The Hiker Mama

Category: Hikes

  • Cranberry Lake/Cama Beach State Park

    Cranberry Lake/Cama Beach State Park

    Last Friday we were able to squeeze a quick trip in between morning and evening commitments.  We’ve had many Fridays like this lately – seems we haven’t had the time we are used to having!  We took a little drive up to Cama Beach State Park on Camano Island.  I had never been there before,…

  • Lewis Creek Park, Bellevue

    Lewis Creek Park, Bellevue

    We had the chance last Friday to check out a new park (for us) over in Bellevue.  Lewis Creek Park has about 3 miles of trails on its 55 acres.  It includes wetlands, meadows, and forests. Some of the trails are paved, and some are softer surfaces.  The Visitor Center has some interesting activities and…

  • Baby Owls at the Nisqually

    Baby Owls at the Nisqually

    The internet is full of videos and pictures of cute baby animals.  We could spend our entire day on sites like Cute Overload, getting our fill of adorableness.  Or, we could take advantage of special places and times in nature, and see some cute baby animals in real time.  And among the cutest of animals,…

  • Cedar Butte Hike – 1/24/14

    Cedar Butte Hike – 1/24/14

    We’ve had a stretch of lovely, mild weather lately.  In fact, it’s been a very dry winter.  As we were planning our hike for hike last Friday, I pulled out my new Winter Hikes card deck by Craig Romano, and gave the kids a few options to choose from.  I’m feeling motivated to try some…

  • Exploring Close to Home

    Exploring Close to Home

    We’ve hit a lull in our adventuring.  It seems The Holidays and the tasks we’ve had for school have taken most of our energies, and we want to sit at home and veg.  But we’ve made it out to two local parks recently, and I wanted to share our experiences. Lord Hill Regional Park is…

  • Skagit Eagle Excursion – 1/3/14

    Skagit Eagle Excursion – 1/3/14

    Our first trip of the New Year found us driving up the Skagit with friends to see the eagles.  Every winter, bald eagles flock down from The North, following the abundant salmon runs.  Local communities celebrate the return of the eagles and the salmon, and bird watchers venture down to the winding roads to see…

  • The Year in Review – 2013

    The Year in Review – 2013

    We had a pretty spectacular year of hiking and other nature outings this year.  I was going through my photos last month to make scrapbooks for the grandparents, and enjoyed reliving the memories.  With the New Year passing last night, I thought I’d tally up the trips we took.  I made a spreadsheet of all…

  • Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary Fall Nature Walk – 10/25/13

    Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary Fall Nature Walk – 10/25/13

    We’ve been stuck home with colds this week.  We are getting better, and needed some fresh air and exercise without getting too exhausted.  I thought it was time to visit a local park again, and picked Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary in Everett.  We drive by there every week to take Annika to gymnastics, so it’s been…

  • Longs Pass (Almost!) Trip Report – 10/11/13

    Longs Pass (Almost!) Trip Report – 10/11/13

    Last year I had an amazing trip to go see the larches turning colors, but I didn’t take my children along.  They were disappointed and have been seeing photos of lovely landscapes glowing with golden larch trees.  They really wanted to go somewhere this year.  Some folks had been saying the trees were prime up…

  • Heather Lake Hike, 10/4/13

    Heather Lake Hike, 10/4/13

    Fall has definitely arrived in the Pacific Northwest, almost turning to winter overnight in the mountains.  We have been working hard on our school work and needed a break last week – we were happy to see the forecast for a few days of October sunshine.  None of our friends were available to come for…