Wandering Furaha: Summer So Far

Wow, I can't believe it's August already! I think (fingers crossed) that we have finally said goodbye to the crazy, record-breaking 100-plus-degree weather we've had for weeks at a time and are starting to turn the corner into one of the best times of the year. It's still warm and sunny without being uncomfortably hot, work is mellow before school starts again, and fall is waiting to begin next month with pretty leaves, jeans and sweaters, pumpkin pie....

As I've mentioned before, one thing I love about Spokane is how close it is to so many beautiful places. For example, we're 4.5 hours from Glacier National Park in one direction and Seattle in the other. We're within an easy day's drive to Yellowstone, the Wallowas, the Deschutes National Forest, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, Vancouver BC, the North Cascades National Park, the Selkirk Mountains, and the ocean (etc!). Spokane itself is fairly subtle in its beauty, but it's really the perfect hub for exploring spectacular places.

We've been fortunate to be able to do some fun things in the area this summer. Here are a few highlights from the last couple months.

Camping at Kamloops Island

Early in the summer, we camped with some friends near Kettle Falls, Washington. It was very dry, of course, so I imagine the Columbia River wasn't as pretty as it typically is, but still it was nice.

Seattle

Our dear friends/family Ken and Maile came down from Alaska to visit with their new baby girl. We stayed in a little cottage with them and had a wonderful time catching up and visiting our favorite Seattle spots.

Photo credits go to Maile. :) There are more great pictures on her blog.

Lola's Visit

My friend Lola visited from Minnesota. I feel so blessed to have stayed close with a few of my high school friends, and she is one of them. During her visit, we got a group together to float the river, picked cherries up at Greenbluff, and took some very hot walks.

Nelson, BC

Isaac and I tend to spend a lot of time with people. I'm incredibly grateful for our community, but as an introvert I easily get overwhelmed and exhausted by being "on" so much of the time. Isaac treated me to a refreshing surprise getaway to Nelson during a weekend sandwiched between friend visits, a wedding, and a family reunion.

Family Reunion in Sunriver

We just got back from a week-long trip to Oregon for a family reunion. We drove first to the Wallowa Lake State Park to camp a night, then drove on to Sunriver, which is just south of Bend, to meet up with the family. What a full week! The cousins (10 of us including significant others and one kiddo) shared a house and the "old people" shared a house, and we hiked, biked, floated the river, cooked, ate, drank, talked, swam, and watched old family videos (picture me as a very uncomfortable 13-year-old doing a routine to a Backstreet Boys song). So much love!!

Near Lewiston, ID

The cousins at our last family reunion in 2000

Loooooove this shot of my mom and some of her sisters way back when

The family now

The Deschutes River in Sunriver, OR

From there, I drove with my parents to Sacramento for a cousin's wedding on the other side of the family. Between Spokane, the Wallowas, Sunriver, and northern California, I could hardly get over the beauty of the drives--I'm pretty sure every road we drove on was some official scenic highway.