yurts are our happy place. there is something so womb-like and meditative about being in a round space. it’s impossible to describe, so you should just try it yourself! yurts are downright affordable accommodations in many of our oregon coast state parks… and make winter camping completely doable. they are heated, and have basic furniture (futon beds, table and chairs). you bring your own food, sleeping bags… and then you go hike on the winter beach, if you can catch a good low tide. or you just snuggle up with a book in the yurt-womb and enjoy the sound of the downpour on the skylight… here are some images from our november yurt trip, and here is the link to where you can make a reservation. (you have to book ahead, even in the winter- they are popular! but if you check last minute, sometimes you can get lucky and score a cancellation, which is how we lucked out last month for cape lookout.)
this is my bad@$$ mama picture, carrying my 38 pound sniffly boy in the sling, with a pack full of firewood on back, and kindling in my arms. we had sort of a comical trip, because i forgot several key essentials (film for camera, firewood, propane for my cookstove, etc.) luckily i knew where they dump the used firewood from campsites, just at the edge of the park, so we scrounged, and i cooked over the fire. we made a trek back into pacific city to pick up film, of course. there are essentials, and then there are essentials.
mama’s down time essentials were miraculously remembered: music, chocolate, tea, journal.
quinn makes do with whatever is on hand, and practically has no essentials. playing boat with the laundry basket occupied him for hours.
and cooking over the fire is what it’s all about for him!
quinn wasted no time taking off shoes and wading in the stream that flows right through the “backyard” of our yurt, immediately upon arrival.
we did more gazing than hiking this trip…
…and laid down to rest whenever necessary.
each time we’d return to our yurt between forays, quinn would walk in, look up at the round skylight, and exclaim “i just love our yurt so much! it’s so beautiful!” then hunker down for some snacking, snuggling, and reading.
Your blog is so amazing. I am just in awe of it's amazingness :)) I love the yurt thing, and QUINN (!!!!!) and your bad@$$ mama pic! You rock, Mama <3
thank you, mama. 🙂 it means a lot to me to read the comments (compliments!) and have such a positive response. amazingness- wow! 🙂
That looks like fun. Your little boy is so adorable! Do you wear him much? It always amazes me to see mamas wearing bigger kids.
i still wear him quite a lot (maybe once a week on average- so a lot, for a guy pushing 4 years old), but it is almost always for very short periods of time. he only requests it if he is hiking a long way, and he just wants a quick rest, or if he is sick/upset and needs to just regroup. either of which is super short- good thing because he is heavy!
It does make sense to wear them, though, even when they get bigger, doesn't it? I mean, it's easier on your back and arms to put them in a carrier! I'm glad my guy is a lightweight. I'm just not strong enough…I would probably hold him less if he was heavier, and the thought makes me sad.
i think it makes sense… it does for us. he has always been such an attachment baby/kid, and i always look at his requests for sling (or bf) as his way of checking in with the attachment, making sure it's still there, and the gradual way he has needed less and less of the reassurance, makes a lot of sense to me. that said, i am also a pretty tall and strong woman, and i have a feeling i would not be able to wear him at his current size if i were a more average or small size. i also have a pretty good carrier. 😉
I love your life AND your family :o) Miss you sooooo much…..
miss you too little bit. 🙂
just beautiful mama!love it all!
Is this at Cape Lookout? That is where we like to go,,and then hang a the beaches at Oceanside with the tunnel.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I am in Oregon too, Portland!
it is indeed cape lookout. 🙂 our favorite. i have only been to that beach at oceanside once, when i was exactly 39 weeks pregnant. lol. (random memory!) we lived in portland when i was pregnant and until quinn was one. it's nice to meet you heidi- you seem to have a passion for the coast, like us.