Old Sauk River Trail 3-24-2019

AppleWatch Stats:  4.62 miles RT, 82 ft of elevation gain.

My pups will be hanging out with my Mom next weekend, so I wanted to do something with them today.  So I took them up to the Old Sauk River trail.  This used to be a favorite hike for Cedar and I when it was less improved/well-marked and there were less people.  We were in luck today and had the entire trail to ourselves clear up until we got back to the trail head.  It was absolutely wonderful.

The trail was for the most part clear of snow, but there were stretches of packed/slushy snow.  Nothing my yaktrax would have helped with, and a nice extra calorie burner.

I always think of the beautiful Sauk River when I think of this hike, but the forest is absolutely lovely.  Great towering Douglas firs and other conifers, broken here and there by stretches of mossy maples.  Today the woods were ringing with various bird songs, and we even startled a grouse.  She was too quick to get a photo.  

Of course the Sauk River is definitely the jewel of this trail, it's music always in earshot.  There was a male common merganser floating in a calm area and a kingfisher flew by while Cedar, Luna and I had a snack on the riverbank.

NE Washington at my Dad's April 20-22

Last weekend I took Friday and Monday off, and Dave and I went to visit my family at my Dad’s. He lives in a fairly remote area of NE Washington, and it is thick with wildlife.  And with my family there, it was also thick with food and laughter.  : )  He lives at the edge of a slough, so not only does he get all the regular wildlife, but all the water birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians as well.  The only thing I haven’t seen there yet is a bear or a moose. 

My Sis, Rose- My Bro-In-Law, Chris- My Dad, My Bro, Jim- My Mom- Dave- Me- Odin & Cedar

Here is Dad and Dave looking out over the water.  One of my Dad’s only rules is to leave your worries at the gate.  We did, and decided it was a most excellent rule.

Various shots of family, Cedar, and Cedar’s cousin Odin.

Mom and Dad at the campfire.

My bro, Jim, with one of his rare-but-nice smiles.

Me and Cedar- you can barely see him over the grass.

There is a bird feeder at the patio and we all enjoyed watching and photographing the various birds- chickadees, finches, sparrows, downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, and even a couple bright yellow male goldfinches made an appearance.  The squirrel came around now and then to clean up the seeds that got tossed to the ground. 

Other birds we saw- although this is not even close to all of them- were blue heron, mallards, Canada geese, mergansers, wild turkeys, eagles, and osprey.  One osprey came right in front of us, dove to the slough, and came up with a fish in his talons!  It was beautiful, and I wish I had been able to get a video or picture.

I was a bit surprised to see that the turtles were already awake and enjoying the spring sunshine.

Here is one of the many deer that wander through Dad’s yard.  They counted 10 at one time, while we were off on a side trip.

My sister and her husband took us sightseeing in the area (and to get more ice cream).  We drove out through the countryside and to Sullivan Lake.  It was super warm on the beach and we all skipped rocks and lazed about for awhile.  After that we went to the old Mill Pond spillway.  It was really cool and there was a short walk to some old cabins and the remnants of the old log flume.

Chris and Rose getting different views.

Me at Sullivan Lake

The canoe is always fun at Dad’s. Dave and I decided to take it through this culvert.  : )

It was an excellent visit that went far too fast.  We spent a day coming back home on Hwy 2 instead of taking the freeway.  Dave was able to visit an old friend he hadn’t seen in years, and we also took a side trip to the Grand Coulee Dam and Dry Falls.

Just West of Leavenworth there was a cool spillway that was just frothing with water.  The rivers are all really full with snow melt-off. 

And to wrap our trip up, we spotted a bear up on the hillside.  Awesome!