Silver Falls and The Grove of the Patriarchs

We started walking down the Silver Falls trail just after 8am on Thursday, July 2nd. It was a gorgeous morning in the old-growth forest. My trail book assured us that this trail was family-friendly, and it was right. It was a 1.2 mile wide trail out to a roaring waterfall. The trail was a loop, but we really wanted to be sure to end right by our car instead of on the other side of the campground, so we turned back at the waterfall. We wondered how Jay and Rose would do on a 2.5 mile hike because they often seem rather...unwilling when we do the one mile walk around the block at home. But trees and nature had an energizing effect on the children, and they completed the whole hike without a single "I'm tired." Yay! I'm not opposed to having my kids walk farther, but we wanted this to be a positive, fun family hike--not a death march or a whine-fest. It was wonderful!

Silver Falls! Jay kept running ahead and he was the first one to see it.

Amber couldn't take her eyes off the roaring waterfall. There was a handy rock that I balanced my camera on for this group victory picture.

That little face peeking out!

Rose had issues tripping over rocks and roots. She was getting frustrated until Jeff explained to her what stumbling was. Then every time she stumbled but didn't fall, she triumphantly called out "I STUMBLED!" like it was an accomplishment. 

Trees are good for my soul.

Post-hike snack--apples for all.

Nature baby, complete with a fly on her face.

 After we finished up at Silver Falls and had a snack, we drove on over to the next sight on our agenda: The Grove of the Patriarchs. Again, I wondered if the kids would be happy hikers, and again they came through. It was awesome--they ended up hiking four miles in one day--cheerfully. I wish we could hike every day! We enjoyed the majesty of the 1000-year old trees in this grove.

Poor Amber was so done with the backpack by this point, so we ended up just carrying her in our arms. It wasn't more than a mile and a half, so it was doable.

These trees are GIANTS.

We visited The Grove of the Patriarchs 4 years ago when Rose was a baby, and enjoyed re-creating a few pictures with Amber this time around.

Baby Rose peeking out from behind that tree

Baby Amber, peeking out at the same spot.

Tree love.

This trip had it all: good food, big trees, beautiful scenery, winding trails, gushing streams, and family fun. We drove away from Mt. Rainier National Park dirty, tired, and happy.