Winthrop - 2006 & 2011

Abe, Emily and I went to Winthrop last weekend for a little R and R. Winthrop is in the central part of the state in the Cascade Mountains. We wanted to get a little cross-country skiing in while there was still a little snow. And Winthrop has a special place in our hearts - it's where I proposed to Emily 5 years ago (almost to the day).

Here we are eating our pre-ski meal. The white bear on the table is Abe's 'Baby Bear'. One day when Emily was trying to get Abe not to play with the hairdryer, she started hugging Baby Bear and giving him kisses. Then Abe started doing the same thing. Kids are so easy to manipulate.
Emily and Abe getting ready for our ski. We ended up skiing this trail system in Mazama, which is about 15 miles west of Winthrop.
Emily getting her skis on. Abe and Baby Bear are all set to go in the chariot.
Me pulling Abe. It was a lot of fun to be out in the snow again skiing. It was an overcast day, but great conditions. We ended up skiing about 9 miles in 2 hours.

Pulling a little extra weight makes for a good workout.

We found a guy using a parasail to ski. It was pretty cool. We'd never seen anything like it before. Check out the video.

Abe taking an after-ski break in his fleece suit. Trying fruitlessly to turn on the TV.
When we were eating lunch, two deer came to our deck. And they stayed there a long time. Maybe people around here feed them, but they were not at all scared by our presence.
We took Abe on the deck so he could get a firsthand look. He was a little apprehensive at first, but he really liked the deer towards after a while. Side note: Abe is wearing a new winter coat we just bought for him at REI. It's an Obermyer coat, which seems fitting since I wore a brown Obermyer coat for about 8 years in high-school and college. Abe is keeping the tradition alive.
The deer seem intrigued by Abe as well. Emily and I made good use of the hot tube during our two nights. After we put Abe down in his Pack 'n Play, we took the baby monitor outside so we could have a soak.
Abe loves those deer!

So our stay wasn't all fun and games. When we went out to get groceries for dinner on Saturday night, after we bought what we needed and went back to the car, it would not start (this has been a problem for almost a year now - no place we take it to can seem to fix it, or really knows what's wrong with it). So we ate some pizza for dinner at a nearby joint, because if you wait a while sometimes it starts again. It didn't, so we hitch-hiked a ride back to our place (only about a mile away) with this nice lady and her daughter, who happen to own the BBQ joint in town. In the morning I walked back to the car, and thankfully this time it started. We packed up our gear, and thankfully the car started a second time. But then we needed to fill up with gas. And when I tried to get turn the car on a third time after filling up with gas, it wouldn't start. But I tried a few more times, and thankfully it started. Needless to say, the next time I turned the engine off was in front of our house in Seattle. We stopped in Leavenworth so Emily and I could go Number 1, but we kept the engine on. Abe was a trooper the whole time - he stayed in his car seat for almost 5 and a half hours straight. And he had a cheery disposition almost the whole time (Emily was a huge help with that). Oh, and we got stuck in this nasty snow storm, skidded off the road and hit a snow bank, but just bounced off and were alright. We quickly turned around afterwards (b/c this was when we had turned off of US 2 to take 97 to I-90, so we decided to go back to US 2). It was a little nerve-wracking at time, but all in all it was a lot of fun.

Now we step in the way-back-machine. These are some pictures from the trip Emily and I took 5 years ago, in 2006.

My snow-pants were a little tight back then. I think they were the same ones from when I was in middle-school.

This was actually the first time I ever cross-country skiied.

Emily taking a little ski-break. Gotta love the snow!

Enjoying our time in the outdoors.

This is the cabin we stayed in. We stayed at the same place in 2011 as in 2006 (I don't know if it was the EXACT same cabin, but it was the same place - River's Edge).

We took a balloon ride there 5 years ago. Here they are setting it up for our big ride.

I love how you can see the flame heating up the air to fill the balloon.

Here is our balloon operator Kirk. The funny thing is that Emily and Kirk had taken a wilderness first-aid class together a few years earlier. Emily took it so that she could be a Scramble Leader at Whitman.

Here is a shot of Winthrop while up in the air. The bridge that crosses the river leads you into the main downtown area.
More scenery from our ride.

This is right after I proposed to Emily. The newly engaged couple!!!