Around 3 p.m. on December 31st, we made the decision to get out and play in the snow. Actually, I decided to track down an airbnb rental in the Cascade Mountains so we could have a mini getaway amongst the winter weather. The pickings were thin, but I managed to find a small apartment in the town of Ellensburg, Washington. Early New Year’s Day, we packed up the car for a winter road trip (including shovel and kitty litter… I know) and took off to Steven’s Pass. Long story short, there is no way we were hiking without snowshoes, the “ghost town” we visited was pretty disappointing, and the apartment we’d rented started with frozen pipes, then flooded. The good news the owner notified us before we showed up and she did offer to find us another rental; we declined. Instead we drove a few remote roads, took some pictures, and stopped at Snoqualmie Casino on the way home. We were way over-packed for a day trip and it was a lot of driving for one day, but we enjoyed seeing just how beautiful this state is… even if the dead of winter. Did I mention it was 7°?