For a while now, Rachel and I have talked about how fun it would be to do a multi-day bike ride with our family. The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, very close to where we live, happens to be a well maintained, paved, rails-to-trails bike path. It features beautiful scenery, starting out near a mountain stream, following it as it runs down the canyon into a wetlands area, and then finishing off by going around the lake and back up the other side. There are camping opportunities all along the way, and it was just too perfect to pass up.

We took three days to do the 80ish miles, maintaining a pretty chill pace for most of the way. We stopped frequently for snacks or to explore. We pulled our gear in bike trailers and arrived at camp with enough time to swim or hang out or tell stories. Throughout the days we would often split into smaller groups, but were never separated by more than a few miles. 

On the last day there was a six mile hill climb before we arrived at our final destination. Some people had to dig deep to get through. I'm glad about that. In the end we can honestly say that we grew closer. We made memories. We did hard things. 

It was really cool. 

Have a good week!

Planning stages. Our kids haven't experienced spam before. This was as good a time as any to introduce them to this uniquely disgusting concoction.

Maybe our biggest achievement of the trip: We fit seven people, seven bikes, and all the camping gear for three days into the back of our van without having to pull a trailer. Was it safe? No way. But I grew up learning that you do what you have to in order to make the shuttle work.

Several stops along the way. I probably won't label all of them. This one is in Wallace.

A mine car at a park we rode by

The trail went right by one of our favorite pizza places at the ski resort. This was dinner on the first night.

We came upon a craft fair and decided to stay for a while. They had a bounce house set up. I don't really understand bounce houses. They always seem dingy and disappointing. But kids like them.

Parking our bikes behind the shed at the first camp site.

Rope swing on the Coeur d'Alene river. 

Morning vibes. We are the early risers.

One of the many snack stops along the way

This little dock was near our second camp site and we all spent a good amount of time swimming and hanging out there

Lindsey actually liked the spam. Nobody else did. Which proves that Lindsey has the least developed taste buds in the family.

Our view from the campsite. If you look carefully you can see a moose in the water toward the back. We actually saw several moose along the way- a couple of which got a little close for comfort!

Good morning pictures

I like this picture a lot but you kind of have to look carefully to see the bikes. It really is a beautiful area that we live in.

That's a bird.

Ice cream stop in Harrison

Before the final climb

This is the elevation profile of our last day of riding.

Jack and Maren are kind of suffering in this picture. Maren was super tough for this and I was super proud of her try-hard. Addy looks happy...for now

But not here. A lot of things come very easily for this girl, so it was, in a way, kind of nice to see her struggling.

We made it!

I did a quick search, and it turns out that in the last year there has only been one time that our family has NOT left town for the weekend. One, out of fifty-two. Not bad. Some of these excursions are day trips to surrounding areas, but a great many of them are also overnight vacations- camping, skiing, visiting friends and family, or just exploring new places. Point is, that we are pretty constantly on the move. Really, any drive under about six hours feels short, and it's only once you pass the ten hour mark that spontaneity becomes difficult. 

With that background, this week will seem extraordinary. Are you ready?

We didn't go anywhere. We stayed home. We did not leave the county.

It was relaxing. We did some local hikes. We went to the beach. We did things that are normally reserved for weekdays. And it was great. So great that maybe...MAYBE we can try it again at some point.

OK. That's all.

Actually, Adalie wrote a thing that I told her I'd post. She was nice on Father's Day and said that she would do the blog for me. So, here it is:

*****

So this week is Father’s Day. Because of this, I (Adalie), am going to write the blog this week.

A while ago, I was working on a really hard bouldering problem. I kept falling, and started getting really frustrated with myself. Soon, I started to cry. I sat on the mat and stared at the boulder problem, crocodile tears streaming down my face. Dad saw this, and came and sat next to me. He talked to me a bit, and I calmed down, wiped away the tears, and tried again. A few attempts later, I stuck the final move. The entire gym burst into applause, but the only clapping I heard was dad’s.

Another time, I was skiing, and I was about to embark on my first double black with Dad and Jack. I started getting cold feet at the drop-in, but Dad helped me through it, and I managed to get all the way down the run without falling once.

Enough about me. Let’s get to the week.

So on the actual Father’s day, we didn’t do much. Mom and dad went rollerblading around the neighborhood, but that was about it. The next day, we actually celebrated it. I gave Dad a paper with little doors on it, and behind the doors, there are ‘moments’ that the kids shared with dad.  Afterwards, Mom and Jack created a slideshow of Dad doing cool things with us, and we all watched it together. We also had a barbecue and Dad got to relax for the day. It was a really special time for our family, and I’m glad we were able to celebrate Dad in such a fun and unique way.l

Have a good week!

Addy made this family portrait for Father's Day. Pretty accurate.

 It's been a mostly good week. Wendy (Rachel's mom) came to visit. We did some things. Enjoy the pictures!

Ev and her band, Retrospect, were part of a concert in the park event

Lindsey and her Irish dance group are making a music video. I'm still a little bit unclear on the details of how Lindsey ended up doing Irish dance. It's definitely not something that was on my radar. But she LOVES it, and seriously, with that red hair and spunky personality she couldn't be anything but a natural.

The three of us went to Arbor Crest to a "Dueling Pianos" concert

We went on a hike at the Cedar grove

I am convinced that this bridge crosses over into a magical world

Random

We spent a night at the Wallace house, did some gardening, walked around the shops in town, and had a movie night

We went camping at Liberty Lake

The Sunset over the marsh was phenomenal. I invited everyone to go watch it, but Ev was the only one who wanted to leave the campfire. I'd say we were rewarded for the short walk.

We went swimming/cliff jumping at the river by our house

Alright- have a good week!