Camp Like Noodle

Our Triumphant Return to Camping!

Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, ADA site #21 Campground||Muckleshoot (Coast Salish) land

September 19th-21st, 2025

Wow, our first camping trip in several years! I was so excited, that I basically couldn’t sleep from the time I made the reservation until we went, haha. Since it had been so long, I kind of packed absolutely everything I thought we might possibly need. Oops. At least it was with the intention of paring down for the next trip, though.

The kids’ grandma helped me get Majel, my 2003 Toyota Highlander, all loaded up. Having someone to help with these things really helps keep my energy levels from getting depleted too quickly. Once we were all set, we carried the kids out, and got their Sleepypods all buckled in.

Sieh yelled a couple of times as we were pulling out of the driveway, but other than that he was really chill. I made sure to play the Music for Cats CD (that I helped crowdfund!) and kept the AC on for most of the trip so that the kids wouldn’t get hot. I also have little window shades I can still see through but that block the sun.

I definitely froze from the AC, though. My hands were actually so stiff from the cold that I could barely get my mask on as we were approaching the check-in window at the welcome station, let alone the trouble of getting my ID and disability card out of my wallet, haha.

Got to our site around 3:30pm, and had only just barely gotten started setting up when our friend who is camping the first night with us arrived. Got the pop-up catio set up and moved the kids into it while I got everything else set up.

The naked campsite, before we got anything set up. Check out that smooth paving!

They were definitely pretty hesitant, and aside from Leeloo doing a quick skulk around the catio, they stayed in their pods and the mini-tent I brought. I was worried it was going to be like when our friend and I went to a campground at Lake Quinalt in the Olympic National Forest and they were nervous the whole time (mostly due to how many people were contantly walking past our campsite.)

Since we’re in the ADA site, the bathrooms, water, and garbage are all super close and convenient. The bathrooms are all private and they each have their own shower in them. The showers are free to use, with hot water until 10pm. So posh!

Ngl, I sprayed myself while filling our water jug. Like, drenched the leg of my shorts XD

You can buy ice and firewood from the welcome station with a card until they close at 4pm, and with cash from the two campground hosts for several hours after. Since I decided to not bring my big rubbermaid container of wood to save on space, I bought firewood from one of the hosts for $7 and got to meet Phoenix, his super cute and fat frenchie. She was very sweet and had fun showing me all her naughtiest behaviours, much to her dad’s annoyance, haha.

One of the mini-truck/golf cart things the camp hosts drive around in with the prices for firewood and ice on the side

I got back to our site and fixed the kids their dinner…except I couldn’t find the churu that I KNOW I packed. We started including the churu when I had to get the kids off of chicken and turkey due to the risk of bird flu transmission with raw food. I put them on one of the only fish-based raw foods, but my kids are not fish stick kids, they are chicken nuggie kids. Thanksgiving dinner kids.

It took a whole month for their little imprint eater brains to rewire to understand the raw fish as food, and churu is the only thing that got them through that, so they’re like, pretty committed to it. They barely ate their dinners because they didn’t want their “fish sticks” without their Inaba churu. Sigh.

Our friend and I had a really good fire for several hours, using the bundle that I’d bought and some random, like, wood baseboards or siding that someone had left behind.

We also roasted Japanese sweet potatoes (satsumaimo) in the fire. As our friend put it “well, we made sweet potato briquettes,” because the outsides were cremated, haha. I broke mine in half and ate the center out with a spoon. Better than ice cream!

We were maybe a bit impatient about roasting these XD

On the Kanaskat-Palmer State Park website, they mention that there can be infrequent train sounds due to a nearby line, so I honestly wasn’t expecting much. I was absolutely delighted when it turned out I’d be getting distinct train whistles throughout both night and day! I grew up in a small town where freight trains passed through every 15 minutes, so I am a huge fan of all sorts of train noise. Listening to the trains and the crackle of the fire was pure perfection.

The fire was perfect, with small snaps and crackles, and sparks that floated up into the night sky. It eventually burned down into a lovely bed of coals that glowed in pulsating bright red, and then died after burning every scrap of wood. The ideal.

Eventually ended up with this lovely bed of coals

After that, we washed up, and got ready for bed. I hauled the kids into Majel and got them in their pajamas. Leeloo has a new onesie to wear as a base layer, and it definitely helped keep her warmer than she would have been otherwise. One of Leeloo’s TBI manifestations is difficulty with temperature regulation. She gets chilled (and over-heated) much more easily than her brother.

Are they a little silly looking? Yeah. But do they keep this chilly kid warm? Also yeah.

