Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Mom, Dad and I spent the weekend in Whistler. I wasn't sure what to expect there in the summer, but it was a blast. The weather was a bit foggy the first day but it didn't deter us much. The second day was full of sunshine and we had some great views. And we got actual snowfall at the peak on both days (no accumulation though.)

The main events on our trip were hiking down Harmony Ridge past Harmony Lake, the zip lining 100 feet above Fitzsimmons Creek, and hiking the new High Note trail around the south side of Whistler Peak. Oh and of course we ate some great food and found things to buy in the village.

This was the first time I stayed in the Windwhistle Condos (#402), but it won't be the last. It's located right in the village above the Whistler Grocery Store (near Citta's Bistro and the Amsterdam Cafe.) That condo could sleep six and has two separate decks overlooking the mountains. You can find the info on alluradirect.com if you're interested.

Plenty of pictures have been posted in the photo gallery. You can also click on the panorama below for the full size version. And finally, I have embedded a video of one of Mom's zip line runs.

Chelsea, Tim and I headed for Ocean Shores State Park this weekend for what is likely the last camping trip of the year. We set up late on Friday night and had a quick campfire before bed. Saturday morning we walked on the beach and then spent the afternoon riding mopeds. In Washington, the beach is a highway so there are cars out on the hardpacked sand (and stuck in the not so hard sand.) You can ride mopeds out there as well so we took full advantage of the opportunity. On Saturday night, we were joined by Cheryl, Joe, and Lisa. After a second chilly night, we woke up on Sunday for an hour long horse ride on the beach.

It was an action packed weekend, but the weather cooperated and I think we all had a great time. Pictures are posted in the gallery.

We're back from the big camping trip, and I happily declare it a success. There were some doubts about the weather, but the worst we got were a few sprinkles here and there. Thankfully Tim bought one of those tents that goes over the picnic table and that really saved the day. It kept stuff from falling on the table and gave us a respite from the rain when we needed it. Our days were filled with walks on the beach, a catamaran boat trip, a Flexi-straw challenge, and general laziness around camp fires.

I've been told that I don't post enough pictures, so this time I posted around 70. That's about 20% of the photos that were taken. Between Chelsea and I, I don't think anything was left undocumented.  It's a beautiful area. You'll need to book early to get a camp site, but it's worth the effort if you get a chance. Try to snag site #30. We had complete privacy. Nobody could see us while we sat around the campfire.

We also took a bit of video which again seems little a good match for stuff you find on YouTube. There's no editing or anything like that, but it might make you chuckle.

I walked around the campsites and saw license plates from all over the United States. When I was at Mt. St. Helens, I listened to the crowd shout out where they were from, "New York! Japan! Texas!" It makes me smile to know that I only had to drive an hour or two to get to these places.

[Photos] [Video]

Today a plan hatched in January comes to fruition. Seven month ago, we made reservations for the oh-so-popular Deception Pass State Park campground. This place fills up faster than a Bon Jovi concert in Atlantic City. The park is located in Puget Sound about 10 miles south of Anacortes. Translation: gorgeous.

We might have a few showers to contend with, but after surviving the monsoon camping trip, I'm not too worried. When it's not raining we'll be playing cornhole, watching Tim play with the fire, and inspecting the quality of some adult beverages. I'm really looking forward to this trip. We start today and don't come back until Monday so that will give us two full days on the site.

Have a good weekend!

Tim, Chelsea and I headed for Penrose Point State Park on Friday. It rained most of the day but stopped before we arrived at the site. We had just enough light to set up the tents before spending the rest of the night around the campfire. Saturday was full of cornhole, hiking, and sleeping. We packed up on Sunday morning and headed home. The weather was 75-80 and sunny all weekend.

It was a quick trip, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Expect to see more camping reports throughout the summer.

Pictures are posted in the gallery. I'll add more from Tim and Chelsea in a day or two.

I posted a bunch of pictures from our weekend in Dosewallips State Park. I think Chelsea has some more so I may add to this in the future. But these pictures should give you a basic idea of our weekend. The picture in this post shows how we lit our fires. Who needs matches when Tim has a blow torch?

[UPDATE] A few of you have asked about the picture of me holding a pot of beans. We needed to use that pot to boil some hot water for dishes in the morning so Tim and I decided to eat the leftover beans for breakfast. About three hours later we realized that may not have been the best idea.