The past month has been filled with activity and making the most of what the PNW has to offer — and that’s a lot. I wouldn’t say we’ve been local tourists, but tourists might be jealous of how much we’ve packed in. A lot of the credit goes to your Mom, who has been leading the charge — and doing a lot of the driving. She tends to take the wheel on our longer trips. It’s the Midwesterner in her.
August in the Northwest means salmon and blackberries to me. They are respectively running and ripe. We spent quite a few days getting our hands purple and avoiding the prickly parts of area blackberry bushes. We’ve also spent a lot of days on the boat, with most of our luck coming just outside of Gig Harbor. I was able to get seven Chinook into the freezer in as many days, but that really only picked up during the first week of August. I was eager this year and fished too many “zeroed-out” days in July. I realized that when you commented, “Wow, we’re getting a lot of fish late in the season,” when the true fishing season was just getting started. I promise we’ll start fishing later next year!
You got even more water time at Lake Chelan with Grandma Vicki, Poppa Steve, Mom and Eliza. I had to sit this one out because of my work and teaching schedule. We were a little concerned about the air quality, which has only gotten worse since you went there because of the wildfires. Chelan and Spokane have had especially bad years. Mom told me that you spent a lot of time in the warm lake, serenading girls you met on the swim docks and paddle boards. Of course, you are famously tan this time of year and completely unphased about talking to new kids, so I’m not surprised that’s translating into some attention. Way to go, buddy! You are about two decades ahead of me when it comes to confidence with the other gender.
Going from the lake to the mountains, we took advantage of a work day I had at Mt. Rainier to spend the night at Scott and Courtney’s Greenwater cabin and head up to Sunrise for some day hiking. I wasn’t with you for the hiking, but Mom took you to Fremont Lookout, and you guys covered a lot of miles at elevation — without much whining. I did my own hiking with the American Forests crew, learning about the whitebark pine recovery work that the organization has helped lead.
Finally, we had a busy Saturday when we drove up to Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Jeff’s in Lake Forest Park for our annual Norton family reunion. My cousin Kevin’s kids, Jude and Tessa, came up from Los Angeles, so you got some great play time with them — and then a couple of days later they came out to visit us at Harstine. Kevin and I were close growing up despite living in different states, and it’s heartwarming to see a similar dynamic developing between you and your second cousins, even though you only get to see each other a couple of times a year.
That same day, we took off early from the family reunion to head to training camp for your Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. We got to see their drills and scrimmages, which was objectively awesome because the fan experience during a game is so far removed from the action. This had the proximity of a high school football game, except with world-class athletes. You were really focused on getting autographs, but unfortunately practice went too long and we had to meet Grandma Vicki and Poppa Steve to catch a ride home before we could see the players. You did score some photos with the cheerleaders, though, so that counts for something!
All of this has happened in the past month, and it adds up to a pretty jam-packed summer, which is sort of the way we roll. There’s always so much to do and seemingly never enough time. But when I look back, it feels like we’ve taken advantage of all the good things we have the privilege of enjoying in this little slice of life.
That’s one of the things I love most about our summers. They are busy, sometimes chaotic, and occasionally involve way too much driving — but they are filled with family, adventure, fresh air, good food, and a ridiculous number of memories packed into a very short amount of time.
Love,
Dad