Fall 2018 in Review
In years past, I've made a big deal about fall. It's my favorite season, the best time for hiking, often the most beautiful, and it encompasses two of my favorite celebrations - my birthday and Halloween. I know my summer wrap-up was quite long, so I'll try to give you the Reader's Digest version of our fall.
September
Kyle and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary with a sunset paddle down the Spokane River. That same weekend we took a motorcycle ride to Revett Lake (read: Take a Hike | A Birthday Hike to Revett Lake) with Greg and Kelsey and hiked out to the water. We enjoyed lunch at the Snake Pit and the beautiful fall weather.
Juneau and I also had our best paddle board session to-date with a solid 45-minute paddle around Sander's Beach down to the Resort golf course. I can't wait for springtime so we can get back out on the water.
Later in September we took a little camping trip to the St. Joe River (read: Camping along the St. Joe River) and drove through Moon Pass. I will be doing a separate post about this because it was so beautiful and after reading the Big Burn I see the area in a whole new light.
We hit up Green Bluff in Spokane early this year, making our rounds before October 1. I love this tradition and enjoying it with good friends, it's something I look forward to all year.
October
2018 boasted some of the best fall colors I've seen in years. I looked for any excuse to get out and enjoy the foliage.
Kyle, Greg, and Tom got the Denali ADV (read: our trip to Alaska) crew back together for a trip to Leavenworth to go to Oktoberfest (read: Road Trip: Leavenworth Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). They rocked the lederhosen and spent the weekend camping and drinking good beer.
Many of you know that I have a side hustle called Northward Creative where I do writing and photography work. I had a busy summer and fall but I think my favorite part was hosting a fall mini-session day. I want to do a couple of these a year now. It's efficient, cost-effective for my clients, and makes for a super fun day outside.
We were fortunate enough to spend a weekend up at Elkins Resort on Priest Lake for a wedding I was shooting. We took Juneau and the mountain bikes and enjoyed a glorious weekend outdoors.
We outdid ourselves for our birthday/Halloween celebration this year. We hosted an SNL-themed costume party and everyone brought their A game. Kyle worked diligently on his and Drew's Dick in a Box costumes and to say they were a big hit would be an understatement.
November
We started November off right with a trip to Maui with Drew, Kate, Doug, and Wendy. The six of us spent a whole week relaxing, playing in the ocean, snorkeling, and surfing. Toward the end of the trip, during an awesome hike at the end of the Road to Hana, Doug surprised Wendy by proposing. It was amazing. I'm hoping to do an entire post about our trip, but we'll see.
Of course following our trip Kyle and I both got sick for several days so our Thanksgiving was pretty mellow. We did manage to leave the house to spend one morning with our parents - having breakfast and then going down to the Festival of Trees to see the tree displays and Santa.
December
December is almost always spent close to home. We have several winter traditions that keep our weekends full but not overly hectic. Of course we drove out to Beauty Bay to see the Bald Eagles (read: They may be Bald), I took our niece Gabbi over to my parents' for our annual cookie decorating, and we walked along the boardwalk to view the lights.
It's been a mild winter so far, so we've only gotten in a couple snowy excursions. We drove up over the Fernan Saddle (read: Snowshoeing | Fernan Saddle) and landed out by the Cd'A River, and then took Juneau for our favorite winter hike in Farragut (read: Snowshoeing | Farragut State Park).
That's the second half of our 2018 in a nutshell. I'm excited for the New Year and so glad to be mostly caught up. I hope your 2019 is off to a great start!
Cheers!