn towards our car we happened to look up.  Directly across from the lodge the full moon’s glowing light was reflecting off the sheer cliff walls that make up the peaks of The Court of the Patriarchs.  They seemed to be the face of the moon dropped in our laps.  They rose dramatically into the black night sky that is only found so far from cities.  We all stood mesmerized on the lawn that dark fall night and just drank it in.  Somehow the dark of the night and the light of the moon had transformed the peaks that seemed so rooted, so grounded each day, into something ethereal.  I don’t know how long we stood there but I remember I never wanted to leave.  We tried to capture the majesty with our camera but all attempts failed.  Sometimes you just have to be there.  I guess that is why we go to national parks, why we take our kids.  Photos in books and online, videos and movies-none of those can compare to being there.  

Feeling Like An Action Movie Star!

By Kaden McAllister, age 14
The most memorable part of Zion NP for me has to have been the hike to Hidden Canyon. This particular hike took us along a really steep cliff wall. The trail was carved out of the rock or sometimes followed a narrow ledge.  In some places chains had been drilled into the rock wall for you to hold on to, so you wouldn’t fall down the few-hundred-foot drop. I remember looking down and being glad of the chains! It made me feel like I was in a movie or something, hiking along that precipice. At the top of the mountain, the end of the path, there was a ravine with boulders that you could scramble over and around. We spent hours jumping over and crawling under the boulders. I also loved the view from the top. You could see all the way back to the trailhead, and see all of the people, as small as pinheads along the trail. It really let you see how far you had come. Going down was fun too because I didn’t have to work as hard as I had coming up.
kids holding chain as they walk the fine line
Trail skirting the side of the cliff
Surprise arch at the end of the hidden canyon
kids along the high trail
the views are only one of the rewards
beauty not seen by the masses far below
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It's that time of year again...Camping Reservation time!

2/2/2016

1 Comment

 
By Abby McAllister
Boats on the shoreline at sunset in Glacier National Park
The clouds lift at sunset to give us vies of the higher peaks!
image from Glacier National Park near Grinnell Glacier
A cool and cloudy day near Grinnell Glacier
Kids atop high peak in Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park
Kids enjoying the thrill of the ascent in Glacier NP Two Medicine district
 As you may have seen on our facebook page, we have just finished reserving our campsites for an epic trip to see many of California's amazing National Parks (Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Pinnacles and Lassen).  Although it may seem hard to believe, now is the time to start planning that family trip to your national park of choice.  Many of the sites are available 6 months in advance from www.recreation.gov and they are filling up fast.  Already we had difficulty reserving 6 nights in Yosemite in a row!  Other big parks like Yellowstone and Zion fill up equally early.

Last year we spent a bunch of time exploring Glacier National Park since it is in our backyard.  We checked out many of the regions scattered around the park but were also unable to see some due to fires and bear activity.  We are looking forward to spending time exploring them this coming summer.  Although most of the campgrounds at Glacier are first come, first served (and tend to fill by 8 am in the summer), some are by reservation.  Previously you could reserve sites on recreation.gov in the St. Mary's and the Apgar campgrounds.  Starting on Wednesday the 3rd, the national park service will be releasing sites on recreation.gov for 41 of the 103 sites in the Many Glacier campground.

We hope that you find inspiration here at our4outdoors or elsewhere to start planning your 2016 family adventure to one of your national parks!  Don't forget, now is the time to start planning so go get those campsites reserved!  If you are planning a trip to Yellowstone, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon or the north rim of the Grand Canyon then you might also like to check out our guidebooks on those parks.  You can learn more at www.nationalparkswithkids.com.


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Snowshoeing is for wimps...and #firsthike

12/29/2015

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By Abby McAllister
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Snowshoeing is for wimps…let me explain.  I am a wimp.  I don’t like pain and I don’t like cold.  Those two attributes tend to steer me away from most winter activities like downhill skiing, cross country skiing, telemark skiing etc.  The good news for my outdoorsy husband is that snowshoeing is fairly painless and, if properly dressed, I seldom get cold while doing it.  This means there is a winter activity that we can enjoy together!
On a recent mommy-daddy weekend away we donned some snowshoes and headed into the woods near Winthrop, WA.  The woods were a true winter wonderland.  The sun kept breaking through the thin cloud cover and making the snow sparkle and shine.  The new snow adorned every branch on every tree and little birds were chattering away as they flitted through the snow laden branches.  I am so thankful that I got to experience the forest in this season thanks to a pair of snowshoes. 

