Bellingham park walk

Early morning light through the fog

Eighteen Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center this morning to start our walk in dense fog. We knew it was forecast to lift fairly soon, but the clear skies of the previous night caused it to be really cold as we set out walking from the Center.

Frozen berries

I saw these berries that looked as cold as I was feeling when we set out on the city streets. The entire walk was either on pavement or very established trails, so nobody needed trekking poles, and most of us left our hiking boots at home too.

Wide enough for two

Since most of the time the trails were wide enough for us to have two or three abreast, we chatted the entire way, along Railroad trail to Northridge Park, the first place we visited. Then we headed off to Big Rock Garden, a beautiful 2.5-acre garden with permanent outdoor sculptures. It's tucked away among the evergreens, and many of our hikers didn't even know it was there. From that link:

The Park boasts over 37 permanent works by distinguished international and local artists. ... Each May the Friends of Big Rock Garden Park and the Bellingham Parks & Recreation Department sponsor a Mother's Day Celebration with a focus on the garden and the opening of a new seasonal sculpture show.

I knew about the park, but not about the Mother's Day celebration. I'll be back for that! It's a sweet and peaceful place. Here's one of the sculptures we saw today:

Positive Spirit by Shirley Erickson

You can also see that the fog had begun to lift a little, and by this time I had warmed up considerably. The garden is near Whatcom Falls Park, so we reluctantly left this lovely place (plus we were all beginning to get cold) to see the falls.

Dam and bridge over the lower falls

The stone bridge over the upper falls has an interesting history. I found some information about it from the park's website. (This excerpt is taken from the Park's PDF brochure.)

Roosevelt’s New Deal Works Progress Administration paid workers to move the Chuckanut sandstone arches from a downtown burned-out building to the park. In 1939 the sandstone was used to construct the landmark stone bridge.

The sandstone bridgework on the left

I feel very fortunate to live in a city that has so many beautiful parks within its boundaries. It would have been really nice if that sun we kept hoping for would have made a final appearance, but we weren't in the right place at the right time, I guess. However, here's a picture of the upper falls taken from the bridge. Looking at the picture I can almost hear them roar.

Whatcom Falls

We stopped to eat a quick lunch in the gloom, as the fog had deepened around us again. But then as we began our trek back to the Senior Center, the sun came out for good, and we managed to get warm and toasty as we finished our ten-mile-long walk around town. And on one of the final trails, we spied this hawk who eyed us suspiciously for several seconds before taking off.

Maybe it's a Seahawk

Since I was just getting ready to snap the picture as he was perched, it was serendipitous that I caught him, almost in focus, as he took off to escape our attention. It looks to me like this might be his very own roosting spot. 

All in all, it was a good day, with lots of good company and the ability to visit with each other the entire time. My knee doesn't really like those hard surfaces for such a long distance, so I'm sitting here writing this post with a cup of tea and some ibuprofen, happy to be relaxing. Of course, NOW the sun is out in full force, but I'll enjoy it from my easy chair.

:-)