In the past, she’s ended up in the sleeping bag with me, and Sieh would sleep elsewhere in the tent, or next to me. This time, Sieh was the one who crammed himself down by my hip, and Leeloo slept on my shoulder and chest, which is her norm at home. I kept opening the sleeping bag to make sure that Sieh got enough oxygen, haha.

The new Hest Foamy mattress I got was AMAZING. I absolutely cannot sleep on traditional camp sleeping pads anymore, and this mattress is like, as comfortable as my bed at home! I bought it because I was looking for something that was totally made of foam (no air mattresses to eventually end up leaking,) and I was hoping to get something from REI because I have a ton of reward points to use. I was not only able to get it for free, but it was even on sale, so I still have loads of points left. I love a good deal.

Overall, our bed set up worked great! I was able to keep the windows open about halfway because I had a combination of screens with mini awnings, and I also built some window frames with metal grid in the center to prevent the kids from going walkabout during the night. We stayed nice and dry thanks to the excellent ventilation!

One of the window guards I threw together, and a Roadie screen/awning

DAY 2

I woke up first, and started heating the water for tea. The kids appreciated getting their jammies off so that they could perform their morning ablutions.

Kitchen set up, with one stove for boiling water to make tea, and the other for food

Sleepy kid hanging out in bed, waiting for breakfast to be ready.

After making tea, I heated up more water so that I could wash my face. I’ve finally found a combination of products that keep my skin clear (apparently I should have been using Japanese products all along,) and I wasn’t willing to risk my skin breaking out again by not taking care of it just because I was in the woods.

Doesn’t understand why she should have to eat her breakfast before going exploring.

Like, HELLO?! The great outdoors is RIGHT THERE and you’re not gonna let me explore it over some BREAKFAST??

I got the kids’ breakfast ready, but I still couldn’t find the Churu, and no one wanted to eat without it *cries.* In spite of not having had her breakfast, Leeloo still wanted to come out of the pop-up catio for a wander around the campsite. I caved.

She was super interested in checking out Majel, and climbed all over her, jumping up into the window screen, and then climbing onto the roof and looking all around. Then she climbed on top of Majel again, taking advantage of the fine vantage point to take in the sights.

Leeloo standing in the Roadie screen/awning

A newer development in the Life and Times of Leeloo, is that in her ongoing quest to become more cat-like, she has recently started mimicking her brother when he eats his cat grass. At first she was just sort of haphazardly chewing and licking at the air, but she did eventually start actually eating a bit of the grass.

Unfortunately, this means that I no longer have just one kid who gets excited to try and eat all the greenery around us. She immediately started trying to eat the grass. Then, when I stopped her, she went for EVERY. OTHER. PLANT. Exhausting, haha.

This is in with the grass, is it edible too??

Her expression is so funny here, like what is even going on XD

Popped her back in the catio and started a systematic search for the Inaba Churu, and finally found it! They decided that the breakfast I’d made for them was perhaps a bit more palatable with it. I have to say, if Leeloo’s stomach could tolerate it, I’d totally feed them canned food when we go camping, because it would be a lot less hassle than the frozen raw.

Distracted midway through actually eating their breakfasts

Leeloo wanted to come out again, so we had another bit of a wander. Our friend was packing up since they were going to be leaving in the evening, so Leeloo took the opportunity to check out the inside of their car. Apparently it was SO INTERESTING.

I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have her learner’s permit. You can’t get that when you’re only 7 years old

Then she got out to go and sniff a sword fern. She is obsessed with sniffing sword ferns. We have one at home that she has to be carried away from, because she’ll just never stop sniffing it. I dunno what they put in those things, but apparently it’s crack.

Finally being lured away from the sword fern

Okay, what’s going on across the road at the bathrooms?

We all went into the catio to hang out for a while. Our friend and I played our bad licensed card games that we’d brought.

Mine was Friends of the Zodiac, which is based on the first, terrible anime adaptation of the Fruits Basket manga (the more recent adaptation is really good, though! You should watch it!) This adaptation was released several years before the end of the manga, so, like I said, it was bad. Two of the characters never even made it into the show, so they’re not represented in the card game with their names or pictures, haha.

This has to be some pretty rare merch XD

In spite of this, the game was surprisingly playable, if a bit complicated by my standards. Then again, I never play tabletop games, so I’m really not the best judge, haha.

