Weowna park hike

For our hike Sunday we again visited Weowna Park in Bellevue and hiked the northern path. Diane, Scott,and Tyler picked Mike and me up and we met Gail at the Lake Hills Park both cars arriving within 1 minute. Tyler could not resist the play area and happily went down the slide a couple times before the hike. The day was cloudy but mild. It was again a beautiful hike considering the close-in residential area but filled with old trees and lush foliage. It was a very nice hike!

Kelsey Creek Farm and Bellevue Botanical Gardens

The last several hikes have been covered in Jim and Vickie's blog - address to the right above. As they are presently vacationing in Bath, England, they were not here for Sunday's fun hike so this blog will cover the present hike .
Gail, Diane, Tyler, Mike, and I started out from Kelsey Creek Farm. Tyler rode up high in the backpack carried by Mike. The look of joy on Tyler’s face as he was placed in the pack hardly subsided during the walk which he loved. We proceeded up the sidewalk and into the woods surrounding the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. The flowers and shrubbery were just beginning to bloom which made a lovely sight on this fine spring day.
On our return to the Farm Gail had to leave but the rest of us continued over to the field and barnyard area where sheep, goats, horses, pigs, and cows roamed freely and in their pens. Lily was unceremoniously barred from the area so Mary and Lily rested in the lower picnic area as the others roamed the farm. Everyone had a good time.
All the way home Tyler spoke of the animals and would say very clearly moooooo. It was a great day!

Coal Creek Falls Hike

Today Jim and I went on a beautiful hike. Jim arrived at our door at 9:30 am. Unfortunately others were unable to attend. Scott and Diane had to work, Vickie had to stay home to greet the home repair workers. Mike had to be in Ephrata on his housing assignments, Gail had to rest from her numerous social engagements.

We started from Redtown Trailhead and traversed up Cave Hole Trail which was a semi-steep but invigorating walk. Turning right on Coal Creek Falls Trail we began to level off to a woody trail and enjoy the fresh and lovely early winter season foliage and scenery. The day was crisp and partly sunny making it ideal weather for an enjoyable hike.

We reached Coal Creek Falls midway into our hike. The rushing stream curving around rocks and under the rustic bridge made a picturesque sight. We surmised that the heavy stream was the result of an early year snow in the mountains followed by a warm spell.

Continuing down the trail we turned back toward the familiar Redtown Trail ending at the trailhead at 11:40 am. Our hike was approximately 2.4 miles and took about 2 hours. (Jim please correct these figures). It was a great hike and a great morning!

Sunday, October 5 Hike

This morning Jim and Vickie, Diane, Scott, and Tyler met at our house at 8:15 am. I rode with the Oakes to meet the others at the Sky Country Trailhead on Cougar Mt. We started out on the country road until we reached the trail which took us along a beautiful wooded path. It was a cloudy but fresh and lovely day for a hike. Tyler was happy to be in his jogging stroller. After 1 1/4 miles, Diane notice Tyler was falling asleep. They wanted to keep him awake so he would not miss his nap time later on so they turned around and carried Tyler back the same route to the car. Diane told us later that Tyler got down and walked through the leaves for a while and enjoyed the walk. We continued down the trail to reach Long View Peak and Doughty Falls and then looped on back to the trailhead. We walked 5.6 miles. Although Vickie got stung by a bug and Jimmy got bitten as well, it was a great day!

Vacations

Friday morning, Sept. 26, Mike and I drove to Lake Quinault Lodge, which we have often visited, on the Olympic Peninsula. On the way down we stopped at Elma for lunch which we enjoyed so much that we stopped there again on our return route. There are several good restaurants in Elma the names of which I will add later. Both our lunches were delicious. We had a great time at Lake Quinault. The weather could not have been better. The sun shone through the leaves and branches of the giant old growth forest as we walked through several trails that surrounded the lodge and the beautiful glistening lake. We enjoyed meals both at the lodge and another fine restaurant, The Salmon House, down the road. It was a great 3-day (Jim would call it 2-day) vacation which we plan to repeat again soon. Although I forgot my camera, I am showing pictures of the Lake Quinault lodge and scenic outdoors

Please see Jim and Vickie's blog for pictures and details of hikes we made as a group. http://jim-vickie.blogspot.com/

Rockport State Park

Saturday, August 23, Mike, Jim, Vickie, Gail, and I drove to Rockport State Park, It was a beautiful day. We enjoyed a delicious gourmet lunch prepared by Jim at a picnic table in a nearby wooded area. After lunch we hiked the Evergreen trail which took us 2 1/2 miles through the forest in a loop around the park. The Vine Maples canoping the moss covered trees were part of the scenery at this mini rain forest park. Even though I somehow lost my hiking boots there, this was a terrific day. P.S. I later bought some better boots at the REI sale the next week.