My son Rue and his family invited Rahmat and I to go hiking with them on Thursday. It was raining in Tacoma, and sunshine was forecast for eastern Washington, so we were eager to join them. It is a two-hour drive over Snowqualmie Pass to get to Ellensburg, where the Manastash Ridge overlooks the valley.
Local papers describe the Manastash Ridge hike as vigorous, with the elevation gain qualifying as a workout hike. 
Parts of the trail are extremely steep, but numerous spurs and side trails are offered throughout the four mile loop, all of which take the hikers to the summit, which overlooks the Kittitas Valley and the Stuart Range. 
Several memorials have been constructed at the top, one of which was for a local athletic coach, Ray Westburg.
The hillsides were covered with flowers: Columbian puccoon, lupine, balsam root, dusty maiden, Indian paintbrush, trumpet bluebells, grass widow, oneflowered broomrape, desert parsley, camas, stonecrop, bitterroot, yarrow, rockcress and larkspur - and many more specimens that I do not recognize.
Rain during the past several days here kept everything fresh and green.
We had snacks up at the summit, and little Daniel was able to get out of his backpack. I packed roasted turkey sandwiches from Marlene's for Rahmat and myself - I had a coupon for 'buy one, get one free'. Marlene's is a health food store, and their deli sandwiches are mountains of veggies. We had everything on focaccia bread - carrots, sprouts, mushrooms and olives, lettuce and spinach, mayo and mustard. I also packed pumpkin muffins, celery sticks with peanut butter and currants, cherries and oranges, and peanut M&M's. Believe it or not, by the time we were down that ridge, I'd wished I'd packed more!
Starbucks carried food and water, and was sure tuckered out by the end of the day. He carried Rahmat's waterbottle.
Rue made hamburgers and baked beans for dinner, 
frying the meat on his propane grill - it was so good having a hot meal! We'd worked up an appetite and he had everything ready in a flash! 
Annie's sister-in-law made bacon-vegetable wraps for the trip, and they were delicious. For once, I didn't cook, do any prep or clean-up, and that was a real treat for me. It was a wonderful day filled with gorgeous country, vigorous exercise, good food, and best of all... my family!