I’ve had this game since the early 2000s and this is the first time it’s ever been played XD

This is what Sieh thinks of bad licensed games

After we collected all 12 Soumas for the Friends of the Zodiac, Sieh decided that he was ready to explore beyond the catio. He of course needed to eat some grass, as his number one small and fancy cow activity.

He’s like whatever the grass equivalent of a sommelier is

In stealth mode, not totally sure about this yet

Getting more relaxed. After all, there is grass, and there are trees.

Checking out what’s what while rocking the mini!blep

His whiskers are so gorgeous, like, I just…how???

He also got some tree worship in. Seriously, the way this kid looks at trees.

After that, it was time for our friend to head out for a legit boardgames night in the city, so we bid them a fond farewell. I was so glad they could be part of our return to camping!

The kids and I all piled into Majel and took a nap in the car together (card games take a lot of energy!)

Ready for a nap after thoroughly inspecting both cars

Sieh napping with his head on one of the electric handwarmers XD

In anticipation of some overnight rain, I got up briefly to put the rainfly on the catio, which I hadn’t done when I trialed it at home. It’s really thick, high quality fabric, very pleased with it.

I made the kids their dinners and then got settled back into bed for the night. We all put on our jammies and got snuggled up. It felt much warmer the second night! I had to fold my sleeping bag open and sleep on top of it with the blankets, because I kept getting overheated. And, of course, I had my two little heaters with me.

Peeking out at whatever just made a sound outside.

The rain came as predicted, and it was really lovely to be lying there, all warm and dry, listening to it pattering on the roof. The Roadie screens with their little awnings worked perfectly all night long, keeping bugs and rain out.

DAY 3

These kids were ready for their breakfast

Good morning, Starshine. The earth says “hello”

Climbed out of our warm and lovely nest to check on how the catio had fared in the rain. Just in case, I’d put the Sleepypods and the mini-tent up on the table and chair, but I needn’t have bothered. The floor of the tent was totally dry and everything inside stayed nice and dry. So incredibly pleased with this high-quality purchase.

The pop-up catio with its rainfly draped over it

I made the kids their breakfast, which they took in the catio, and fixed myself some instant miso and some milky tea to quickly fuel myself for my coming labours.

I started by packing up the kitchen stuff, and getting everything else organized. I had to pack up what I could while leaving the catio set up for the kids so that they wouldn’t have to be in their Sleepypods the whole time. I left the litterbox in for them as well. Once I had everything else in Majel, then they got buckled in.

Also, I swear it seems like every kind of spider ever tried to come home with us. One was on the food bag, but it was a super adorable jumping spider. I adore those are they don’t scare me at all. [Mini jump scare warning…get it? JUMP scare? Jumping spider?…I’ll just see myself out.]

Then there was big one on the rainfly, which was yikes. [YIKES WARNING]

Lastly, was the giant one missing a leg that had decided to insert itself between the floor of the catio and the groundcloth/footprint. Like, dude, WHY. It was so gross. I can’t even watch the video I took of it crawling. (There was also a secret 4th spider that DID make it home with us that I didn’t find until I was drying the catio out and went to put it away with the rainfly. Ugh.) Also, [BIGGER YIKES WARNING]

This katydid made it all the way home with us, but we do see maybe 1 or 2 of these a year, so transporting it an hour from its base shouldn’t be harmful. Hopefully, lol.

I was working down to the wire to get us all packed up in time for checkout (and I actually went 5 minutes over, sorry park rangers and camp hosts!) I had to fit everything in just perfectly because I brought so much stuff and I didn’t want to block my vision while driving. It was a really time-consuming strenuous process. Totally wore me out.

I gave the campsite a final, thorough inspection, and then we headed out. Home until next time!

Why We’ve Been Gone, and How We’re Coming Back to Cat Adventuring

Wow, it’s been like, six years since we posted on here. Initially, things had slowed down due to COVID hitting and needing to stay home when I wasn’t at work. Being an essential worker sucked, but it really reinforced a lot of the reasons that I was working on my masters degree so that I could get out of retail and become a teacher.

Since I wouldn’t be able to continue working and do my student teaching at the same time, I had to quit my job and say goodbye to my apartment in Seattle to move back home with my mom.

I don’t know if I ever got COVID asymptomatically from working with the public unmasked (back when we were told to reserve PPE for medical workers and the immunicompromised,) but once I moved home I crashed and I never recovered.

I made it through my student teaching and had a couple of months off before I could start subbing, and thought I’d be able to recover. I kept trying to take the kids for regular walks, especially since we now had a FANTASTIC paved trail a 5 minute drive from us, but I could only make it two or maybe three days in a row before I’d find myself back in bed for weeks.

