Hiking at Capitol Forest

Bridge over Waddell Creek in the Capitol Forest where we hiked this morning.  For more pictures, please click HERE

Hiking with the Meet-up Group at Evergreen

Today was supposed to be our Yoh! hike to Covel Creek & Angel Falls, but due to the potential of snow down to 1500 feet,  it was postponed until next week.  So instead Scott & I met with a new 'Meet-up' group I found online called the Saturday Morning Fitness Hike.  There were 10 people and 2 dogs in all on our hike at Evergreen State University.  It was the same trail that Clarissa & I had hiked on our YRE back in October.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't as nice this time, but we still had a lot of fun.  Afterwards we stopped for coffee and got to know each other a bit more.   Everyone we met was really nice.  We hope to do some more Saturday morning hikes with this group in the future.

Obligatory bridge photo.

Scott!

View of Eld Inlet

Love this tree with its curved trunk.

You can see how gray and wet everything is.

 

Scott on another bridge.  He loved his new waterproof hiking shoes.  And, believe me, he needed them!

A blowdown from the freezing rain storm we had in January that we had to climb over.

We thought it was funny that they would put this sign to the beach 12 feet high so that no one would see it.

Bonney Lake Volksmarch (#1)

Today we completed the first volksmarch of 2012 in Bonney Lake located about 45 minutes northeast of Tumwater.  Unlike last weekend's beautiful sunny weather we had gray skies & some rain, but it was not too bad.  We saw views of Bonney Lake and some peekaboo glimpses of Lake Jane.  We also saw a cute Corgi who was much younger and thinner than Winston.  He did not like that very much.  In all we walked 6k with lots of up & down hills.  It was a pretty good workout and we built up quite an appetite, so afterwards we drove down to Sumner to have lunch at a really cute little diner called the Main Street Dairy Freeze.  Their burgers were delicious!  I'll definitely stop by again if I'm ever in the area.  Thanks to everyone who came. It was a lot of fun!

We came upon a cute little playground.  Corey is king of this rock.

Roxie, Brenda & Pace who does not look like he likes it up there.

We tried to get the dogs to walk around this obstacle, but they didn't want to.

Jen took this pic of me, Corey & Winston.

Corey & Winston in front of Bonney Lake.

Corey & Jennifer

At the checkpoint there was another play area.  Winston went down this slide a couple of times, but didn't really like it because it was metal and he is afraid of metal objects.

Another view of beautiful Bonney Lake as we headed back to the start point.

Group photo: Brenda with Roxie, Sara with Pace, Winston, Jennifer, Corey & Susan

Corey in front of the diner.

Waiting for our food.  The menu behind them listed some of the different ice cream flavors.

First Golf of 2012

We decided to take advantage of another beautiful day by playing 9 holes at Delphi.  We had a great time on our first outing.  The course sustained quite a bit of damage from the recent ice storm so we had to golf around a few obstacles, but it was not too bad.  The first tee box was still frozen and there were a few mounds of snow laying on the fairway.  We also saw some ice in the ponds.  It sure felt great to be out on the course.  I can't wait for the next round!

I love bridges of any kind.

Our caddies.

We were behind a really slow foursome, so here is Scott catching some rays while we waited to tee off.

Some of the damage.

Scott hit his ball into these downed tree limbs.  He & the girls are searching for it. 

Amazing how big that tree is that split.

I lost my pink ball in this pond. I shot it right through the fountain then it bounced a couple of times, but didn't quite make it to the other side.

The girls with our favorite golfing bear.

Beautiful Day!

Today was one of those rare sunny and (relatively) warm winter days in the Pacific Northwest. I couldn’t let it pass me by, so after dropping Gabby off early at dance, Corey & I took Winston for a stroll around Capitol Lake. It was so nice to be outside enjoying the fresh air, feeling the sun on my face and not wearing a coat! We saw tons of other folks with their dogs including 2 other Corgis. Afterwards, since we still had time on our parking meter, Corey & I walked up to Wagner’s Bakery where she purchased a mini chocolate lava cake. What a great afternoon!  It gives me hope that spring will come no matter what that darn Groundhog says!

Corey & Winston with a view of the Capitol in the background.

We saw this heron hanging out with a bunch of ducks.

Corey is never without her Northface coat, but you can tell it's warm because it's not zipped all the way to the top!

View towards the north.

View toward the East with a peekaboo of Mt. Rainier.