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| Lake Whatcom |
Today we awoke to blue skies and relatively warm temperatures. As I write this in the late afternoon, the temperature is 68°F (20°C), and after plenty of rain and cloudy skies for days on end, this seems like a wonderful change. To some of my readers, it's still on the cool side, but for me today, and my friend Melanie who also hiked with me, it was just about perfect.
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| Foxglove and plenty of greenery |
We walked the entire
Hertz trail, which meanders from the parking lot to the end 3.1 miles one way. It's almost flat, with less than 100 feet of elevation along the wide and gentle grade. It was once the site of a railroad, the Bellingham Bay & Eastern Railroad, built in 1902, but nothing of it still exists, except for the lovely trail.
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| The old railroad bed, now a trail |
The entire trail, early in the morning at least, is in shade, and walkers with their dogs and kids are also frequent users of this beautiful place. We saw probably a dozen or so other people who were out early on this gorgeous Pacific Northwest day.
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| Mushrooms |
Not being very experienced about our local mushrooms, I just took a picture of these guys. To me, they look similar to the ones I buy in the grocery store, but who knows whether these are safe to eat or not.
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| Lake Whatcom almost back at the start |
Just as we were finishing our walk, we saw something swimming across the lake. We both laughed and said, "could it be a shark?" It was traveling quickly and suddenly we saw what it was: a young deer!
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| Tuckered out |
We saw a tired and very wet deer emerge from the water. It was pretty worn out, and it didn't try to run away, but just watched us as it continued to shake water off its back. Those wobbly legs then carried on, walking by us and heading down the trail. He didn't look back. I hope he's alright by now. I have no idea why he was swimming across the lake, but he was so far out in the middle when we first spotted him that I figure he came from the opposite bank. But I don't know for sure.
Anyway, we finished and since it was almost noon, we decided to have lunch at one of the recently opened restaurants nearby. We enjoyed quesadillas together but skipped the margaritas, since we both had to drive and it was still early in the day. No matter, it was a truly wonderful day and I'm happy to be home having walked a few miles in a beautiful place with a dear friend.
:-)
It looks and sounds beautiful. I hope the deer is ok - and am very glad to hear that you are.
ReplyDeleteSuch a neat day - and to see a deer that close! A really memorable day!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a great hike. I like the flat aspect. That suits me. The deer was having quite an adventure!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had such a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have a perfect day--weather, hike, friend, lunch. Hope you can have many more of those.
ReplyDeleteSo it doesn't always have to be a hike to be a satisfactory afternoon or morning.
ReplyDeleteEat those quesadillas outdoors?
ReplyDeleteThe deer was probably chased by something ...yes they get tired swimming....lots of times they drown. :( :(
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good hike! :)
This sounds like an absolutely glorious day. I wish we were able to still go out with friends for a hike or walk at the mall.
ReplyDelete...also, a DEER friend! Beautiful walk. And to dine out for lunch...what,a piece of heaven.
ReplyDeleteBoth the place and the weather seem perfect. We are having a bit of a heat wave, but it should calm down a bit next week.
ReplyDeleteWhat an odd name for a park.
If it weren't for railways, we should have fewer options for hikes or bikes.
Loved the almost level walk. I could do that. So glad the deer wasn't frightened by you and jumped back in. He looks tuckered. I once saw a deer on a very small island in the middle of a large lake. Know he had to swim there but the island didn't offer much in the way of food. Often wondered about him.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you didn't take pictures of the restaurant and the food. I would have. Lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great encounter with the deer. Poor creature must have been exhausted.
ReplyDeleteI would guess the deer was scared of or chased by something and took the lake escape route...and it worked!
ReplyDeleteNice to have a hike with your dear friend on a cooler day. :)
It sounds a beautiful walk. I envy you being able to go to a restaurant for a meal. No date yet when our hospitality section will be able to open.
ReplyDeleteFlat and 68 degrees sounds wonderful. How terrific that you were able to have this wonderful day with a very good friend. And eat at a restaurant, no less. I’m still too gutless, especially with our spike in COVID numbers here on Oahu.
ReplyDeleteThat temperature seems just about perfect. We use Celsius here but I am sure you can do the translation and from about nineteen to twenty-three is ideal for me. Yesterday it was thirty-one degrees, altogether too hot for comfort.
ReplyDeleteA lovely place to explore.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the deer made it out of the water. I always wonder how the deer end up in the drink in the first place. Running away from danger perhaps.
ReplyDeleteIt looks and sounds a beautiful walk …
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan