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Todd’s first 4th of July – 2015
Isn’t it cool how having a baby changes so many things for the better? For example…
I usually detest the 4th of July. Where we live, it sounds like a war zone on the 4th. It’s beyond excessive. Every year our yard turns into a mess of hundreds of little pieces of firework debris. (I don’t know about you, but my mood is awesome when I have to clean up someone else’s litter.)
It really bothers me to think about all the scared animals, too. And of course, fire is always a legitimate concern. (A house just a couple blocks from us did burn down due to fireworks several years ago.)
For the above reasons, we usually try to leave town for the holiday. But this year, we needed to stay. I was dreading the day. It was bad enough before we had Todd, but having Todd meant we really needed a game plan this year.
My goal was to get away for as much of the evening as possible. A quick search led me to a great plan:
We’d spend the evening in La Conner, where there was a free music event at the La Conner Marina from 6-10 PM, and then a fireworks display over the Swinomish Channel at 10 PM. (Here’s the link.) We’d get back home with just a little more noise to endure.
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So here’s how the evening unfolded…
We arrived in La Conner around 6 PM, and it was easy to find parking. If you’ve never been there, La Conner is a super cute town. We took a walk south along the Channel Boardwalk first.
Todd & Eric next to the Swinomish Channel
Eric & Todd
Todd & Elisa
Along the Boardwalk
Swinomish Channel
Next, we ate our picnic dinner back at the car. Eric and I had sandwiches made with thick pieces of homemade marinated tofu, guacamole, romaine lettuce leaves, and a smear of Just Mayo. We let Todd stretch his legs a bit. He wanted to taste some rocks.
Picnic at the car
Then, we retrieved our chairs and headed north along the Boardwalk.
La Conner Channel Lodge
Boat dock
When we located the music venue, Eric was excited to hear/see a Hammond B-3 organ. Unfortunately, the opening act (Terry Nelson and Friends) was over literally just moments after we got there. He was bummed that we missed out. Eric chatted with the musician as they were packing up.
Meanwhile, I met his spouse (Kathleen), who turned out to be a former labor/delivery nurse and a friend of my friend and therapist colleague, Stany. Small world! (Although it’s not too surprising since I have longstanding ties to this area through my work as an Occupational Therapist).
Naturally, Todd was thrilled to get out of the stroller.
Todd
Happy 4th!
Todd & Eric
Todd
At about 8:30 PM, electric six-string violinist Geoffrey Castle took the stage. Here’s a short video clip of his opening number as well as Todd getting a little excited about it. The music was excellent.
It was a little quieter behind the stage, so Eric took Todd back there to explore.
Todd walking
Growing up so fast
Todd loved that dog, there. He couldn’t get enough of trying to touch him. The dog was really nice.
Todd with Eric and his doggy friend
Todd loves dogs
Then, Eric took Todd for a walk to help him focus on something else for a while. Todd was fixated on the dog!
More exploring
After the music ended and it got dark, we moved our chairs to watch the fireworks.
Todd & Eric getting ready to watch the fireworks
Fireworks over the Swinomish
Fireworks show – July 4, 2015
At about 10:30 PM, Todd got sleepy after having a bottle in his seat. After the fireworks were over, Todd didn’t wake up when Eric loaded him into his car seat. He slept until we got home at midnight.
Sleepy Todd
At home, Todd cried for a while since he woke up grumpy once we got home. Nothing I could do was helping to settle him but he finally was back asleep just before 1 AM. I fell asleep shortly after 1 AM. I slept until 8 AM the next morning, when Todd woke up.
A walk around the yard on July 5th showed all the evidence of what we missed. But, all in all, we did have a fun first 4th of July as a family.
Mt Baker from the Anderson Creek Road
Sunday, June 14, 2015…
It’s time for a hike!
Since Todd was born over 9.5 months ago, we’ve gotten outdoors with Todd to do lots of active and fun activities: skiing, walking/hiking, rollerblading, and bike riding. It’s been great! But– before this weekend, our hiking was limited to a few stroller-friendly trails (Bagley Lakes, Rainy Lake, Big Four Ice Caves).
Now– it’s time to start carrying him in a pack. We’ve had our Ergobaby carrier ready for use since before Todd was born. Testing out the pack in the house revealed that Todd looked a lot more comfortable sitting on my back (compared to Eric’s).
We chose Anderson Butte for this week’s destination because: 1) it’s within a couple hours driving distance from home, 2) it’s a short hike (1.4 miles one way), and 3) it offers spectacular mountain views.
We’ve been to Anderson Butte, Watson Lakes, and Anderson Lakes a few times before– long ago (~13 years ago!)– when we used to do a lot of backcountry skiing. (The highlighting on our map shows our previous trip routes).
Anderson Butte hike on our Green Trails Map (Lake Shannon – No 46)
The Anderson Butte trail is located just east of Baker Lake (near Mt Baker, WA). You take Highway 20 and then the Baker Lake Road. You cross the dam (which has a neat view waaay down the spillway) and then you go a few miles on the gravelly, switchbacking, and sometimes steep Anderson Creek Rd (#1107), to the Anderson-Watson trailhead (Tr 611.1 and Tr 611.2). The trailhead elevation is 4300 feet.
Anderson-Watson Trailhead
Todd slept in the car on the way to the trail, and then woke up for the hike. He enjoyed looking at all the scenery on the way up. The trail is fairly rocky overall, and we do always hike with a pair of old ski poles. Eric mounted our GoPro camera on one of his poles. The camera has a nice, wide angle lens.
GoPro group selfie!
GoPro group selfie!
The temperature was perfectly “warm but not hot,” and there was a good bit of shade from the forest canopy. I put a little sunscreen on Todd’s face, but he does still need a proper sun hat.
Elisa & Todd
Elisa & Todd
Family photo
As you can see from the map, the trail gets much steeper after you take the left turn for Anderson Butte (after 0.9 miles). The views looking to the north/northeast open up once you reach the ridge line. I’m not sure which mountains are pictured here, but Mt Blum, Hagan Mountain, and Bacon Peak are in the foreground, somewhere. The Picket Range (Mt Challenger, Crooked Thumb Peak, Phantom Peak & Mt Fury) is somewhere further away. These 3 pics form a scene from left to right…
View from the ridge
View from the ridge
From the top (5400 ft), you can also see both Mt Shuksan…
Mt Shuksan
and Mt. Baker…
Mt Baker
Todd
Todd & Elisa
Mt Baker from Anderson Butte
We had the summit to ourselves, and Todd was happy to get his hands in some dirt. He tried his best to taste the various rocks and plant matter. “Yucky,” I kept repeating. (I wasn’t able to soak in too many mountain views at the time, or else I’d have risked having a choking victim on my hands. It’s nice to have these pictures now.)
Dirt loving boy!
Playing in the dirt
Before we headed down, Todd had a quick snack.
A nice refreshing beverage.
Note that we did have to negotiate one blow down on the trail…
Headed down the trail
Blowdown
Blow down negotiating
“I hope she knows what she’s doing”
On the way down from the top, it was clear that Todd was getting tired of being confined, but after a short bit of fussing, he fell asleep for part of the descent.
We got back to the car 2.5 hours after we started. We kept a leisurely pace. Our first “real” hike with Todd was a success!
Mt Shuksan
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