Finding a camping site for the Fourth of July was extremely difficult. I was thrilled that one opened at a park that was en route to our next campsite in Kitsap. This one was located at a beautiful park along the Green River called Kanaskat-Palmer State Park. It was even better because it was close to a couple of my cousins who live East of Seattle.

We saw our first wildfire on our way to this park, on the eastern side of Mount Raineer. Given the aircraft circling, I assume it was in an area that they wanted to prevent from reaching homes or businesses. We never actually saw this iconic mountain in its entirety – from a distance or as a backdrop for Seattle – because of the haze in the air during our days there.

After having not seen one of my cousins and his wife for decades (he lived near us in Maryland when I was a kid), I was so excited to finally have them with me in person and catch up. It was so wonderful to talk adult to adult, with a whole new set of life stories to tell. We followed them to his sister’s – one of my other cousins – house to celebrate the holiday. I got to meet my cousin’s husband and son and enjoy good food and company for the evening. She was so generous – setting up a whole food spread for us travel-weary and starving folks. What a terrific night we had!

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