The Evergreen State

Washington State is known as The Evergreen State for good reason. Majestic evergreens fill the landscape with their beauty most anywhere you go. We recently visited family in the Seattle area and took advantage of unusually good weather to be outdoors as much as possible. 

In the Redmond area is Sammamish river and lake and we found a park near our hotel stay that had several choices of trails and while our family was busy at work and school, we drove to Marymoor Park and looked at our options. The park is quite large and includes trails of varying length and a huge area where dogs are allowed to be unleashed. 

The trail we chose, the Marymoor Park Loop, would take us down to a boardwalk that went along the lake shore and was just under two miles long. It turned out to be half paved and half with walkable surface some of which included quite a mulched trail where the loop took us through part of the unleashed dog area. We were a bit concerned about entering that area on the way back but the few dogs we encountered were all well behaved and more interested in playing catch with their owners. 

The opening onto the lake gave us some pretty views of all those evergreens reflected in the water and we marveled at some of the bird life we saw. I wished at this point I had brought my good camera. As nice as the iPhone is, it still does not zoom like my camera does.

The loop trail complete, we decided to go back the way we came to get to the park and walk the river trail we had passed by. Of course we got distracted when we saw on the map an area called the Heron Rookery. We parked on the street and walked behind some apartment buildings to get to it. If there was a rookery there once it was gone now. The place where there might have been a small pond was filled in and covered with mulch which I'm sure would make a great place for kids or dogs to run and play.

A bit disappointed, we found our way to an easy place to park and walk the river trail along the Sammamish River. That too was a very pleasant walk and we walked one direction, returned and moved on. It was time to meet family for lunch and then get ready for a graduation celebration for our grandson.

The day after graduation was predicted to have a little rain but we woke to sunny skies. With everyone back at school and work, we were on our own to explore again. We had to choose between going into Seattle or going up the mountain a bit to see the Snoqualmie Falls. We chose the falls. We'd been there once before with our family but it had been a cold day and we didn't linger long.

The waterfall is 268 feet high and had thunderous water rushing down into the river. From the pictures posted nearby, the falls appeared to be at peak production. Below the observation area is hydropower plant #1 which is underground and originated in 1898 when a 23 year old civil engineer named Charles Baker envisioned a way to produce power for the growing population of Seattle. The plant combined with it's companion plant #2 generate enough power for 25,000 to 40,000 households.

We enjoyed the falls view for a bit and then walked over to the Salish Lodge and Spa for a mid-morning tea and pastry. The lodge is amazing inside and out and sits right next to the falls. From the outdoor seating you can view the falls. Unfortunately, it had started to rain a bit so we sat inside and enjoyed a pot of loose leaf tea with my blueberry muffin and Bob's "gotta have" cup of chowder. 

While we sat waiting for our tea, I looked up the cost of the rooms at the lodge. Whoa! Out of our price range. Biscuits arrived as a usual fair at our table and we were asked if we wanted some honey. The lodge has their own local source and the waiter takes the honey scoop and holds it about three feet up in the air and expertly dribbles the honey over the biscuits.

While enjoying our tea, the rain subsided and the radar showed that there was a good break between rain clouds so we opted to walk the ten minutes to the hydroelectric museum across the river. Not too many people it seemed were very interested in the displays as we were the only ones there except for the two interns who were working there for the summer. 

There was a lot of antique equipment including an old test set I found interesting since that the sort of thing Bob used to design and produce at his company. Just as we were about to step outside, the rain started up again. We weren't going anywhere since we hadn't thought to bring an umbrella.

One of the interns suggested we look into the exhibits next door at the old train station. We found a video running that was interesting and sat down to watch it while we waited the rain out. It answered my question about the Snoqualmie tribe that had ceded its land to the government. In the first display I'd seen, it didn't mention anything they got in return. The video explained that they received some monetary compensation as well as schools, and a few other needed structures. They also retained rights to a reservation and fishing rights on the river which was very important to them.

The rain finally let up and we hustled back to our car in the lot by the falls. We had enjoyed the best of the morning and early afternoon and didn't mind so much the rain. After all, it keeps those evergreens replenished.