Thankfully, I’d built a full size walk-in catio for them in my mom’s backyard that summer. They have access to it 24/7 (unless the air quality isn’t good,) and then spend a good amount of their days out there. So at least they still had easy access to fresh air and the outdoors.

I tried rehabing myself, assuming I’d just deconditioned after having gone from a super active lifestyle to being largely sedentary. No matter how slowly I worked myself up, I’d always hit a wall after a couple of days. I was completely baffled.

When I lived in Seattle, I worked a physically demanding retail job (lots of heavy lifting) 40 hours a week. Then, on my Friday, I’d drive up to my mom’s house, do her grocery shopping, her laundry, and clean the house. I’d stay the “weekend” so that I could volunteer at her school the next day for experience. On my “Sunday,” I’d volunteer for the morning class, then take my kids on a nice long hike, before heading back into the city. All this while taking anywhere from 12 to 18 master’s degree credits. I felt amazing. I felt unstoppable

After we moved home, I suddenly couldn’t even stay awake through the afternoon, and then the aforementioned issues with trying to be active. I kept trying and trying, and I kept failing. I also did PT for a few issues I’d been having, and while it totally fixed one of the issues, both sequences left me far worse off energy-wise. I couldn’t understand it.

Suddenly, I had a whole health care team I was bouncing around between. The cardiologist I saw while getting diagnosed with POTS told me that I had not actually deconditioned at all, which was my initial assumption.

Since we now knew I had POTS (thank you, Tiktok, for pushing those videos my way, haha,) I started trying to recover in a POTS kind of way. Starting super slowly, 2 minutes of very chill exercise on an elliptical I got off of Buy Nothing, increasing slowly. Nope, back in bed after a couple of days.

It would be 5 years from onset of symptoms until I finally got my ME/CFS diagnosis. I’d been having one of my regular appointments with my neurologist (who I was seeing for my POTS and migraines,) and I was explaining to her how it was so frustrating especially because I’d been so active before. I told her what a regular week used to look like for me before I got whammied, and she was like “you know you match the diagnostic criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, right?”

Which like, really fucking sucks. There’s no treatment and no cure. But at least now I know what I need to do to avoid making myself worse and losing more functionality.

So we don’t hike anymore. The kids loved it even more than I did, and I loved being able to give that to them, but it’s just not a realistic thing for me to do anymore.

I actually thought we’d lost camping, too. I tried a couple of times since becoming so disabled, but it was a bit of a mess, and would put me out of commission for ages. All while I was already getting worse from working my subbing jobs.

Since getting diagnosed with ME/CFS, though, I’ve been able to identify more specific things that make me worse, which allows me to eliminate or mitigate them.

Some big ones:

Driving: I’ve always found driving really relaxing. I’ve been the designated UHAUL driver for my extended friend group because it doesn’t stress me out at all. Once I drove 8 hours to my aunt and uncle’s vow renewal, hung out for the day, then drove 8 hours back, all because I could only get one day off from work for it, haha.

Now, if I have to drive half an hour somewhere, and then half an hour the next day, I’ll be in a Post-Exertional Malaise-induced crash for at least a week. I’ve found that if I only drive an hour, and then rest for the next day or so, it’s sort of doable.

Sadly, this means that every single one of the off grid wilderness campsites I used to go to is beyond my range. I’ve had to pivot to staying at paid campgrounds. This means that I’ve also had to do a bunch of research trying to find campgrounds that are open for tent camping year round, as I prefer camping in the off-season. Thankfully, with the Washington State permanent disabled parking placard I’m able to get half off of all campground stays in Washington State Parks. It also allows me to book ADA sites, and works as a Discover pass. Pretty handy!

Altitude: So, I live a bit above sea level. Which means the only way is up, haha. I really can’t handle elevation gain anymore. It can increase a little, but not a lot.

Bending over/lifting my arms/standing: My rollator takes care of the standing bit, but setting up camp requires a lot of bending and lifting. Neither are totally avoidable, but I’ve found ways to mitigate and limit how much I need to do either.

I bought what I call the “pop-up catio” that I can take for the kids to hang out in while we’re camping. It’s a screened in room with a floor, and a rainfly that can be put on. It’s incredibly sturdy, and easy to set up, with a pop-up roof, and walls that you pop out. There’s no working on the ground with poles, etc like there would be with a regular tent. This item was a real find, and none of this would be possible without it.

