We have a bit of a backlog on photos, but here’s a set from our recent camping trip to Kanaskat-Palmer State Park. This was our fourth year camping, the second with Dom, and first with just the Derecola clan.  We elected to stay in a yurt again this year – it’s a great combination of spending most of your day outdoors and having enough indoor space for Dom to sleep somewhat normally. We’ve actually figured out how to use his crib mattress with a play yard as his bed… and also that we could carry them in our roof box.

We spent most of the weekend walking around the campground, hanging out at our camp, and playing in the Green River that’s adjacent to the park. The water was pretty chilly – probably in the 60s – but Dom didn’t seem to mind once he got used to walking around on rocks. He spent the entire time picking up rocks and throwing them in the water. As in, that’s literally all he did… and he thought it was awesome. I took a swim in the river; something I’ve realized I haven’t done enough of lately.

I was actually surprised by this campground, given it’s only 40 minutes outside Seattle and an hour from home. We’ve driven as far as 6 hours (8 with traffic) to camp, so this was a welcome change – especially with a toddler. It’s missing the grandiose reasons for going to some of the places we have, but it’s a perfectly acceptable way to escape life for awhile. There’s no cell service, you can hear the river, and most everyone was friendly. The place is definitely more of a weekend spot for locals (lots of campers) vs. the hipster outdoor folks with their slacklines.

Dom slept pretty well and the weekend was relatively painless… if not tiring chasing a toddler non-stop… so maybe we’ll be switching back to a tent for our fifth year? We’ve also been talking teardrop trailers, so who knows. Oh, the weather was great. We rarely get that lucky.