Thursday, February 20, 2020

Fabulous February fun

West Beach at Deception Pass State Park
Today was a day like we haven't had in what seems like ages: full sun with little breeze, temperatures rising all day long to almost warm! (10°C or 51°F) Nineteen Senior Trailblazers drove down to Deception Pass State Park to hike up to Goose Rock. I know I swore I would never do this hike again after the last one, when we were subjected to nonstop Growler jets overhead. But Melanie found a website that showed us today's skies should be much less noisy, with only a few afternoon sorties starting farther south of us.
Indian plum in bloom
We saw signs of an early spring everywhere, along with the great weather. This is the first bloom I've seen this year in nature, other than domestic ones in town. I look forward to our first trillium, which can't be far away now.
Hikers passing under a madrona tree
There are so many beautiful madrona trees in this area, and I have enjoyed them every time we've come here. Today was no exception. We circumnavigated Goose Rock before the day was done, but because of some trail closures, we took a bit of a different route than usual to the top.
Our magnificent view as we ate lunch
We sat in our usual place at the top of Goose Rock, enjoying the beautiful view, and I didn't even have to put my coat on as I sat in the sunshine. Occasionally we would have a jet pass overhead, but mostly the entire day was just plain delightful. We spent a fair amount of time here, not really wanting to return to the cars too quickly.
Not quite ready to go
In this picture, you can see one of the jets, looking a bit like a stray (and very large) mosquito. Not long after I took this picture, a vulture soared overhead, wings spread to catch the light breeze. And then, reluctantly, we packed up for our return trip.
Mt Baker through the trees
We had many views of Mt Baker as we returned, and we saw a few other mountains in the distance. That first photo shows the Olympic Range, and we saw some others we are rarely able to see, because of the clear skies and lack of clouds.
Deception Pass bridges
We walked down to the beach before we reached the cars, just to spend some time picking up rocks and enjoying the perfect day. There is some kind work being done over there, so I looked it up and found this notice.
At 83 years old, the Deception Pass Bridge and Canoe Pass Bridge are looking really good!  But, it's time for a paint job.  So, starting in May of 2019, crews will be on the job.  They'll be painting the bridge the same color it is now, Evergreen Green.
This will continue for several months, finishing sometime late this year, it seems. In any event, I'm glad they are doing upkeep on these magnificent structures, and it didn't impact us too much on our hike today. We covered just under eight miles by the time we got back to the cars and made our way back to the Senior Center. It was such a great day, and I'm feeling so glad I went along with the others!
:-)

20 comments:

  1. Amazing views, and so encouraging to witness signs of spring.
    Yesterday we had sunshine, lots of it, today we had snowflakes :)
    Happy to read you enjoyed your hike today,and not too noisy
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  2. It looks like it's already spring out your way! We'll have to wait til late May for Trilliums here.

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  3. A day like this makes it easier to keep on hiking.

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  4. This was a wonderful day and you spent it well. I worked hard on the garden most of the day. I'm stiff and sore, but feeling very satisfied.

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  5. This sounds absolutely wonderful, DJan. I’m so glad you could have a more peaceful hike. Wow! Spring already! It was the dead of winter in Chicago last week.

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  6. Stunning, breathtaking, absolutely gorgeous! I think this would be a favorite hike for me!!

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  7. What a gorgeous day! With perfect weather, too--in February. :)

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  8. Wow, would you look at that sky and all that sun. I even saw your shadows.
    Beautiful shot of Mt.Baker through the trees. Days like that make putting up with the lesser ones worth it and make you appreciate them even more.

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  9. It's always fun to get far away from sky and road noise. Jets definitely reduce the pleasure of isolation and wilderness. Great views!

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  10. I can really feel the joy you experienced on this walk coming through your words. Oh to have that kind of weather everytime we go out walking.

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  11. The sunny skies look magnificent. However, temperatures in the 50s sound cold to me.

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  12. Dear DJan, thank you for writing a little longer posting here than you usually do and for the photographs also. You really brought alive the day for me! Thank you. Peace.

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  13. Fabulous pictures. Doesn't even look cold, yet 51 degrees, to me, is still cold. I'd come when the temperature was 65+.

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  14. You had a good hike! Such pretty views! :)

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  15. Hooray for the first bloom of spring!

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  16. "the entire day was just plain delightful"

    And not plane awful

    Love Mt Baker through the trees.

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