Boulder River 2-2-13

Once again, the land was covered in fog when we left the Snohomish area and headed out to do just part of the Boulder River Trail.  Despite it being cold at our destination, the fog was nowhere to be seen and the sun was shining!  This is the important thing about the Northwest.  Never stay home due to weather because you never know what you'll really find, and I've found it nicer than expected more often than not.
We would have hiked further in, but due to snow built up in the road, we had to park the car about a mile or so from the trailhead. So we just went about another mile further to the double falls.
The first thing really cool thing on trail is this log that you have to walk under that is part of a small waterfall.  Droplets and miniature streams of water are pouring off from all over it. 

The trail was a pleasant mixture of darker wintery areas, and dry trail with sunbeams coming through.  We and the dogs, Cedar and Junior, all enjoyed the variations in the beauty around us.

Although the waterfalls are one of the most dramatic points along the trail, the river itself is lovely also.  It is, not surprisingly, full of boulders, and deep in its shadowy gorge it had a cold frosty blue tint to it. 

Our turn around point was to be the waterfalls.  First you pass the single...

 

And then the double, cascading down the rocky cliffs into the Boulder River below.

We enjoyed the lunch that Dave had packed for us, and our hairy friends stared at us desperately, willing bits of cheese to drop out of our sandwiches.  We're suckers so they both got a bite.

While we were in this area with the roar of the falls and river, we decided to off-trail it a little and went down to the river.  Dave and Junior went across, but it was a bit too deep for Cedar to cross safely and a bit too slippery for me to want to carry him.  Dave explored a rocky river island, noting the differences in elevation of parts of the river there and climbed up a big snow-covered boulder.  Junior waited in a patch of snow below.

Cedar and I climbed back up the embankment first and I took a picture of Dave and Junior below by the river.  I took this with my cellphone and a few others, but the vast majority of these photos are Dave's handiwork.  I found after clicking a "picture" or two that they didn't exist due to my leaving my memory chip at home.

Both on the way in and out, Cedar had to check out this gnarly stump.  It was pretty cool with its grip on the boulder and then the serpentine roots of the still-living tree embracing the stump and boulder also. 

 

On the way out, Dave and Junior posed nicely on a boulder in the snow.  Overwhelmed by joy at being on a hike, knowing he was nearing the car, and the presence of snow, Cedar raced around in the foreground in hyperactive terrier mode.

Finally back in the car and headed out of the woods, the sun hitting the strata of this ridge caught our eye and we stopped for some final pictures.

Get out there and enjoy the Pacific Northwest!!

Padilla Bay 1-20-2013

Dave and I left the dogs behind in the land of fog so we could look at birds at sunny Padilla Bay.  We were really hoping to see a snowy owl, but unfortunately there were none to be seen.  The day was so enjoyable though, even owl-less that we had a terrific time and I highly recommend this lovely hike.

We were first greeted by a hawk, perched up in a tree watching for small critters in the grass below.

 

The next thing we saw was a pair of blue herons in courtship! I have never seen this before and it was really beautiful.  They walked along in tandem at first with their heads pointed up at the sky like snobby feathered ballerinas, then the male (I assume) held his wings down at different angles.  It seemed it would be a long courtship, so we took some photos and some video and then walked on. 

 

We saw a little sandpiper nibbling along in the mud on just one stilt.  His useless leg was tucked up under his wing, but despite his disability he seemed to be doing pretty well for himself.

 

There were a couple types of sandpipers that we saw while we were here.

 

There was a cool old barn along the walkway also.  Dave peeked inside and said it is now being used as a boathouse.

There was a cormorant here, drying its wings and soaking up some sunshine from the top of a piling.

There were many varieties of ducks all along the walk.  There were so many of them swishing their beaks for things in the mud that you could hear the squishy gobbling sound quite loudly.  It was pretty funny.

Northern Pintail- there were a lot of these

Green Wing Teal- his little mask shone green in the sun

After leaving Padilla Bay, we stopped by the Spirit Island area to again check for owls.  We saw a lot of hawks, and this stately heron.

It was an incredible sunset, both the golds and peaches to the west behind Spirit Island, and the glowing rose that lit up Mt Baker to the east.  What a perfect day.

Old Sauk Hike 1-19-2013

For days the Puget Sound area had been socked in with fog and freezing temperatures.  All day and all night, everything fuzzy and gray.  Cedar and I decided to go out for a hike and at least get some great eerie pictures of the forest in the fog.  Surprisingly, we ended up driving out of the giant fog bank and into the glorious sunshine!

The Old Sauk River Trail is ALWAYS a good choice.  The trail is being changed and the parking lot and parts of it have already been improved, but I evily hope that this won't improve the popularity of it.  I have always enjoyed a quiet secluded walk here, and this day was no exception.  I only saw two other people the whole time and that was at the end when returning to my car! 

Cedar and I hiked along, me delighting over all the different formations of ice, and he running ahead and wondering what was keeping me.

The coolest ice of all was this awesome flowery fuzzy ice.  It looked like translucent moss or icy fur covering everything.  Petting it sounded like miniature windchimes.

Cedar got cold when we stopped for lunch and I had to put his coat on.  He hated it.

No matter how cold or wet, get out there and hike if you can.  We live in the most beautiful place on Earth!