Before we bid Winter adieu we headed up to the North Cascades to stay at the Freestone Inn for one last hurrah. We spent our time enjoying slow mornings and big breakfasts, snowshoeing, window shopping in Winthrop, and constantly dreaming about one day building a house of our own amongst the stunning landscape. The North Cascades have become our refuge, our go to place when we want a break from the world with a healthy dose of natural beauty and a hearty side of adventure. We have spent many hours hiking the nearby trails and marveling at how we always feel like we have the place to ourselves. We love to visit the Freestone Inn during all seasons, but the Fall and Winter are our favorites. The combination of the coziness of the inn with cooler temperatures makes us feel right at home by the roaring fire.

The Freestone Inn is located in Mazama on a sprawling property called Wilson's Ranch. The Freestone Inn's location is ideal for those wanting to heli-ski, cross country ski and snowshoe alike. The Freestone Inn is a family friendly place and offers a variety of accommodations including one and two bedroom condos and more traditional king and queen bed rooms. Each room has a deck with a view of the pond and is perfect for enjoying your breakfast or reading a book.

During our visit we stayed in a one bedroom condo which had a full kitchen, dining and sitting area in addition to the bedroom. It was the perfect configuration for our little family because Jasper was able to have a space of his own on the opposite side of our unit. Jasper always sleeps better when he can have his own space. Our deck was fun for exploring in addition to eating breakfast in the cool, crisp air.

There are trails all around the Freestone Inn and the Freestone Lake loop is one of our favorite.

Jasper would have been completely content never setting foot off the property. He enjoyed spending the majority of his time watching the wildlife, throwing rocks, running around with sticks and eating fists full of snow.

Upon check in you are greeted by this massive two sided stone fireplace. The moment my eyes rest on this beautiful silhouette of a cowboy riding a horse I can physically feel my body and mind breathe a sigh of relief. The Freestone Inn is a special place to us, it provided shelter during one of life's storms and has continued to be a place of healing and warmth during both of our darkest and brightest days.

The Freestone Inn has recently had a change in their on site manager. Over the past several months the new managers are doing a lot to spruce up the place. They have added a bar to the property along with a full breakfast menu and happy hour. During our stay I even saw they are going to be installing new custom wood benches to the dining area which will provide much needed additional sitting during busy times.

This time of year the North Cascades highway is still closed, so we were able to spend one morning hiking where we would normally drive along the road. This morning was very reminiscent of the time we recently spent in Glacier National Park hiking along the Going to the Sun road. The North Cascades highway is closed not far from the Freestone Inn, so it was a good starting point for our hike along the road one morning.