Alder Lake Camping Trip

Every Memorial Day weekend Greg's family goes to Alder Lake on Mount Rainier. We meet a few other families and have a good old time making and sharing good food, going out on the boat and hiking around. The Kelley boys always water ski, knee board and wake board. I think they're crazy though--it's still cold at that time of the year, and of course the lake is made of glacier water.

Alder Lake used to be a little town, but they built a dam and flooded the town, turning it into a nice lake. Here are some pictures of the dam:

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. We always talk about the dam and make lots of dam jokes when we're there. Heheh!

Mom, Dad, Greg and I walked on the trail to the dam and had good look. Dad climbed up high to pose for some pictures while we were down below with our cameras. While he was posing and being silly, and band of motorcycle guys came riding up and saw Dad. They stopped and asked him what he was doing, because they saw was a silly man in a purple sweatshirt dancing around and posing like a girl. Haha! So he had to explain that were down below taking pictures of him.

Then Mom wanted to climb up and join Dad. I was a little afraid because it was so steep and slippery. So she climbed up and up, and right at the top slipped and fell down. Greg skipped quickly up and gave her hand.


Here are some pictures of our site and when we went out on the boat. I wish now that I had taken more. Greg's brother, David, got a lot of really good pictures with his camera.

During the day if we weren't on the boat or going for a walk, we would sit around the picnic table and play board games. Mom and Dad would usually take a nap in the middle of the day.

At night we would sit around the campfire on the Kelley's site and carve marshmallow sticks, make s'mores, and tell stories. One night my parents and Greg's parents took turns telling their stories of how they met and date, and some of their early years of marriage. That was fun. Mom, Beth (David's friend) and I would walk down to the bathrooms together to get ready for bed.

It was so nice just to be outside and have fresh mountain air and beautiful scenery. My favorite part is when Greg and I (this year we took my parents) go alone in the boat up the river where it gets narrow and shallow. The banks are close together and you can see waterfalls and eagle nests up high. It's so quiet and peaceful. Some logs had washed down and gotten lodged between the two banks, so we couldn't go up very far this time. It was still nice though, and Mom and Dad really enjoyed having their own special little boat tour.