Easter: Mendenhall Wetlands

Our friends went on a 10 day excusion and asked us to watch their dogs and stay at their house. We jumped at the chance to play with three dogs (and stay in a place with internet, netflix, piano, a shorter commute, etc.)

First there's D - she's an old gal. Our instructions were to walk her to the mailbox and back. She did not get to enjoy the mud flats with us.





Easter morning (actually both Saturdays and Sundays), we walked Willie and Bella the block to the Wildlife game refuge/Mud flats to play catch and chase birds.

Willie's ready to play. Can you see how well Bella is camoflauged?

Oh, there's Bella. She'd like the ball too.

It's so fun I'm gonna jump over you.

It was sunny and warm and the dogs had a blast. They chased sticks and tennis balls, watched for bald eagles, sand pipers, stellar's jays, marsh hawks, and juncos, and splashed in the streams. It was a nice relaxing morning.

Flashback: Car Fire

Remember the car that crashed into the church? Well, the next day I was reading the news and saw that a car had burst into flames on our corner just ten minutes after we left for seminary. When we got home that evening we looked around and sure enough there was a charred vehicle across the street. I was glad that I wasn't home when it happened, the fire was pretty bad, it sent the owner to the hospital.

Seward's Day at Blue Mussel Cabin

The last day in March is Seward's Day. We had the day off and our friend asked to be invited to our plans. We didn't have plans, so we made some up, "How about the Blue Mussel Cabin?"

The sky threatened rain and we know that the trail is typically muddy so we dressed for success, hiking in boots and rain gear. Rather than mud however we found snow and ice and after lunch the sun appeared.

We looked at sea anenomes and crabs in tide pools and crunched through the mounds of blue mussels piled along the beach.

Mr. X taught our friend to sling rocks in front of the cabin while I explored the 15 - 20 foot ice slides on the cliffs.

The cabin was a mess, so we gathered up the junk, washed windows and attempted to repair the windows in the loft.


Rather than taking the trail back to the car Mr. X wanted to bushwack. So we made our way through leaf-less Devil's Club. Eventually, I decided I was finished getting stung by the prolific, prickly bush, so I took off toward the road. Mr. X and our friend had no other choice but to follow.

It was an easy but enjoyable hike. Perfect for starting out the hiking season.