Boo!

Fountain stop

Darrington trip

I caught a fish this big

Whidbey Island

We rounded out our weekend travels with a trip to Whidbey Island today. Tristan didn't get a lot of places to play yesterday so I thought this would be a good trip.

Our first stop was at the fairgrounds in Langley. We've gone before and it's always empty so it's a great place for Tristan to tear around and burn off some energy. Lots of fetch then Tristan went exploring in and out of all the barns. The different animal smells really intrigued him. I love Langley but we didn't spend much time there today as I wanted to be sure to get further up the island.

Our next stop was at Greenbank. Very little was going on at the Sunday's farmer market but darn if it isn't right next to the Whidbey Pies Cafe which has the best pies anywhere!

We found a deserted beach and Tristan had a grand time. He found a driftwood log that he dragged up and down the beach and played with obsessively. In fact my nose got a bit out of joint. Tristan is very attentive to me and always keeps an eye on me. Well not today. I lost out big time to the log. I went back up the trail to see when Tristan would notice I was gone and come find me. We might well still be there if I had waited for him. So now we know.

Tristan also got his first up close glimpse at deer. After dark we were on a country road leading to yet another park and we saw a lot of small deer. Tristan started barking at them. I expect he thought they were very skinny sheep and he should be out herding them.

Mt. St. Helens

We headed south today to Mt. St. Helens. Somehow I have never been to see it. I really wish I would have gone soon after the blast. Now most of the surrounding hills look like reforested clear cuts. It must have been spectacular when the mountain and all the surrounding hills were totally barren. It's incredible to see how the top of the mountain is gone. One used to be able to see the mountain from Seattle but no more.

There wasn't really any place for Tristan to run around. Finally I found a forest road that we followed up the mountain. Tristan, of course, loved a big long game of fetch.

Time for a road trip

It was time for a road trip today. I've been under the weather all week with a bad cold. I can't say I felt all that much better this morning but Tristan and I also had a bad case of cabin fever. Poor guy has been cooped up with me all week and hasn't gotten his daily quotion of fetch. I figured I could sniffle and sneeze in the car just as well as at home. I threw cold tablets, a bottle of cough syrup and Kleenex in my purse and we were off.

Another big motivation was that I wanted to see some autumn colors and this might be the last weekend to see them. The weather report forecast several non-rainy days and I need some sun!

We headed over Stevens Pass and the drive was absolutely spectacular. Every leaf seems to have turned color and it is bright and beautiful and totally golden the whole way. I'm surprised at how much I loved seeing the gold leaves when it's usually the red maples that seem so picturesque. The sheer mass of gold envelops the hills and highway creating a warm and welcoming corridor. The various reds and oranges punctuate with their own drama. It really is glorious now.

Tristan and I stopped at campgrounds along the way. The campgrounds are mostly empty so Tristan can tear around being crazy dog. He's such a great traveler but I know he enjoys his breaks the most. We also stopped at the Leavenworth ranger station to get some maps that show Forest Service roads. I haven't really found a good resource for locating great back road trips so maybe this will help in our explorations.

Gone fishing

Tristan went salmon fishing today. We were at the little park in Sultan - the one with Tristan's favorite swings. We went exploring on a newly cleared path that leads to the Sultan River. The river was teeming with salmon and I mean that literally. There were hundreds milling around the shallow shore and lots of them jumping further out in the river.

Tristan thought the fish were pretty interesting and started wading in to investigate. Then he saw a splash from a fish jumping and he was off like a rocket. I know he thought it was a ball being thrown. He swam way out but then couldn't find a ball. What a goof - he knows I can't throw that far!