Magic in the Methow

About four hours northeast of Seattle sits the Methow Valley.  When the road isn't closed due to snow, the best way to get there is by taking the North Cascades Highway.  If you have never driven that road, I would highly recommend it.  The views are spectacular, even by Pacific Northwest standards.

A few weekends back, we packed Dylan into the car for his first road trip to Twisp, one of the Methow's many endearing towns.  Twisp is home to Darin's Grandpa Dave, Grandma Barb, Uncle Neal, Uncle Gordy, Aunt Adrian and their daughter Kathleen, and her cousin Dani and her husband Ray and son Marcel.  Her Aunt Chere is also a short drive away in Wenatchee, and was happy to make the trip into town to meet Dylan.  From an efficiency standpoint, we managed to knock out nearly the entire Reynaud (or 'Reno' if you're in Twisp) side of the family in one visit.  Yay for us.

The tranquility of the Methow Valley is tough to describe if you've never been there.  Surrounded by sprawling hills, an assortment of wildlife, and the soothing sounds of the river, it's tough to be stressed about much of anything while you're there.

We had a perfect visit that included a tour of Dani's Montessori school, a Liberty Bell HS soccer game to cheer on Kathleen, some baked goods at Cinnamon Twisp, watching UW football trounce Utah, hot tubbing under the stars, a morning walk in the hills of Twisp, a few poems from Grandpa Dave, and several hours of laughing and chatting with the entire Reno clan.  The magic of the Methow was not lost on Dylan.  Here's a slideshow of our visit.  The song is "Come On Down" by Luc & The Lovingtons (Darin's cousin Luc's band).

Up next, Dylan's first trip to Camas.  Can't wait to see his face when he gets his first whiff of the mill.