An informational sign near the trailhead informed us that some of the rock formations along the trail looked like Easter Island heads. We had been to this trail several times and never noticed the head-rocks before, so we resolved to look for them. I'm not sure if we saw the exact rocks referred to by the sign, but we definitely saw a very Easter Island head-shaped rock. With Elvis hair. It was awesome.
Easter Island Elvis!
The trail was flat and wide, and the scenery fluctuated often enough to keep the views interesting. Jay went on a run when we first arrived, and we met him farther down the trail. The girls explored every little side path with creek access. Amber collected pretty leaves and speared them onto a stick for the first half of the hike. Rose got a splinter from one of her scrambles--that girl is the splinter queen! I brought my pocket knife and used its removable mini-tweezers on her splinter, just like our last hike.
The wind was relatively steady on the outward journey, but after w while it suddenly picked up speed and started blasting us. That helped us decide to turn around at the 1.5 mile mark. Even with the wind, it was such an easy 3 mile stroll, it almost felt like cheating. After almost two hours exploring the trail, we were still home by 6pm.
Tree climbing at the parking area.
Amber got up high above my head and then got scared like a little kitten. I had to lift her down from the tree. She is one solid heavy girl. It was hard to lift her down from that height, so she kind of fell onto my head/arms, and then I lowered her to the ground.
The parking area also had a big beautiful bouncy willow tree. Amber climbed onto a rock, grabbed two fistfuls of the springy willow branches, and jumped. Tally-ho! She swung forward in a ten foot arc and the branches bounced her back and forth like a pendulum. I was laughing so hard. She looked like a little spider monkey swinging through the trees!
Amber loves gathering pretty leaves.
Amber, with her stick 'o speared leaves.
Jay came back to us!
Our favorite climbing area, about a mile down the trail.
Amber had to follow Rose onto the boulder, cute little barnacle.
They were too wild and free to do a cute pose in this pretty grove. I guess this is one of their normal poses, though, so at least it's accurate.
Amber absolutely loved making bark boats on our last hike, so she made another one this week. It took some work to convince her that she could not bring her massive boat home. She reluctantly sailed it on Cowiche Creek, and the fast current swamped it almost immediately.
Slowly preparing to let go of her beloved bark boat.
My face was desperate because for some reason, the kids thought it would be fun to scream at the tops of their lungs while saying CHEESE as I clicked the button to take this picture. My ears were ringing for a while after.
These smooth read serrated leaves were so perfect and pretty.
My wild climbing Rose.
Light on rock: I enjoyed the dramatic late-afternoon lighting throughout the small canyon.
Jay, stepping into the light.
Rose kept her pant leg rolled up after I pulled a thick splinter from her leg. She also let her jacket droop 1990s-style because it was too cold without the jacket, but too warm with it all the way on her shoulders.
Texture, color, and sisters.
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