The first of August, already! As you can tell, what would have been a perfect day, was enveloped in heavy smoke from the fires in Canada. Even so, I didn't want to let a day without the usual heat & humidity go by without getting in a ride.
View to the west~
Once I was on the trail, the smoke wasn't noticeable. It was more like a day with cloud cover. At the open area's though - the smoke was all too obvious. I could see through it to clouds above & the sun kept trying to burn though.
Damage from our last wind~
June & July gave us a few days of terrific winds. This widowmaker was a Walnut limb. The trail volunteers have to wait for it to come down, before they tackle cutting & removing it. At least it's still high enough to ride under.
The Walnut Cathedral~
The Walnuts here were undamaged & as beautiful as ever. It was a very quiet day on the trail. When the fields are planted, the animals don't lack for cover. No visitors on the trail, just the squirrels' gathering the fallen walnuts.
Silver Creek~
At the trestle I stopped, as I'm so used to doing, to take a photo. Then... I remembered my photo was being taken by the game camera. I was furious I'd forgotten, too busy enjoying the day & too used to the routine of stopping here. I left quickly & as I did, spotted the second camera on a tree at the south end. I won't be riding here nearly as often or stopping on the trestle anymore.
Boehner Pond, someone got stuck~
The north end of the pond is in the photo above. I think it must have been a riding mower that managed to get too close to the edge of the water & got stuck. It had to have taken a car or truck to get it pulled out. What a mess. I bet the mower was a mess too by the time it was back on dry land.
It was nice to see a few people camping. Three kids were riding their bikes on the sidewalk around the pond & probably made at least five loops! The youngest boy had an unplanned dismount but got back on & kept peddling!
Shadow at the covered picnic spot~
The tree to the left with the green trunk, is covered with poison ivy vine. I hope whoever is taking care of the landscape notices & gets it removed. I made a loop around the pond before I left & spooked a beautiful Great Blue Heron! I wish I'd had time to get a picture of him.
I'd started back north, still on the mile of concrete when I felt something swoop over my head! I hit the brakes in time to watch as the beautiful butterfly landed on the flowers at the side of the trail. The first large butterfly I've seen this season. I keep hoping to see a Monarch or two, but so far, no luck.
Where the tall corn grows~
The corn is tall! In the many fields where it's planted, it blocks the view out from the trail. It also blocks the breeze on humid days. Even with the smoke, it was a beautiful day to be out. I had ridden a loop around the side of Malvern & finished the ride at just under 18-miles. I've learned how to use Shadows gears to my advantage & my knees don't ache after a ride like they used to. The benefit of a bike with assist. Back in town, all was quiet. Mari Jo has removed the cute Happy Trails Cycle sign from her building; it looks so plain now.
The weather is cooperating this week! Such nice days, to spoil us before the heat & humidity roll in. I decided another ride this week would be more fun than mowing.
Wind blowing the corn~
The corn is done growing, has tasseled & now will wait for the harvest. I should have taken a short video of the wind blowing across it, almost like waves in the ocean.
Smokey on the trestle~
With a decent wind blowing from the north, I took advantage of it on my way to Malvern. I knew the trip back riding into it - wouldn't be nearly as easy. Smokey moved right along; I minimized the stops to see if I could match my best time so far this year.
Bicycle Tree~
I missed getting a photo of the very top of the new art installation on my last visit. At least from an angle where you can see the wings on the bike! Turning back north, I made my usual stop at the park. The wind was blowing the water & it was another stellar summer afternoon.
Cattails growing at the ponds edge~
This park is such a restful spot - we're so lucky to have the nice public spaces we do. The campground at the far side, only had one RV. I've not seen anyone fishing so far this season either. Our warmest time of day is usually between 4-5 p.m. & I started back after talking with Butch. When I called him, he said was expecting my call. Even with all the distance between us, we're still in tune :-)
North on the Concrete~
The concrete is just so nice to ride on, I wish the entire trail was hard surface. There are days when the crunch of the limestone gets old to my ears. The silent sound of the tires on the concrete, is golden!
