Spring adventuring has begun now that the rain pauses for minutes at a time. B and I buggered off from work on Saturday and headed out to the North Bend area for a little adventuring. Alas, our favorite eatery there has closed, but there’s a Herfy’s in Fall City, and the Three Forks Natural Area is right there. We adjusted plans accordingly.
If you’re ever in the area, do stop by here on a relatively clear day. The views of Mount Si from various spots are sublime. Here’s one across a field of dandelions.
One day, I will bring my lounge chair, and sit in this field, and just watch the light change on Mount Si. Those cliffs turn cloud shadow and sunbreaks into poetry.So there are acres and acres of riparian and wetland habitats here, plus an off-leash dog park, plus this field. Part of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail goes through it. The trail is on an old railroad bed, and a railroad bridge is still there. After being startled by a woodpecker working a sign post, we made it to the bridge, and lingered there for a bit.
Getting to the river was a bit rough – the overflow channels are still muddy and treacherous – but we found the trail I used last year and got to the water. Mount Si presided over the view just as it did before.The river chewed up a good portion of the bank this winter. We’ll see how it changes later, as the level goes down, and things settle.
On the way back to the exit, there are amazing views of the mountain from the main trail. Since the leaves haven’t quite come in, it’s not obscured.
And then there was this tableau with a white flowering tree.
The meadow you’re glimpsing in those shots is the one we were in at the start.
Gotcha a close-up with more of the cliff and the flowering tree branches in the foreground.
It was one of those perfect spring days, where it’s warm but not hot, and smells amazing (aside from the occasional whiff of horse stable), and there’s a breeze and birds and the whole universe feels like it’s bursting at the seams with life. The endless gray is just about over. And we’ve got plans to flee to the mountains this summer, since it promises to be hot. We’re headed to Mount St. Helens in early May, and we’ll be doing some sweet Cascades action, Mount Rainier, possibly Mount Baker, and if we’re very very lucky, some Olympics. We’re also trying to swing a visit to New Hampshire to see Evelyn. It’s going to be eventful, and we’ll have plenty of gorgeous stuff to show ye.
Beautiful images! Bob Ross could’ve painted them :)
Impressive mountains. Not yet old enough to be smooth, rounded lumps, too old to be spikey all the way to the top.
According to Wikipedia:
Might be an interesting topic for a geology article one of these days.
Oh, the photo of the meadow is absolutely breathtaking. I do miss the PNW in springtime.
I missed the part where you hiked to the TOP of Mt. Si. It’s “only” 3,500 feet elevation gain in 4 miles. Gasp!
I concur regarding the comment about your photo of the dandelion meadow.
When we visited Japan almost 10 years ago, one of our stops was at a hot springs hotel in Kawaguchiko, in the foothills of Mt. Fuji. I could watch the clouds dancing and playing chase around impassive Fuji-san, all reflected in the mirror lake just across from our hotel windows, all day…