My favorites!

My son Joshua is such an amazing human. I know parents talk about how great their kids are, but I know this guy the real deal. Riley, our dog was adopted from the Humane Society and really just fits in perfect into the family.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding Portland

So I started paddle boarding this summer as wanting something new and fun to do with my son Joshua and hopefully get some friends to join me sometime. I had always admired looking at this who would SUP in the ocean and so I became inspired to start learning. 

I like to try and get my son outside doing adventurous things me so he will have some pretty cool memories and learn new skills. I always say that you won’t have anything great to talk about when you stay inside playing video games. Joshua thought it was going to be boring and did not want to go unless we could take our dog. So June 6th, I called the rental place in Portland and they where more than happy to let us take our dog Riley. Riley was having too much fun riding Joshua’s board then jumping off to swim to mine. He would go between the two boards several time. This day happened to be the Rose festival weekend in Portland in which the river is crowded with boats. All the boaters seemed to enjoy watching Riley getting a free ride on the SUP. We started out sitting down when the boats would pass (or Riley was about to jump off the board) because they would leave big waves for us to try and ride out and not fall from. Eventually we learned to ride it out while standing. This was such a fun day. Seeing all the other people out of the water, laying down sunbathing on the board, enjoying the river and seeing Portland from river.When we were done Joshua told me how much fun he had and he was not expecting to like it. 

July 19th we went with some friends, Christina and her son Harrison, who where inspired by our last trip. I had been asked by Next Adventure in Portland if they could use some of my photos from some of my adventures this past year for advertisement, which I said yes, so they gave us all our rental equipment that day at no cost! My friend and I paddled for nearly two hours up river. It was very peaceful which not as many boaters but several kayakers. In typical PNW fashion everyone you pass is super friendly. I am glad we paddled up river first and I highly recommend it because coming back is a breeze. We had left the boys to enjoy there own time SUPing and when we came back we found the boys jumping off the Tilikum bridge lower support area filming themselves. They where very careful to not let go of the boards and let them float down river thank goodness. For Christina and I we had a fun and peaceful day. They boys had an extremely fun time and something cool to talk about. Now Joshua and I are hoping to get our own boards for next year!

Mt. Hood Summit

When a fellow hiker Noelle asked if I wanted to summit Mt. Hood I could not turn this opportunity down. I could not sleep at all that night after agreeing to go. Excited, nervous, fearful, I had several emotions rotating through me. After all, I had never climbed a mountain like this before. This was going to be epic for me, but being a mom I think I had more fear than many would because of the cost to my son and family if something went wrong. 

I had never actually met Noelle before. We met on our online hiking group and exchanged messages. We met that morning at 5 am in Sandy and drove together from there to Mt. Hood where we would meet up with her friend Jon. He has tons of experience climbing and had climbed Hood many times before so that made me feel safe. But what made me nervous was how late we were getting started during that day. Most people start in the middle of the night to get down before the sun warms the ice. The risk of falling ice, rocks or yourself increases the later you start. It had been hotter than normal already this year and the snow had been melting sooner than normal. But I pushed my fear aside and went with my excited emotion instead. We hit the trail at about 7:30 that morning.

"Slow and steady" is what Noelle would tell me when I felt like I was slowing them down at all. It made me feel better. I did get some leg cramps at one point in my quads. I had been drinking a lot of water but probable not enough. Nothing a little gel pack of GU energy with amino acids and caffeine couldn't fix and I soon felt better. We climbed a little further and sat and ate a real snack before we started to head over to the hogs back. We had to pass our first crevasse and fumarole. It is kinda crazy to think that Mount Hood is always emitting volcanic gas. I know it is a volcano but it is alive and well. And you never really think about how alive it is because you just see it as Oregon's tallest mountain. It's a bit stinky up there too with the gas going out of it.

Fumarole

After climbing up the hogs back you have the large crevasse you have to go around. We saw a group of climbers who looked like they tried to climb up the pearly gates and were taking hours to come back down and around this crevasse. We thought about going up the pearly gates but there was just too much rock fall making it not the best route. Once getting to the other side of this crevasse it was time to make our way up the home stretch of the old chute.

