One of the reasons...

(Iller)

 (Iller)

 (Iller)

 (Iller)

 (Mt. Spokane)

 (Mt. Spokane)

(Mt. Spokane)

We chose Spokane, WA for MANY reasons to be our new home.  One of the BIG reasons was the availability of outdoor activities.  You've seen that we rafted our first trip out here as a family, that's just the start.  The park down the street from our house if a BIG reason we got the yellow house.  But that will get a post of it's own real soon.

HIKING!  In Kansas, that means go for a boring walk and don't let the wind blow you over.  Here, it's a stroll with Nature and an invitation for amazing conversations.  Over 2 of the weekends this past month, we've gone on "family hikes".  The first hike was recommended by a barista from Dutch Bros (that too will earn a separate post), Iller Creek.  The second just had to be done, Mt. Spokane.  Both locations were less than 30 minute drives from our house and Pops took it upon himself to take a few solo hikes the week leading up to the family hike to explore both locations.

I'll start with the first family hike, Iller Creek.  It was less than a 15 minute drive from our house.  Parking was right at the trail head.  The path was clearly marked, but it did have some steep parts we managed.  Several people had brought their dogs with them, which was fun.  And a couple of people even rode bikes up the trail.

The second was to Mt. Spokane.  This one was a little longer of a drive, but the trip was breath taking.  There were several trails available to us and many intersected.  We saw a cool cabin that was an original conservation station.  Saw a few dogs and a few bikers.  But the view was AMAZING within 10 minutes of the start of the hike.

We never set out to reach the top or a set destination.  But we hiked over an hour out and over an hour back at both locations.  This could easily become something we do often!