Our family adventures almost always start out on a good foot and we never know where they wind up taking us. We have decided that it is far more fun to follow topomaps and logging roads with our 4x4 than simply staying in campgrounds. In the Pacific North West, we do our best to be responsible campers and leave our eventual campsite better than we found it.

Some adventures have been more like Earth Day clean ups than camping trips. Unfortunately not everyone who camps in our National Forests takes responsibility for the cleanliness of their site when they leave so it seems to fall on others to clean up after them. It is those people who make it difficult on everyone else to enjoy the beauty and peace of our great outdoors, but we always find a way. The Great Northwest is a wonderful place for many different family adventures and we have had them. One trip in particular we wound up being in just the right place at the right time for a few guys who decided that their jeep was invincible.Unfortunately for them they found it impossible to drive their jeep upside down after trying to cross a washed out road that was about 20 to 30 feet deep with their wench wrapped around the trunk of an uprooted old cedar. Apparently their real adventure started when those roots came loose and the tree went with the jeep down the embankment. Our family adventures dont get quite that serious. We do enjoy the adventures of gaining new friends and helping to right the jeep. Wonder of wonders that no one got hurt that day.

Our family adventures that evening were filled with fun and laughter as we sat around a warm glowing fire and got to know our new friends. We were enjoying a story being shared by the oldest of their group when a raccoon decided that he could get into open tailgate of their other truck and enjoy all the munchies while we were so distracted. It is an amazing thing to see how confusing things can become when a whole group of surprised humans try to solve the same problem at the same time. I honestly think the raccoon was laughing at us as he slowly wandered away from the fire that night. Not all our family adventures have wild animal encounters but all of them have been wonderful learning experiences.