It was now time to work on our project of visiting all ~430 National Park Service sites. We passed the halfway point earlier this year but still have plenty remaining. Despite our many cross-country road trips, there are a handful of parks that were just a little too far off our route to make it... Continue Reading →
After a fun filled week in Des Moines visiting family, it was time to head further west. We left around noon and got to our hotel in Omaha. Our original plan was to take a day to visit the Omaha zoo. Over the last couple of months, we realized that Omaha had more drawing us... Continue Reading →
First up for our summer trip was a week in Des Moines to visit Angela's cousin Katie and her family (husband Jared and kids Dillon and Evan). Their boys are close in age and almost identical in interests to Gareth and Gavin. The adults all get along great too, and it's always an enjoyable and... Continue Reading →
During one of our homeschooling days, Angela noticed a cat carrying something across the yard. Upon further inspection, she and the kids realized it was kittens. The mother was moving them, one at a time, from one neighbor's yard to another. Gavin and Angela went to the wood pile she moved them to and saw... Continue Reading →
We've been absent from posting for longer than we intended. I ended last year's adventures with what I thought was a relatively minor knee injury. I instead spent the winter and spring in physical therapy getting back to a semblance of the trail fitness I had last year. That being said, we haven't been idle. ... Continue Reading →
Day 3 We were up before sunrise and took our time enjoying coffee on the lakeshore. Once we left camp, it was the typical long climb to start the day. Unlike the last 2 days, my knee pain kicked in from the start. Uphills hurt like yesterday's downhills, and downhills turned into excruciating slow descents.... Continue Reading →
I took a day off in Portland to give my knee a rest in hopes it would feel better. It did, and Matt and I headed out the next morning hike the 70-mile stretch from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. Day 1 We hit the road early to get the 4-hour drive out of the... Continue Reading →
Day 3 Similar to yesterday, I woke to the sound of rain and took my time getting ready, hoping it would let up before I started. The rain was stubborn, and I wasn't in too big of a hurry, so I didn't get on trail until a little after 9 am. Most of the morning... Continue Reading →
I started this section hoping for great views of Mt. Rainier as I'd spend a couple days passing to the east of it. What I got instead was rainy mornings and cloudy skies, but the bright side was temperatures were cool and comfortable. Day 1 Angela drove me to White Pass to start, and it... Continue Reading →
I'll preface this with saying this was not my favorite stretch of trail. I'm almost convinced it's some sort of sadistic attempt to connect and traverse as many burns as possible. The sad reality is that there are vast areas of Oregon that are fire scorched, and many are added every year. Day 1 I... Continue Reading →
Emge Adventures 