Picking a spot for a Spring Break getaway is always tricky. We don't want to break the bank, but it's hard to find decent weather without venturing far. This year tried something new, and went just over the mountains to the East to spend a couple of nights at Suncadia resort.
We had good weather for both directions of travel, which made Snoqualmie Pass a non-issue for our minivan. The view from our room was beautiful.
After settling in, we took a shuttle to Swift Water Cellars for lunch, and then scaled Tipple Hill -- a man-made mini-mountain created from the debris pulled out of the coal-mine that stood here long before the resort was put in.
 |
| That's A in the red and C in the green. Click to enlarge. |
The hill was a stiff 45-degree climb.
The boys did it with ease, J made it to the top, but my fashionable boots were simply insufficient for getting more than half way. The view from even part way up the hill was fantastic.
The boys enjoyed finding real coal and brought some home as souvenirs.
The Swim Center is located a 5-minute walk from the Lodge. It housed a good-sized pool and a hot tub, but the main attraction for the boys was the two water slides: one fast and one slower. The boys spent a long time on them. I tried one but I didn't like the complete darkness.
After dinner we gathered around one of their two fire pits and made s'mores.
The fire was fake so it was hard to toast without embers. Finally we looked at their large selection of board games, and ended up playing Clue and Scrabble. I am just a little too competitive to enjoy losing twice at Clue but I did win at Scrabble.
On the second day we explored the nearby small town of Roslyn - where the 90s TV show Northern Exposure was filmed.
Outside of the museum (closed when we were there) we learned about Roslyn's coal mining history and some of the equipment used.
One interesting statistic is that since the mine closed in 1963, 4/5ths of the coal remains unmined.
I found a couple of antiques at Mountain Mermaid Cafe in Roslyn and the boys enjoyed some baked goods.
In the afternoon J and boys rented bikes for an hour and enjoyed the flat trails all around the property. That was their first time doing that. The boys ended up really enjoying it. Good times. We also spent some time altogether at the very large park.
I liked the mining theme of the play structure.
It provided some inspiration for our backyard tree house. If we came back in the summer we could go horseback riding and/or participate in numerous sports and activities.
The restaurant in the hotel is very pricey so we had several meals at nearby Cle Elum restaurants. On our last night at the hotel, the hotel had an ice cream sundae bar which was complimentary.
One small complaint we had regarding our room was that there was no way to make tea and they didn't even have black tea k-cups for the in-room Keurig.
On our last morning there we walked down the 400 steps from the Lodge to the river and then walked back up. That was quite a workout! I'm still feeling it in my calves.
A spent much of our time reading aloud from Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. J and I continue to be impressed by his amazing intonation.
Pin It
Posts
