After our totally-dreamy getaway to Leavenworth last winter, Shane and I committed to making an annual tradition of a February snow-cation. This year we opted to stay a little closer to home and booked a room at Suncadia Lodge near Cle Elum, setting out a couple of weeks ago with blue skies overhead and the promise of snow in the forecast. As our check-in at the lodge wasn’t until late afternoon, we pit-stopped at the Snoqualmie Summit to strap a pair of skis onto Juliette and let her have a few rides on the Magic Carpet. Arms out, knees bent. She’s got it!
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what our end game is in teaching this kid how to ski, as neither Shane nor I have been willing to invest the time or money it would take to turn ourselves into downhill skiers. We won’t be taking week-long family ski vacations to Whistler. She won’t be the next Lindsey Vonn. But if we can’t sustain the skiing thing (she’ll quickly surpass my skill level!), we can just chalk this up to an early-childhood exercise in confidence-building.
There are few greater joys than watching this girl’s bravery and perseverance cumulate in an emphatic “I did it!”. This was the first time Juliette pizza-pied her way to a stop at the bottom of the hill, rather than plowing full-speed right into her dad’s arms, and she was stoked.
It was a bluebird day, so lovely and sunny that Juliette peeled off her jacket at one point. Gosh, I love those karate chop arms!
Once the clouds rolled in and the temperatures dropped, we traded Juliette’s skis in for her purple boots and headed to the car, eager to crack open the thermos of hot cider I had packed.
First, though, a quick romp and a hunt for the biggest “snow baby” we could find.
It was a short ride to Suncadia and by 4 pm we were unpacked and settled into our weekend abode.  Fireplace? Check. Mountain view? Check. All the coziness a girl could ever want? CHECK.
Shane watched a lot of curling that weekend while I read and Juliette pleaded for figure skating to come back on.
We popped over to the sledding hill on our way to dinner that evening, taking a few runs on the super-slick snow.
And then closed out the day with a mellow brewpub dinner in Roslyn. I’ll tell you, that town is quiet at 7 pm.
We woke to purple skies and snow-capped mountains on Friday morning and took our sweet time getting going.
Finally, we rallied just enough energy to walk down to the lobby and get a cup of coffee and a hot chocolate.
I could get used to sipping my latte in these chairs!
After a bit more lounging and a serious self-pep-talk (so hard to leave that fireplace!), we picked up a pair of rental skis for me from the lodge’s shop and set out toward Salmon La Sac for a winter adventure.
We figured this may be our last chance to tow Jules in the bike trailer, as she’s quickly outgrowing her chariot…
The trail was freshly groomed and the woods were so, so serene. We crossed paths with only a couple of other skiers during our two-hour trek.
We stopped at a campground mid-way to let Juliette run circles in the fresh powder.  We chased and rolled and frolicked, giddy with the freedom and joy of having an entire snow-covered campground to ourselves.
(Hat swap!)
I’ll be honest – getting geared up and schlepping the trailer and stopping every five minutes to adjust mittens and dig out new snacks isn’t easy. By God, though, it’s worth it. So worth it.
Snow started falling on our way back to the car, significantly upping the wonderland factor.
Again, I could have happily passed the rest of the day with my book and the fireplace, but Juliette was jonesin’ to get back out, so we walked over to the hot tub to take a dip. In the snow. Dreamy, but…yowsers. Getting out was not so fun. Particularly since Jules decided she really wanted to stay in for a few more minutes after I’d already wrapped myself in my towel and put on my boots.
Clearly, she wasn’t at all bothered by my chattering teeth. Take your time, lady.
We ate at one of the lodge’s restaurants that night and returned to the lobby to find a full spread of s’mores fixin’s set up by the bonfire. Don’t mind if we do!
Saturday was go-day, but we milked every last minute in our room, reveling in the snow-capped view until check-out time.
Eventually, though, our time was up, so we packed our things and went over to the sledding hill to play in the foot of fresh snow that had fallen overnight.
Faster, Daddy! FASTER!
While Juliette and I practiced our luge form, Shane made quick work of putting together a friendly (though slightly lumpy) snowman.
Sunshine and snow. So happy togetherrrrrr.
Shane insisted on the testing the limits of the freshly frozen pond.
We found a pristine wide-open field on the other side of the busy hill and made our mark with an intense game of tag.
By noon, we were tuckered out and ready to head home. Shane’s capacity for hauling this kid around never fails to amaze me.
Before we’d even made our way back over the pass, I was checking AirBNB to see if our little enclave was available for the following weekend – life has been hectic lately and I wanted more of the quiet, more of the beauty, more retreat with my two favorite people. Alas, the room was booked solid and reality was beckoning, anyway. So I’m tucking the weekend’s memories away in my serenity bank – Suncadia stuffed it full.
