Have you noticed how hot it is this week? Hot. Ninety degree hot. We had already planned a hike for Friday, and we go rain or ultra shine. But, in deference to the weather, I picked Denny Creek slide as the hike.

Because it was the first hike of the summer, I forgot the wilderness pass. I did manage to bring enough water and not get lost. It was just Mom, Rose, David, and I and 30 random strangers. Despite all those people, the trail did not feel like a traffic jam. Most of the time we were alone in our bend of the woods. Rose and I sang all the way back.

It's a short hike, 3 miles round trip if that, and the pay-off is huge--a natural water slide. The only scary part is having to cross a bunch of slippery rocks to get to the other side of the creek. Luckily, many of the people there offered to help us across, and I said yes. We spent 1.5 hours playing in the water. I had packed lots of snacks for the ride home, which came in handy as we hit traffic. It took us 55 minutes to get there, 1.75 to get home. By then I was too tired to go to the farmer's market.