Small reflective pond~
Last year, the farm near here put in a small dam & created the pond. It was so pretty, reflecting the green grasses along the edge. Riding into a decent wind was something I hadn't had to do in a while.
Just as Smokey rolled up onto the boards of the Trestle, I caught movement off to my left. A Great Blue Heron was taking flight! He must have been very close to the trestle & the sound of the bike on the boards had scared him. I instantly stopped & took out my phone, but too late to get his photo. He flew off around the bend in the river. It reminded me of a day years ago. I was riding Jas across a small bridge in WA & we spooked a Blue Heron up from beneath it. As he took flight, his long legs almost hit Jas in the ears!
Silver Creek on a warm summer afternoon~
The river is a draw for wildlife in the area. (In the past few weeks, a neighborhood in Omaha has had Cougar sightings!) I was so happy to have my sighting last Oct. near this same area.
I made good time the final few miles back to Silver City. Silver Spokes was open - I stopped for take-out - before heading home. I have the Explorer back, repaired from hail damage, so made a quick trip to the car wash. The sun was just behind the trees of the woods, by the time I put Smokey away.
Here it was, already my last Sat. in WA. The time, as usual, had gone way too fast! I didn't just spend all my time with Farah! My schedule was planned around Grand-daughter Cassidy's 16th Birthday! The last time I'd here to celebrate, was 2016, just prior to our move to IA.
Mason & Dave had a full day planned & so did we! Up & on the road early, we stopped at Starbucks before heading to Ferry dock. The three of us are all rock hounds, so a day trip to Whidbey Island for walking the beach sounded perfect. We arrived at the Edmonds ferry in record time - traffic was light on a Saturday.
Just light rain, we were so lucky to be one of the last cars loading, without the wait for another boat. Once we'd boarded, I hurried up front to admire the views. The three of us were standing there, when suddenly Courtney said; "We're going to Kingston! We're on the wrong ferry!" It had dawned on me about the same time, we should have been on the Mukilteo ferry to Clinton!
Cassidy & Grammy~ I'm still taller! :-) Not!
You'd have thought we were all newcomers to the state! But, what the heck, it had been a long time since we'd been on the peninsula. The rain had stopped, the sky was clearing & it was going to be one of those days when Washington pulls out all the stops.
Tug boat leaving Kingston~
We gave Dave a call, telling him of our change of plans & decided to make the loop! In all the years we lived Butch's home state, we'd never visited Port Townsend. Courtney started telling me of a beach there - great for finding sea glass! As if I needed any convincing.
On our route, we crossed the Hood Canal Bridge. Butch & I had gone that way with the camper, our last trip with the kids in June of 2015, on our way to Fort Flagler. Crossing this beautiful bridge - new since we first moved to WA in 1981 - is so much fun.
It wasn't much of a drive until we were entering Port Townsend. What a beautiful, quaint seaport town. The Peters family had been there before. Courtney knew of one of the best restaurant for lunch. Clam chowder had been on my list for days & I finally got to indulge! Yum! We took time to walk the town & do a little shopping.
We found a shop that sold rocks, all kinds of rocks, we were there awhile...
Flowers everywhere~
Cassidy & I left Courtney to check out the tea shop & were amazed at the variety of tea's! We both sampled & ended up buying tea to bring home. When Courtney caught up to us, we decided if the purpose of the day had been to rock-hound, we'd better head for the beach!
The parking was far from full, we grabbed our buckets & started hiking along the water. The temperature was perfect, a light breeze, blue water & fluffy clouds. I admired the amazing views at least as much as I searched for agates & glass! Until - Courtney & Cassidy started finding cool stuff!
Out across the water, this guy caught my eye. I had to zoom all the way in, but managed to get his photo, riding on the kelp.
