Better than a walk around the neighborhood

We weren’t in the mood for an all day adventure so we found a hike that was less than 10 miles away from home and less than three miles round trip with little elevation gain. We ended up selecting Around the Lake Trail.

Lakes are generally nice so there would be a view better than just the trail and the woods, right? Well… generally that is true. But this hiked ended up being, in the words of Barb, “notably non-memorable.”

It wasn’t bad in any way. It just wasn’t anything great.

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One of the main attractions of this hike was a short branch of the trail called “Bus Trail”. This was the bus. I suspect it’s history is less interesting than all the bullet holes might suggest.

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I’ve seen bigger and nicer ponds than this lake.

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I’m sorry. That doesn’t qualify as a “lake”. That’s a wet spot that should be drained and made into a meadow.

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A fair amount of the trail was close to being a sidewalk.

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Then there was the section of the trail that was fenced in.

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This might be fun for kids of the appropriate age but we didn’t bother to check it out.

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We did have fun with a short game of “where’s Barb?”

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There was some scenery that was pleasurable to look at and it was certainly better than a walk around the neighborhood.

Franklin Falls

It is very hot this weekend and Barb went looking for a hike that wasn’t too long and with very little elevation gain. Franklin Falls met our criteria.

It was crowded and it is easy to see why. The trail was mostly wide and smooth. The trail was shaded and while it was 90 F at home it was 72 F at the trail head. Only at the very end was it a little bit sketchy with a steep drop off on one side:

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The actual falls were nice too:

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The bridge you see in the upper left of the picture above is the west bound lanes of I-90 just west of Snoqualmie Pass. As Barb said, “I had no idea this was here.”

Cama beach family reunion

Barb and Max left Friday afternoon and I followed after work. The traffic was terrible for me and it took me over two hours. But Barb was waiting for me at the park entrance and guided me through the parking and transportation from the parking area to the cabins about, by trail, 350 yards away.

We visited and went on some short hikes until it started getting dark then sat around the tables in front of the cabins and visited until it was time for bed. Most of the people I talked to asked about Maddy and Barb and I filled them in with the latest stories.

The cabins were close to the water and clean. The walls were very thin though. And the cabins were close together. You could hear people snoring in the cabin next you. We gave Max the bedroom and the large bed. Barb and I slept on the rollaway bed. Every movement was a screech of metal and the wall was so thin my snoring kept Max from sleeping well.

Lots of pictures below the fold.

Continue reading “Cama beach family reunion”