Crevasse

Although the climb up this point was long and tiring, it was not difficult or what I felt, posed any danger. This last stretch up was the steeper part where I feel like I had to watch my step. This is where my crampons and ice axe got some use. Making sure I secured my toes into the ice and my axe down into the ice so I did not slip, I followed Noelle and Jon up to the summit.

Coming up the old chute

"I made it! Holy shit I made it! Oh my goodness!" It was beautiful. The view and the feeling inside me was beautiful. As I peaked my head up over the ledge and took a look around I felt overwhelmed and overjoyed I could not believe I was there. I just wanted to soak it in. We all congratulated each other and others who also made it to the summit.

Reaching the summit

The true summit

Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helen's behind me from the summit

Looking east from the summit

From where I first made it up on top I had to walk over to the right a little further to reach the "true summit". We took pictures and talked to others up there and took in the views. The man who climbed up behind me carried his skis up and had a parachute in his backpack. We watched him ski off the summit which was pretty epic. There where three guys who climbed up with their snowboards who snowboarded down the old chute. I was sure they where going to get hurt but to my surprise they made it down okay. That takes guts and skill cause it looked deadly to me.

We decided to rope up for the climb down the chute. Jon gave a little safety talk before going down. I don't really remember what he said but I remember teasing him about not giving it to me earlier. Getting turned around and taking that first step down was a little scary and awkward. I think it felt scary because I was going down backwards and could not see where I was stepping as well. I feel like this made me be more cautious about making sure my ice axe and crampons where secured into the ice with each step back down. We ended up climbing down to the "hot rocks" and walked across them to the hogs back. Just past the hogs back where we passed the first fumarole we encounter climbing up, we stopped for a few minutes. We took our rope, crampons, and helmets off and packed our things away in out backpacks. From here we glissaded down as far as we could and then walked our way back to the cars.

Climbing back down

My climbing partners John and Noelle on the summit

In all it took up about 12 hours. I really have to thank Noelle and Jon for such an amazing day. I overcame some fears and accomplished a goal. Now I have a list of mountains to summit. It kinda gets addicting.

Mt. Jefferson

Jefferson Park is a stunning basin of alpine lakes and wildflowers at he base of Mount Jefferson. Once the blanket of snow melts in early summer, the wildflowers begin to bloom around July in a typical snow pack year. This makes July through September the best time to visit. 

Whitewater Creek Trailhead has parking for about 25 cars. The trail climbs through a dense forest of Douglas fir trees. Small sections of the trail cross boulder fields which you will have small boulders to walk over like stepping stones. After a few miles into the hike you will begin to notice the trees thin out and you are welcomed with views. Walking along a ridge you can catch views along the way such as Whitewater lake and Whitewater Creek Waterfall. You will come to a water crossing where you must walk through Whitewater creek. This is the only creek crossing without a bridge. The trail soon joins up on the PCT for the remainder of the hike into Jefferson park. You will get some stunning views of Mt Jefferson along the way with lovely meadows full of wildflowers. 

Once you enter Jefferson Park you will be treated to the amazing beauty of this area. The lakes offer views which reflect the mountain as if they are mirrors. Wildflowers abound and places to explore will have you wanting to visit again. This hike can be done as a there and back day hike or an overnighter.

Be aware that there are no campfires aloud. 

Adhere to trails as the vegetation is fragile.

Mosquitoes are no joke here so be prepared with spray. 

Camping is permitted in designated sites only.

Designated campsites  within 250 feet of a lake requires a reservation through reservation.gov. 30 sites around 5 lakes will be available. A reservation is required between Memorial day and October 1st with May 1st being the day reservations open.

You may camp in a pre-existing campsite outside of the 250 feet designated area if all campsites are reserved. 

Maui, Hawaii

Maui, I love this island. After picking up our Jeep at the airport it was off to Costco to pick up some things for the week. I found it a little cheaper than just eating out every meal to do this. As we reached the west side of the island you start to drive up north along the ocean. I cannot believe myself or anyone did not crash looking out at the ocean. For one, the ocean is stunning but two, the whales. Literally the whales breaching was insane. It was nonstop and I just wanted to watch.