I also got (again, for free on Buy Nothing) one of those Yakima rooftop cargo boxes. While I do have to lift my arms to load and unload it, it saves me from having to super carefully Tetris everything into the car, which is less time spent standing, walking, and lifting. It’s a worthwhile trade off.

We’ve also pivoted to sleeping in the car when we go. It’s warmer, and I don’t have to worry about the kids somehow getting out during the night to go exploring (Sieh might try to go hunting.)

Anyhow, we’ve had to really change how we get outside. I plan on picking back up with updating this blog again, but it’s definitely going to look different from now on. No more hiking, and none of the road trips I always thought I’d be taking with my kids once I had summers off.

Hiking on the Bike Trail

Location: Iron Horse State Park & Olallie State Park || Duwamish, sdukʷalbixʷ (Snoqualmie), and Puget Sound Salish land
Date: December 3rd, 2019
Activity: Winter Hike

We were originally going to do the Palouse to Cascades tunnel trail, but it’s not actually marked on any of the maps we saw at the various kiosks (there are quite a few trailheads in this area), and we didn’t have cell service, so we decided to try out the Iron Horse State Park trail. When I initially set the goal to visit as many of the Washington State Parks with the kids as possible, I had intended on leaving this state park towards the end. I assumed that with such a wide trail (and bikes…Leeloo HATES bikes), it couldn’t possibly offer a good hike. I am happy to have been proven wrong! It also gave us a chance to work on some desensitization concerning the bikes.

And here’s Banana again! She’s down to 18.2 pounds from her adoption weight of 24 pounds!

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Sometimes this is how Leeloo rides.

And sometimes like this.

She had a lot of fun stomping through the dry grass at the side of the trail.

We saw a smaller service-looking trail off to the left at one point, and hiked up a small hill to check out the view of the other side. Cool view, but it looks like it wasn’t actually an official trail, so I feel badly about using it. We try to only stick to official trails as part of Leave No Trace, and for preventing erosion.

While we were up on the hill, I snapped this sweet selfie with Sieh. For some reason he really reminds me of Baby Yoda!

Even Sieh decided that he wanted to get out and hike a bit! Also, what is with this sultry look??

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There were so many interesting things to see (and climb on) along the way

After a couple of miles we came upon the connection with Olallie State Park’s trail.

This trail is WONDERFUL. It’s a gentle grade with switchbacks that you almost don’t notice, and the scenery is GORGEOUS. I kept exclaiming how beautiful it was the whole way. We really are so lucky to live in such a beautiful state, and especially on the west side of the mountains where it’s so GREEN. Phew! That was a lot of capslock!

Look at this ridiculous animal.

Sieh wanted to get his walk on for a bit. Check out his saunter!

What is this pose??

So majestic~

He’s so ridiculously cute.

How is he so pure?

So many beautiful sights~

Here comes Banana again! She’s such a great little hiker!

And then back to the Iron Horse trail!

We finished our adventure by letting Sieh have a wander in the park near the parking lot. He ate some grass, and had a potty in the moss.

Then he sat in the back of Majel with me for some downtime before heading out.

Leeloo was ready to go home, so after gazing out the window for a bit she put herself in Sieh’s Sleepypod.

All tuckered out after adventuring~

Extra Photos:

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Funny little owl~

I am exactly this charming in real life.

Thanks for following along with our adventure!

A hike through virgin forest~

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Location: Rockport State Park ||Nłeʔkepmx Tmíxʷ (Nlaka’pamux), Skagit, and Puget Sound Salish land
Date: November 20th, 2019
Activity: Leeloo’s winter birthday hike!

This was Leeloo’s birthday adventure! Leeloo loves narrow forested trails the best, so I made sure to pick a hike that she would particularly enjoy.

This park has a few short trails, including the ‘interpretive loop’ that is considered ADA-compliant. It is not paved, but it did seem to be well maintained and 36″ wide, with ‘challenge-grade’ sections. I believe that it should be paved if they want it to be truly accessible.

Leeloo leapt out of the backpack right away to get her hike started!

Jamie and Banana came along, too!

Early on, the trail diverged with one short segment of path going to a massive downed tree. On its side, this tree was as tall as I am! (I look taller in this photo because Jamie is shorter than I am and standing slightly downhill.)

The kids had so much fun clambering all over the log!

Leeloo wanted to climb on every interpretive sign that we came across! It was so funny, especially since she’s never shown an interest in signs before.

Leeloo did quite a bit of hiking,

and she also took some breaks and rode on and in the backpack (and often ON Sieh! She’s sitting on him in the backpack, you can see his sweater through the mesh.)

We found this cool living wall covered in plants and fungi.