If you haven’t tried them you should!  They are easy to learn on, meaning wimpy moms like me and smaller children can join right it (or sometimes get pulled along on a sled if too small for the snowshoes).  Although you can find snowshoes priced all the way up to $300 and even more, you can also get started for much less (in the $80 range) whereas skiing of any sort can be expensive as you have to buy lift tickets, trail passes and expensive special gear.  Snowshoeing has a very low financial threshold to get started.  You also won’t need expensive and time consuming lessons either!  Once you know how to strap on your snowshoes and take a few minutes to practice (being careful of turning and trying to back up) you will be ready to go! 
A few tips before you take off.  Make sure to follow a marked trail or take a GPS unit with you as places you are familiar with in the summer will look dramatically different wen covered in snow!  Many State Parks, ski areas, and winter Sno-park areas will have designated trails for snowshoeing.  At then end of this post we will tell you how to get out in the Spokane area this coming weekend!  Another pre-trip tip is to review our list of how to make the cold weather endurable for wimpy moms and younger children.  Staying warm is key to having fun in the snow so make sure you are prepared.  Finally, remember, if this is your first time out take it easy.  Pick a trail with little elevation gain, a shorter distance and give yourself plenty of time.  
 

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This weekend you can get out on snowshoes with the parks department for a hike for #firsthike.  Following in the very successful footsteps of #optoutside on Black Friday, State Parks are offering free admission to all parks on New Year’s Day with additional fun activities.  On Mt. Spokane you can join a ranger led hike of 2-4 miles round-trip as part of #firsthike.  Click here for more details! You will need your own snowshoes for this adventure.  If you don’t own any yet you can rent them from various places around Spokane like Mountain Gear or REI.  You will also need a snow park pass.  You won’t need the normally required Discover Pass because Jan 1 is also a free parks day!
If you aren't ready to strap on the snowshoes yet, check out the other #firsthike being offered in Riverside Park.  Details are available here.
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Glacier National Park Family Vacation

10/4/2015

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by Harley McAllister

We made a number of trips to Glacier this summer, and we tried to fit in as many hikes as we could.  Unfortunately it was also a very busy fire season this year, and we had to change plans due to some of the fire activity - and some bear activity!  We had some of our camping reservations cancelled due to a bear in the area.  Anyway, we persevered and had some really great times on the trails, with more to come next summer.  But below are some photo highlights from this past summer.
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Amazing scenery abounds at Glacier National Park.
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Hiking Antoine Peak Conservation Area, with some Geocaching on the side

4/12/2015

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by Harley McAllister

With the Spring weather warming up our family is getting anxious to get out on the trails.  Thankfully the Spokane area has plenty of places nearby to get out and enjoy the outdoors - some are Natural Areas, some are Conservation Areas, some are State Parks, or County Parks, etc.  In the coming weeks we'll be reviewing  5 or 6 of our favorites so that you can learn about them and then go experience them for yourselves.

This past weekend we took a quick trip to Antoine Peak Conservation Area for a couple hours in the afternoon.  The trail is easy enough for anyone, the views along the path are fantastic, and it felt good to be outside even if the breeze was a bit on the chilly side.  We also took the time to find 3 of the dozens of geocaches located here, which always serves as extra motivation for the boys to get outside.  We'll be posting more about geocaching in the coming weeks as well.

When we went in early April the wildflowers were just starting, and the Arrowleaf Balsamroot were getting ready to come out in force.  Now is a great time to get out there.

Once we have finished our blog reviews of our favorite spots we will follow that up with more detailed trip reports in that section of our website.  So stay tuned!

Picture of hiking Antoine Peak Conservation Area family kids
Great views from the trail.
Picture of geocaching Antoine Peak Conservation Area
Finding the geocache.
Picture of hiking Antoine Peak with family kids
At the top!
Thank goodness for baby backpacks!
The first cache.
The boys on the trail.
The trail is an access road and so it is easy enough for anyone.
Another cache with fun surprises.
Taking it off-trail.
This is what happens when the boys get tired of having their pictures taken!
Solitude can be found close to town.
Some geocache items have tracking numbers so you can see where they have traveled.
Great views of the valley.
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    Authors

    Harley & Abby McAllister
    We are an adventurous husband and wife duo who drag our 4 feral kids outside with us as often as we can stand it!  Maybe, just maybe, our adventures will help inspire you! 

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