Beautiful Day for a Hike

Mama volunteered to join CJ's class today on a hike.  It was a beautiful day and we went into Hoyt Arboretum, more specifically Fairy Forest, for a walk and a picnic lunch amidst the fairy houses.  The kids had a great time and even passed a few sprinklers on the way out and back to make the hike more enjoyable.

Wahclella Falls

We were so excited when our friends called and asked us if we wanted to go for a hike.

We headed to Wahclella Falls for a great hike on such a sunny day.  It was warm walking uphill to the falls, but cool in the shade when we stopped for our picnic lunch.  CJ had fun catching up with her friend and climbing up the big rocks with Daddy.

What a nice way to spend the day.

CJ's Choice

It was CJ's turn to pick the hike and guess what she chose? The stone house, of course.

Junior Ranger

With the return of the fall weather this week, we decided to head out for a hike. When we got to the trailhead, we realized that we needed a parking pass. We opted for the annual one, so our free hike turned out to be a bit more expensive than planned. We did get to meet the park ranger and she gave CJ, the Junior Ranger, a nature hunt to complete as we walked. Once we got out of the car, the rain started to pour down so before we hit the trail we stopped for a snack in the nice picnic shelter. When we got going again, it really wasn't that wet.

CJ enjoyed finding the items on the nature hunt list and also slugs, snails and rocks that drew on other rocks. She was only sad that the ranger station was closed on our way out so we couldn't turn in the hunt checklist to get the prizes she had been told of.

Back to the Woods

It had been a while since we went for a hike so we planned one today. We got a late start so decided to stay close to home and do the favorite hike up to the stone house. The girls had fun.

Rainy Day Hike

We headed back to Lacamas for a hike today. On the way over in the car it really started to rain, even blocking our vision a few times. But the hike ended up to be mostly dry and we got to see some bigger waterfalls and find some treasures and we ended the day with some swinging at the park so CJ was happy.

Three Coconut Trails of Moorea Hiking Tour

Today's excursion was a long day of hiking. We were paired up with two couples from Canada and our tour guide and headed to our jeep for a drive up to the Belvedere lookout, where the hike would begin. (You can see the big ship in the background)Our tour guide was a native Tahitian, who filled the hike with many stories about the nature around us, camping and pig hunts on the islands. He showed us the mysterious "shampoo" plant that is supposed to make your hair thicker and assist it in resisting the humidity. We all tried some.
We passed plants with huge leaves like turtle shells and many wild hibiscus that has many uses. We wandered through a bamboo forest where we heard tales of how they cut the bamboo down and use it for cooking shrimp or pig.
All the while we were climbing and climbing to the upper viewpoint, described by Expedia as "Stand atop the 1,170-foot viewpoint where the two peaks of Mouaroa and Tohivea soar skyward in the distance.

The views were pretty amazing. And it was great to get some real exercise. Although the steepness gave Mama some sore calves for a few days afterwards.

No Stone House

We started today's hike at the same place as one of our last hikes, but instead of heading left towards the stone house, we headed right. We were on a fairly muddy and mostly uphill hike for a long time, before joining one of the major trails in Forest Park. CJ had a few bouts of tiredness on the hills, but loved finding this woodpecker and tracking our miles with the tree markers. I'm betting she'll tell her schoolmates we hiked 8 miles since we did pass that marker.

A New Trail

We got out of the house late, but had time to fit in a short hike around the Audubon Society. No Little B today because pets aren't allowed on these nature trails (and we thought she might need a rest after yesterday). CJ loved skipping ice on the frozen pond and the 3D map complete with lights. Are you getting tired of all the "family pictures"?

New Years Hike 2011

It was cold, but clear and dry so we headed back to Lacamas Lake. The trail was closed by the dam so we ended up going around the other direction. CJ was wishy washy about hiking when we left the house, but once we got outside, she had a blast.

Although we would have preferred some snow, CJ enjoyed finding little ice crystals. This one looked like a princess castle:

We also came across another decorated tree. How fun!

Stone House, Route 2

We showed CJ a new route to the stone house today. Luckily we missed most of the rain, just got a little sprinkle. We even found a tree that had been decorated for the holidays. She wanted to go back the old way, which added a little neighborhood walk to the end, but it worked out fine. We ended up hanging out in the car for a bit at the end as we waited with a runner who had been locked out of his car. Little B was so tired from the hike, she didn't even care that he was with us, she just curled up and went to sleep.

Back to the Stone House

We got the girls out for a hike up to the stone house. The rain even held off for us.

The Family

Ok, well Big B was napping in the car and Little B isn't totally visible, but you get the picture...

Streamwatch Trail

It's been a while since we went for a hike. Today we found a nice one for kids with a paved trail, fish to ride on, a great rock skipping beach, an underwater viewing window, and carved benches that CJ loved. She even found a heart shaped rock.

Memorial Day Hike

It was supposed to be nice, but what do the weather forecasters know. We decided to meet up with one of CJ's friends and her family for a hike anyway. The weather actually did hold and it warmed up just in time for a post-hike ice cream.

Pinkalicious Goes Hiking

We spent the day in the mountains, visiting the beautiful cabin some friends have remodeled. They showed us their favorite hike (where we took the pictures), got the kids out for a quick bike ride, treated us to yummy lunch and dinner and even had a movie for the kiddos before we headed home. It wasn't quite as warm and sunny as yesterday, but we all had a great time. We can see why they wanted to have this special place for time away from home. CJ was so exhausted, she crashed as soon as we got in the car.

Nature Girl Makes a Friend

Today we took Nature Girl back to Forest Park for a hike. We arrived at the beginning of the trail at the same time as another little girl and her family. Before we knew what happened, CJ and the little girl (did I mention she was also dressed in pink and purple?) were bouncing up the trail together holding hands. They had lots of fun looking at the waterfall and finding, supposedly, snails, snakes and an inch-bug. They even tried to organize a castle performance at the stone house. CJ had a great time.

Pool of the Winds

We decided to get out of the house today for a little hike. Mama remembered the Pool of the Winds at Hamilton Mountain and how the waterfalls were all fairly close to the beginning of the hike. That's somewhat true, but they seemed a bit further in today with a 4-1/2 year old giving it all she had to make it up the hills. Several snack breaks got us through it successfully and in addition to the beautiful and icy waterfalls, we even saw a few snowflakes at the end (just as CJ and Mama were talking about how we didn't get any snow for Christmas this year...).