We safely arrived at our hotel, Kaanapali Beach Hotel and got all checked in. I really enjoyed this hotel. The location was great, right on one of the best beaches in the world and along the the beach walk which provides many things to do and see. Black rock is a rocky peninsula that provides snorkeling and a place to dive into the ocean. The water is pretty mellow so not great for surfing but for just spending a great day at the beach.

Black Rock at night

Kaanapali Beach with Black Rock in the background

Turtle I saw while snorkeling along Kaanapali Beach

Kaanapali Beach has a path that is about 1.5 miles long. This is a great path to take because it is along the beach and you can visit all the hotels along the beach as well as The Whalers village which hosts great shopping and restaurants. I loved walking the path in the morning to the other end and buy my coffee at the Starbucks and watch the whales jumping. Many people use this path to do their morning run or walk as well. Sometimes during the day there are booth set up for shopping. Sort of like a farmers market. In the evening after watching the sun set the path is a great place to take a stroll, eat dinner outside along the beach with tiki torches lit and live music.


The north east coast of Maui has a different yet beautiful feel. I drove over to find Nakalele Blowhole which at times would be explosive and others not so much. While climbing back up from visiting the blowhole I found the heart in a rock. A must see on the north west part of the island is Honolua Bay. This place is stunning and a great place to snorkel as well.

Honolua Bay

Driving south east along the road to Hana is a must do with so much to see. I would definitely plan a whole day for this. We stopped many time to see the beauty along the way. There are hikes, waterfalls, places to eat and just so much to make you pull over and take your time.

Coconut Glens ice cream

Wai'anapanapa Black Sand Beach

Cave/tunnel 

Hike to freshwater caves you can swim in

We arrived at our destination Kipahulu National Park. We hiked the 4 mile round trip  Pipiwai trail along streams, waterfalls and a bamboo forest. We reached the stunning 400 foot Waimuko Falls. The hike is across the road and is not difficult. Many people enjoy swimming the seven pools near this area so if you have time for this it is n the ocean side.

Large Banyan tree

Yes, I hiked in a skirt and flip flops! :-)

Lahaina, just south of Kaanapali offers unique shops, plenty of places to eat, grocery shopping, farmers markets and so much more. Parking is free in one lot with another being free for three hours. All other lots you must pay but if you buy from local stores you can have parking validated. The large banyan tree is the site of a large market where locals sell there art. From Lahaina harbor we embarked on our scuba diving excursions with Lahaina Divers. The crew where tons of fun and very knowledgeable. On all of our boat rides to dive locations we saw whales breaching and even swimming right next to our boat. They where nice enough to stop and let us watch the whales. A whale watching tour is something many pay for but we got an amazing two for one deal here!

Our first dive location was at Molokini Crater. While on every dive trip Joshua and I ask to go where we are most likely to see a shark our wish came true here. Not only did we see the stunning marine life but we saw 4 white tip reef sharks tucked under a ledge. They where just resting and not too interested in us. They did swim out and back in to give us a good look at them. The other cool thing about this dive spot is it is like am amphitheatre with sounds of the whales being amplified to where I could have swore they where swimming literally right next to me. But according to the dive master, they can be miles away and sound that close because of the shape of the crater. I still kept looking all around to look for one.

Joshua goofing off

An eel's face is hiding but he is there. 

Our other dive spots were a place they call the Second Cathedral and Lighthouse. These spots are off the shore of Lanai. Second Cathedral is neat because it has caves and sea arches to swim through.  And lighthouse was neat too with the some in another group seeing a shark but I missed this one.

Sunset in Kaanapali

Hard Rock Cafe in Lahina

Milagros in Pa'ia

He has to have is shave ice

Don't forget to visit the south end of the Island. If you are lucky you can see a pod of dolphins if you drive past Makena about as far as the road goes. There are beautiful beaches along this area and this is also where I was told at the time that Steven Tyler lives. The beach below we had to ourselves. The hotels is Wailea are beautiful just to look at as well. Maui has tons to offer and we hope to go back soon. Mahalo for reading and Aloha!

Resources to prepare for this trip were from my Aunt Sue and the Maui Revealed book.