Check out this sweet frame that the forest made! Leeloo is so cute, giving me a kiss! Both kids greet me when I come home from work with kisses.

All too soon we finished our hike and it was time to go! Since Sieh didn’t hike much this time I made sure to let him have a bit of an explore around the picnic area before we left. He was very satisfied and went into his Sleepypod without a complaint.

This is such a beautiful area, we are looking forward to visiting nearby Rasar State Park soon, as well.

SIDE NOTES FROM THE ADVENTURE

I had tried to save some money by using my mom’s 25+ year-old hiking boots that I found in her garage instead of buying new boots. Unfortunately, this ended about as well as you might imagine. By the time we got to the park, my left boot had detached at the back from the sole, and partway through the hike detached the rest of the way with the right boot joining it. Thankfully, I always carry a small amount of paracord in my car, Majel, so I was able to tie the soles to the boots. It worked surprisingly well, except on pavement it felt like I had slices of bread tied to my feet. I looked like someone through-hiking the PCT, not taking a short and easy ramble!

This place is so gorgeous! It’s so special and amazing to be in a virgin-growth forest.

Don’t you want to follow this grassy path wherever it may go?

Check out this little mushroom Banana and Jamie found. [Never let your dog eat rando mushrooms they find outside. Yet another reason to keep your dog on leash.]

At first, I read this sign as “Hosts of Duty”, which of course lead to me bellowing it in to the tune of “Lost in Space”/”Pigs in Space”. Was rather disappointed when, upon getting closer, I saw there were two ‘F’s.

Here’s Jamie and Banana with the state park sign.

Look at this ridiculous animal with her holiday bow.

Folx, these TRAILS.

A Trip to the Fort!

Location: Fort Casey State Park || Klallam and Tulalip land
Date: 11/12/19
Activity: Exploration!

Sorry for the lack of updates! I’m now in grad school working on my masters in addition to working retail full-time, so we haven’t been doing quite as much adventuring lately (no camping at all this year!) Now that I’m into the swing of things with balancing school, work, and life, I’m going to try to post a little more diligently. (I may even get to some of the backlog of adventure photos that have built up.)

Jamie and I took the kids to Fort Casey! I hadn’t been there since my entire 5th grade class did an overnighter there (“Camp Casey”). I remembered how much fun it was to run around in the old fort, and thought it would make a great outing for the kids. bananananana (2)

We also brought along our newest companion! Jamie adopted Banana at the beginning of September. She’s been learning all about leash manners, manners with other dogs, manners with humans…she’s learning a lot of manners. And she’s doing great! She’s quite clever, and has been quick to figure out the ins and outs of being a city dog. She’s a delight to have around, and she always makes us laugh with her crazy antics. [Also, yes, we know she’s a bit plump. She’s already lost more than 4 pounds and is on her way to losing more! Follow along to watch her get slimmer with every adventure!]

It was cool and drizzly, so there was hardly anyone else there, which is just the way we like it!

We may have gotten a bit silly with our unsupervised antics (yes, we loaded her into the gun…CANNONBALL!!!), but Banana was on her best behaviour.

I kept checking to see if the kids were interested in getting out of their backpack, but they were quite happy to take in the experience through the mesh.

It took a while, but eventually Leeloo got used to the weird echoing sounds (the Fort is like, 100% concrete) and decided to chance some exploration!

She had fun stomping around the one end of the fort, and even dragged me into some areas that were pitch black to human eyes! Thankfully Jamie had his phone flashlight handy!

A grandpa playing with his grandkids and making spooky yelling sounds proper freaked out Leeloo, so we decided we’d go check out the light house, which is a good ways away. On the walk over, it started drizzling again and Leeloo decided she’d had enough of this outing and asked to be let back into the backpack.

The lighthouse is pretty cute, and seasonally has an interpretive center and gift shop available. Today was not seasonal, unfortunately.

The field we’d crossed to get to the lighthouse was COVERED in lots of different kinds of poop (rabbit, deer, goose…???), so we decided to take a different path back to the car. See those quail? They’re probably pooping on the lawn, too.

Sieh decided that he wanted to get out and stretch his legs for a bit.

And by ‘stretch his legs’ I of course mean ‘eat grass like some sort of tiny fluffy grazing animal.’

I let him wander and graze for a bit, and then it was time to go.

Goodbye until next time, Fort Casey! You were fun!

