Iron Goat Trail

On Wednesday it rained ALL day, plus Kristina was fighting a cold, so we decided to take it easy. We were lucky that everything timed out perfectly with the weather being not the greatest.  Plus, the Edmonson Parents aren't used to being dragged all over the earth.

However, on Thursday we were back at it!  Jared had been wanting to take Kristina to the Iron Goat Trail for quite sometime and he thought this would be the perfect opportunity.  The trail is near Leavenworth, WA and the fall colors were already in full effect as shown in the photos below.  It was a nice hike -- approximately 8 miles roundtrip -- and Louise reached an all time high on her FitBit. Not too shabby at all!

What a beautiful shot!  The trail was just gorgeous!

Indy, as usual, led the way...pulling Kristina behind her.

The trail is an old railroad line, so there are lots of cool bridges and tunnels along the way.  There are also really cool markers to tell you about the trail.

Kristina, George, and Indy posing for a shot!  Louise was falling a little bit behind being the naturalist.  The one thing about Louise is that she loves to pick stuff up along the way and take it back home with her.  By the end of the hike, she was loaded down and George was loaded down with stuff she wanted to keep.  That's why you will see her looking down in several of the photos.

Magnificent trees lined the entire hike!

Moss covered everything!

A shot across the highway to where the train traverses now!

And this is probably the happiest dog in the world!

Making our way down the trail...

More moss...

Posing for photographs at the end of the hike!

What a great day!

Chuckanut Drive and Bellingham

Today wasn't quite as sunny as it was on Monday, but we made the best of it as all true Seattleites do! It wasn't raining and the wind wasn't too bad in most places.  That being said, we followed our itinerary and headed towards Bellingham.

George and Louise hadn't been to Bellingham yet, so we decided to take the Chuckanut Drive for our outing.  The scenery is fantastic, and stopping at the Oyster Bar for lunch is always good too.  Fresh, local seafood, and a great bar menu are some of the reasons that Jared and Kristina often take visitors this route.  Plus, there isn't a bad view in the entire restaurant.

After stopping at the Oyster Bar for lunch, we made our way north.  We first stopped at Larabee State Park.  Larabee State Park was the first state park in Washington and therefore the oldest.  It has grown in size since its inception, but it is always magnificent.  Trails are right along the water so you can get a good sense of the area.

Here George is exploring just like we say George Jr and Rhett explore earlier in the summer. Sometimes the genetics are uncanny! 

Louise decided to avoid two of her fears -- water and heights and hang with Kristina and Indy while George was exploring and Jared was taking photos!

A frequent visitor of the area...

Rugged coastline...

Everyone is checking out the magnificent scenery...

And who could resist a shot of the cutest little dog in the world!  Look at that face!

Louise looking out at the water...

After Larabee State Park, we headed towards the Teddy Bear Cove Trailhead.

This was a nice little trail that headed down to two different little coves.  You could almost picture pirates showing up in the coves to stay for a while.  This one was shielded by the wind, so we spent more time checking things out, and Indy had to take the all important dip!

On the way back Jared took some magnificent shots of the trail...look how picturesque it is!

Tons of ferns lining the cliffs on both sides...

And of course, Indy dragging her Mom along the trail...no hike would be complete without that!

After we reached Bellingham, we headed north and east and found the Glen Echo Garden.  It was a garden that Kristina found online and thought George and Louise would enjoy it.  It was a very nice and serene garden and definitely worth the time if you are in the area.

It was a long day, but worth the trip...on Wednesday we'll rest!