"Discover" Washington State Parks

Spring is officially here, and the warmer weather is slowly coming to the Inland Northwest! It's time to get out of the house and back to the outdoors. With beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, and forests, Washington State Parks are some of the best places to enjoy nature.

In case you're new to the area, Washington has more than 140 state parks, historic sites, marine parks, and trails, according to the Washington State Parks website. And a number of them happen to be around Spokane and the eastern part of the state. 

Keep in mind that state parks do require you to display a Discover Pass hanging from your car's rearview mirror, but fortunately, our library has several to loan out for a week for FREE! That's right--check out a Discover Pass from our library and save $$ (that's $10/day or $45/year). You just can't beat that!

Spokane has 3 state parks--Riverside, Mount Spokane, and Centennial Trail State Park. Some notable parks just to the west of Spokane are Sun Lakes-Dry Falls and Steamboat Rock; south are Palouse Falls and Steptoe Butte; north is Crawford State Park. You can learn more about these and other state parks by using this interactive map.

So stop by the library, check out a Discover Pass, and take the family or just yourself to one or more of Washington's state parks. There are plenty of things to see and do in them.

Wishing you happy exploring from the perch.

Image Source: Washington State Parks

Finding Balance

Do you have trouble finding balance in your life? Maybe it's a balance between work and personal time. Or work, personal time, and your partner. Perhaps work, personal time, your partner, and kids. Better yet, work, personal time, your partner, kids, and aging parents (and if that's the case, you have my full sympathy). Wow, and we haven't even talked about friends!

In my humble opinion, I think there are few of us who aren't trying to maintain some sort of balance in our lives. Speaking for myself, I try to balance work, a husband, and aging parents (mine AND my in-laws). Sure, there are times when one part of our lives need more attention than others (i.e., when my mother went to the ER via ambulance). When that happens, we can get a little (heck, VERY) stressed, exhausted, and unsettled.

So, minus unexpected emergencies, how are we supposed to keep balanced for the most part? Wondering about the answer(s) to this question, I turned to the books (naturally):

• Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (158.12 BUR, Libby) The subtitle of the book says it all: "Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts." 
• The Good Caregiver by Robert L. Kane (649.8 KAN) Written by a medical doctor who was a caregiver to his own mother after she experienced a stroke, this book addresses caring for the aging parent as well as the caregiver.
• Tidy Up Your Life by Tyler Moore (Libby) The author (a.k.a. "Tidy Dad" on Instagram) discusses not only tidying your home physically, but also tidying yourself emotionally and finding your own definition of "good enough."
• Positive Discipline for Today's Busy (and Overwhelmed) Parent by Jane Nelson (Libby) Offers guidance on how to parent well and effectively without giving up on your own goals in life, creating balance between family and work.
• Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World by Bryan E. Robinson (Libby)  In a world where the lines of work and life are blurred thanks to cell phones and other forms of technology, this book claims to help workaholics recover from workaholism.

Of course, there are many more books (in addition to internet resources) beside those I listed above.

As much as some of us may want or try to "have it all," the reality is we're human and we're capable of doing only so much. Luckily for us, there are a number of books and other resources to help no matter our situation.

Wishing you a good life balance from the perch.