Other photos of the fort:
This was definitely the freakiest part of the entire fort! It was like something out of a horror or survival video game. Jamie was too scared to even make it past the threshold, but I went all the way in! I couldn’t really video or take photos because it was pitch black, so just imagine something super scary. One whole room was covered in moths…just the one room.
This place is like an old playground: super fun because it’s super dangerous! I’m not kidding, when you’re on the very top level of the fort, there’s no railing. You could just fall off, lol! Let’s just say that this place is not up to current building code, and is DEFINITELY not ADA-compliant. Though they’re adding in a sidewalk for a bit of increased access?
I love a good blasted tree.
Peaceful birds, yo.
This sign is so delightful. In my opinion, the park shop should sell gear with THIS printed on it.
There’s so many cool places to take photos here! I’m in some sort of guard towery-bunker thing!
If you squint, you can see Jamie doing his very best Kilroy impression.
You can actually get down to the beach from the top of the fort.
Obligatory Washington state ferry photo.
Photos just look so much more interesting when you take them from inside a concrete box!
This is apparently where they kept their dragons tethered.
This area was neat, but only one part of it wasn’t blocked off. Makes you wonder what all the extra dangerous stuff is that they have to protect us from.

Snowy Cougar Mountain Adventure

Location: Cougar Mountain, Bellevue, WA – stolen Duwamish land

Date: March 5th, 2019

Activity: Hike and trail walking

The snow finally melted enough for us to get out for a real walk! All of the trails have been snowed in for weeks, but we were able to power through today! It was cold, and there was snow still on the ground, but the sun was shining really brightly! A beautiful day for a hike!

The kids have really lost a lot of their trail walking manners! I was so appalled! By the end of last hiking season, they were both heeling on a walk, and staying really focussed on the trail, but now they’re all over the place wanting to off-road explore and sniff everything. Obviously they get to do a lot of that anyway, but we had it worked out so that they got their farting around done during rest breaks. Obviously this means that I just need to get them back out on some actual hikes ASAP.

We started off with tio Jamie and me each walking a kid, but quickly found that they were much less distracted being out one at a time.

Leeloo responds very well to whistles, so I kept up a little melody as we walked to encourage her to keep the pace.

The kids had a BLAST. They got to cross bridges and streams, check out trees, and stomp through the snow. Sieh got to inspect plenty of trees. I was really impressed with Leeloo, because she normally asked to be picked up immediately when there’s ice or snow, but she just kept going today! I really need to see about getting the kids something for their feet, but none of the really good boot brands make them small enough. Maybe some latex-dipped socks just to help a bit.

Downed trees are a lot of fun.

Leeloo begged to climb a tree that had a large part of its trunk split off (we normally don’t get snow like we had, so the trees really suffered). She was so happy, she couldn’t stop kneading the air!

Lunch break!

Leeloo likes to ride on top of the backpack, but I have to make sure I hold tight to the leash because she falls off easily. Most of the time her balance issues aren’t that noticeable, but for feats like this her cerebellar hypoplasia becomes very apparent!

Sieh was very brave and leapt across this icy stream! (Check out his instagram @sweetyboysieh for footage of the event!)

He then sat very patiently while I took a picture of him sitting on a log,

and he was rewarded with being lifted up to investigate some strange marks on a tree.

I didn’t manage to get a video of it, but after watching me pick my way carefully across a stream, Leeloo started to follow. She carefully chose all the same stones I had stepped on, until she got distracted, and then just stomped the rest of the way through the frigid water.

This is Sieh’s most favourite tree of all time.

Near the end of our hike, we found a great big hollow tree. Sieh found a lair at its base and decided that he was now a forest cat, and that the hole was his home. I had to trick him with freeze-dried minnows to get him to come out!

Then, when I let him climb up in a split section of the tree, he got SO MAD when I told him he couldn’t climb any higher. He yelled so loudly, with his best angry face. He was pissed!

This was such a nice start to the hiking season, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings!

Another Snowy Stroll

Location: Tambark Creek Park – stolen Snohomish land

Date: February 26th, 2019

Activity: Stroll

Took a break from my konmari efforts (finishing up by going through all my childhood stuff that I’ve had stored at my mom’s, it’s quite the undertaking but I’m getting rid of almost everything, which feels great!) to get the kids outside. It’s still super cold so we were all bundled up. Their gramma, auntie Haley, cousin Kai, and friend Jackson came too! We made quite the procession through the neighbourhood, haha.

Most of the way the kids rode in the stroller because it was so cold, but they did get out to walk once we got to the park and they could check out the trail.

I put Leeloo up on the railing of this bridge so that she wouldn’t have to walk on the icy snow (she’s a big baby about the cold, just like her momma!)

