I can't lie. Not working is way too much fun. Call me irresponsible, call me stupid, call me lazy. Call me what you will. I can handle all the name calling you can dish if this kind of summer is what I get in return. Sooner or later reality will catch up with me, but until then I just want to play.
Besides doing entirely too much driving, August has been amazing. It is living up to be my favorite month, as usual. I've been hiking, eating, and squeezing in as much time with family and friends as possible. I'll admit that splitting time between Mount Vernon and Spokane has been a lot more challenging than I had anticipated, but I am in no way complaining...more just apologizing to the friends that I promised I'd see but probably won't.
One of the great things about my mom's house is its location. Not only do I have the best view in Skagit County, stepping out the front door in any direction leads to somewhere beautiful...like Little Mountain. The Little Mountain trailhead is about a mile and a half from the house, so on my first full day home, I grabbed the leashes and my pups and hiked to the top. From the north side of Little Mountain, you can see Mount Vernon, the Skagit River, and the San Jaun Islands. Apparently, you can see Mount Baker to the northeast, but I was too focused on not getting tangled up in the leashes to even notice. (If you click on the picture, you'll get a better feel for the view.)
Sage enjoyed herself a little too much on this hike...
My dad and I always try to meet for dinner when we're both in town, which is almost never. He's a California boy at heart and is usually down there for the weekend if and when I happen to make it over the Cascades. But I love it when our paths do cross. I owed him a belated birthday dinner, so instead of treating him to the usual Skagit River Brewery and postmeal stomach ache, we enjoyed the perfect picnic dinner...cliffside. Welcome to Mt. Erie.
Mt. Erie is one of my favorite places at home, but I always forget it's there. Like most other places in the area, there's a phenomenal view...Lake Campbell in the foreground with ocean and islands in the background. I don't say this about many places, but I can totally picture myself living on Lake Campbell someday. Plus, my dad actually used to rock climb out here. But that was a long time ago. ;)
Towards the end of our dinner date, we decided that sunset would be better enjoyed at Deception Pass, so we sped over and sprinted along the Deception Pass Bridge just in time to see the sun slip beyond the horizon.
And with summer being wedding season, I also had the priviledge of attending two weddings in two days; the Lemmon wedding in Walla Walla, WA and the Freeman wedding in Ontario, OR. Both were beautiful, both were fun. I am so grateful to have spent time with some of my favorite people, and I could not be happier for the newlyweds!
be beautiful
About Me
- Nicole
- Life is not meant to be safe. It's only in our mistakes, our errors, and our faults that we grow and truly live.
Look at you, you backpacking babe! Seriously, so impressed!! And, to be honest, completely jealous of your summer. :) Love all the pictures, as always.
xoxo, The Rassssshhhhhhhhhhhh