Me & my bucket :-)
All those colored buckets we'd bought the grand-kids over the years, to fill with goodies, are still in use today! I filled mine with rock, I later had to sort down to only my favorites, to pack for the trip home.
By the time we'd loaded on to the Salish, the sun was setting over the Cascades. It was a stunning end to a magnificent day. We stopped in Mukilteo for a quick dinner at Ivars, before heading home. Who can ever get enough seafood? :-)
Friday & the end of a hot, humid week. After the rains of Wed. night & muggy but cooler weather yesterday - I finally thought of Pierce Creek Recreation Area as a possible ride destination. I called Joyce - trails were open - so this morning I made the 35-mile drive from Glenwood. After the out & back to pick up Farah - it was another 100-mile round-trip day.
Obstacle Course~
This was our second visit here & we took in the obstacle course on our way to the trails. What a nice, well thought out course! After the several courses we've used, this was the first time for a tunnel :-) Farah hesitated - then walked right through. The noodles gave her pause - as if she hasn't done noodles many times - but when I insisted - she huffed her way through those too.
On the dike~
With the memory of an Elephant, she remembered that she did Not like the sound of the outflow from the dam, but walked across like a lady. We were the only ones there, I'd sprayed us both down from top to bottom, but it wasn't enough...
The beautiful lake~
The bugs were attacking in hoards - I pulled out my tiny pen size sprayer & did Farah's ears & my arms - but it hardly helped. I knew it would be hot too, since most of the trails are out in the open.
Here too the Bee Balm was blooming, so pretty against all the green. All the trails we took had been freshly mowed - the only mud we found was in the low spots & only for a couple feet each time. We headed for our favorite area, the timber & there found the footing mostly dry. Dry enough to ride without tearing up the trails. We spooked a Huge White Tail doe - she flagged her tail as she took off through the trees.
In the Timber~
Another quarter mile & a Huge Owl took flight just off to our side! He was so big that he had a difficult time opening his wings for takeoff!
Stunning~
With the temperature in the upper 80's & humidity at close to 70% the heat index was between 98 & 103. Farah was in a full sweat within the first couple miles. I took my electrolytes & sipped out of my water bottle.
I was surprised to see the Echinacea growing wild here! I had planted it on the Homestead, but over the years the growing trees along the road shaded it out. Now I'm looking forward to planting some here! Once in a while a cloud would move over head & give us some brief relief from the sun. We rode around the far edge of the lake & a huge fish jumped - scaring us both :-)
We'd spooked this guy on our way over, now coming back, here he was! I did manage to get a decent picture, even with Farah shaking every 30-seconds due to the flying insects.
Taking flight~
Just after I took his photo, he squawked at us! I had no idea that they can make such a nasty, scratchy noise! He was quick to take off for the willow on the far side of the lake.
From the SW corner~
We followed the perimeter fence again. Farah trotted all the way across the dike, with only a slight hesitation at the outflow :-) She remembered the trails better than I had & was anxious to get over to the area north of the campground. Once on the grass - she hit her full trot & we trotted the entire loop with some galloping thrown in!
On the fast trails~
She was picking up speed & with some partially blind corners I asked her to slow a little, not knowing what other wildlife we might spook up. I was surprised that she put out the effort as hot as it was.
Farah's driest face ever~
I stripped all her tack as fast as I could - so nice to have the working field hydrants, with hoses attached! I hosed her off - soaked myself & then let her graze.
Farah in the sun, me in the shade~
Trees have been planted along the camping spot area - one is large enough to have some shade & on a day like this one - it was very welcome. I drank a lot of water before loading Farah for the trip back home.
Today's route~
We covered a few trails that we'd missed last time & didn't take some that we had - that were out in the open. It was so quiet out here today - you just can't help but love the area - I just wish it were closer. With only 7,000 people in the entire county - Fremont - (780,000 in Snohomish County, WA) it's no wonder that there is an abundance of quiet in the country~