Even Sieh appreciated the lift!

We didn’t hang around long because it was cold and getting colder as the light faded, but I did manage to capture this crazy action shot of Leeloo before we left. I have no idea how my phone camera managed this, haha.

Snowy Park Adventure

Location: May’s Pond Park – stolen Snohomish land

Date: February 20th, 2019

Activity: Stroll

There was still a lot of snow on the ground but I wanted to get the kids outside for at least a while. Auntie Haley came over with cousin Kai, and we all went together with my mom to a small park nearby.

There were so many branches on the ground! The snow was much heavier up at the kids’ gramma’s house. Their gramma used the snow that she shoveled from the sidewalk and driveway to make really cool snow sculptures, but no one had shoveled the park, especially not in the way back away from the cars.

Sieh is a champ in the snow, but even his little fluffy feet started to get cold and wet.

Leeloo never asks to be held (though she loves snuggles at bedtime!), and doesn’t tolerate it for long, but her little feet got cold in the snow and she jumped right into my lap!

Soon we were all pretty chilled (except Haley!) so we walked back to my mom’s. The kids and I grabbed our stuff and drove home, and found a surprise waiting for us! The kids’ Sleepypods had arrived! These were my first Taxmas purchase this year. Now the kids can ride in super comfort, and I can relax knowing that they finally have crash-tested (and passed) car seats.

Bonus shots of a few of my mom’s snow sculptures.

5 Minute Backyard Snow Adventure

Location: Seattle, WA – stolen Duwamish land

Date: February 4th, 2019

Activity: Toddle around the backyard

Not much happening on the cat adventuring front here at Camp Like Noodle this week because it’s Seattle Snowpocalypse 2019. This is day two of the snow really setting in (we eventually got well over a foot, closer to two), and we live on a very steep hill so I’m stuck at home with two kids who aren’t really all that keen on the cold.

I took the kids out into the yard to check out the snow.

Sieh picked about and nibbled some of the grass that was still poking up through the snow,

but pretty quickly decided that he’d rather be inside.

I had to carry Leeloo out into the snow,

and then she turned right around and headed back to the apartment.

Nice and warm inside!

Walk through the Wetland to Newsroom coffee (x2!)

Location: North Creek Park & Newsroom Coffee Shop – stolen Snohomish land

Dates: January 29th & 30th, 2019

Activity: Stroll in the pram

This week it’s a two-for-one deal here at Camp Like Noodle! I volunteer on my days off at a local middle school, and normally I’m only there briefly in the morning on Tuesdays, with a full day of volunteering on Wednesday. It’s super fun, and I get to do so much math! This leaves me most of Tuesday for adventuring with the kids. Well, due to schedule weirdness, I volunteered all day this particular Tuesday, so we had two mini adventures instead of one big one.

DAY ONE:

We had to hustle in order to get our walk in before it got dark, but we managed to nab Jackson on our way out the door, and headed for the park.

We walked sooo quickly through the wetland, because we wanted to have a little time to relax once we got to the Newsroom. My mom was way ahead of us the whole way because she’s a teacher and has the ‘teacher walk’.

We got to the Newsroom in record time, and the kids got to enjoy a pup cup (whipped cream in a tiny bowl).

Leeloo, what is that expression???

After they finished their pup cup, we headed back to the wetland, and were we ever in for a treat! Almost all of the crows in Seattle don’t actually stay in Seattle at night. They all fly up together in shifts to the University of Washington’s Bothell campus! It’s an incredibly coordinated effort, and is pretty amazing when you get to see it. They vary which areas they use for staging areas along the way, and we got lucky in that we were at the wetlands at the same time they were!

It was seriously like Hitchcock’s The Birds, haha. They were EVERYWHERE. Thankfully, because we weren’t in a horror movie, no one had their eyes pecked out and we made it safely back to the car and home.

DAY TWO:

Today we walked with Haley and Kai! We drove to the trailhead to save time, and Kai rode in the back back like a real dog! He was such a good boy! The kid’s gramma met up with us after we’d gotten to the Newsroom, and then we all walked back together.

The sun was setting, and the sky was beautiful!

We convinced their gramma that we needed to stop and let the kids walk for a bit (Sieh, in particular, gets very upset if he isn’t allowed out of the stroller every so often.)

Bonus pic: right before I snapped this pic, Kai actually play-bowed at Sieh! It was so frigging cute! Wish I’d managed to capture it, because right afterwards Kai got nervous and backed off haha. After that we headed back to the car and home.