There’s more to Washington than just Seattle. Gasp. I’m sure Kurt Cobain just rolled over in his grave (and AK is rolling her eyes at me). But before you throw your drive-thru coffee on me, just hear me out.

After spending 3 epic nights in Seattle, nature was calling us…and an enchanting call it was. We headed east to the appropriately named Enchantments for our first backcountry camping experience.

But the night before we backed that thang up, we set up camp at Money Creek Campground to break up the trip. This campground was so pretty (minus the fact it’s practically on a train track). In good news, we had a spot right on the river, which is always my fave.

We also got to test out a new purchase, our camping stove. Not to be confused with our other camping stove. This bad boy can handle a whole pan of goodness, which helps us switch up our dinners a bit from the dry (pun intended) camping food. First thing on the menu? Craig whipped up a delicious veggie burger with a fried egg and sautéed mushrooms…oh and cheese. Husband of the year.

After a night of train-interrupted sleep, we headed for the glorious Enchantments. We initially lost out on the lottery for the backcountry permit (because let’s face it, the Enchantments are that fucking cool), but they open up remaining permits after they haven’t been claimed. Enter us. We’ll totally take sloppy seconds. We got to the trailhead and were ready to tackle the switchbacks from hell that would get us into the Snow Zone.

Here’s a little background on the Enchantments. If you bore easily, just skip to the next picture. Still with us? Good. The Enchantments are made up of five zones with plenty of jaw-dropping mountain lakes to climb your way to. Your permit is booked for a specific zone and that’s where you set up camp. Some do the entire 18-mile trail (high five to those show-offs), but others, like us, choose to do a section. We scored a permit for the Snow Zone and hiked up to Nada Lake. Granted, we wanted to hike up to Snow Lake but after 6.5 miles and a grueling climb of 3,700 feet, the last hour in the rain, we were spent…and sick of lame switchbacks. Plus, the view here didn’t suck.

So, set up camp we did. We searched for a little wooden camp icon and then pitched a tent. That’s what she said. We were nestled among the trees and had an awesome waterfall up above us.

We even had a bridge to our campsite, how VIP of us. I’m sure Beyonce and Jay-Z are jealous.

The bathrooms in backcountry are…something. If you are pee shy, you may have issues. But you get over it. Because when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. Just find the bathroom icon, walk a little ways off the trail and then shit gets real.

Granted a 14-mile-ish roundtrip hike isn’t that long, but when you are dealing with terrain like this along the way…it doesn’t necessarily rock the entire time.

Oh, and the way back the next morning? You would think “Yeah! We don’t have to climb anymore” but the way down is equally challenging on the ol’ knees. Going down on nature for 6.5 miles is tough. But we made it. Self high-five. We may not be able to walk that well the next few days, but we conquered the shit out of the Enchantments…and our calves.

To reward ourselves, we headed to the town of Leavenworth. Which happens to be like a whole 5 minutes from our trailhead. Leavenworth is a-dore-able. If you’ve been to Solvang in California, it’s like that…but better. You feel like you blacked out, boarded a plane to Bavaria and then woke up with a beer in your hand. How did we get here? We’re never leaving.

But after one night, island life was calling us. Re-enter AK. She always keeps it classy and invited us out to her brother’s place on Anderson Island in the Puget Sound. Think ferry rides, swimming, lots of drinking, a proposal, and watching Cabin in the Woods…in the woods.

Life is like so hard on Anderson Island. My drink totally didn’t fit in my cupholder so I had to hold it like the entire time. Sigh.

After two nights of relaxing time with my lover (and Craig), we dropped AK off at the airport (WAHHHHH!) and headed towards the town of Silver Creek. Never heard of it? That makes most of us. It’s one of those blink-and-you-miss-it kinda towns. But, it had a dreamy Airbnb and prime location near Mount Rainer. Too bad it rained the entire time we were there. But we had this to seek shelter in…

You honestly feel like you are in a fairytale and that you are a giant, all at the same time.

And no, Craig didn’t serenade me with the guitar that was on the bed when we arrived. Divorce?

If you should ever find yourself in the Mount Rainier area, look up Fabricio on Airbnb. This place rocks, even in the rain. You have an outdoor kitchen and living room. So magical. You can even hear tales of Fabricio’s fascination with “paranormal activity” over a bottle of wine.

And if you find yourself trying to escape the rain, you can always drive 2.5 hours (one way) to the beach. NBD.

But, in moments of sunshine, find the random roadside attractions like this gem called Spirits of Iron near Mount Rainier.

It should come as no surprise the dude that created all these is Minnesotan. And had this amazing donation setup.

Which slot will you stick it in? Until then, stay tuned for tales from the Oregon Trail and beyond.