Saturday, November 23, 2019

A walk in the woods

In the few days since she's been home, Older Daughter has done something we haven't done in over 16 years of living here: Made use of some of the excellent hiking trails in a nearby park.


For this, I have no excuse. We live in God's country, and I never bothered to hike the trails to prove it.

So after hearing her rhapsodies and seeing her photos of one modest trail (which she hiked with Mr. Darcy in tow), we decided to take advantage of some good weather so I could see it for myself.

Mr. Darcy, of course, wondered what took us so long.


We took a trail called Indian Cliffs.


It's not easy to see through the woods, but if you peer beyond the tree trunks you can see the cliffs in question. We were heading for the top.


Is this gorgeous or what?


We agreed Mr. Darcy blended in to a remarkable degree.


When we got to the turn of the first switchback...



...we saw park personnel had thoughtfully placed a bench for hikers to catch their breath.


Darcy though this whole breath-catching nonsense was a colossal waste of time. "C'mon, let's go! There are scents to follow!"


Here's a rocky slope we had passed from below.


Too steep even for Mr. Darcy.



Pretty soon the views became impressive. The marsh in the distance is where thousands of swans nest each spring.


See that dark streak in the middle of the photo? That's a railroad trestle.


When we finally hauled ourselves to the top of the ridge, the views were absolutely sensational.



Far below, near the lake surface, we could hear a flock of geese fly by.


If this looks like a river within a lake, it is. This segment of river used to connect two smaller lakes. When a dam was built near Coeur d'Alene many decades ago, the lake level rose and joined the two lakes, which also flooded the river.


At this elevation, even Mr. Darcy seemed glad to take a break. Have you ever seen a happier face?


The trail wound around and started its descent.



We passed this informative sign.


Evidence of this fire was still visible.


We started switchbacking on the descent. From waaaaaay below us, we saw another couple on a different trail ... with a dog.



Mr. Darcy saw them too, and I had to keep a firm grip on his leash lest he bound downhill to join them because, y'know, of course they wanted to see him.

So that was our brief walk in the woods. As long as the weather holds, we'll do a little more exploring some of these excellent trails.

8 comments:

  1. The views are breathtaking (probably in both senses of the word)!

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  2. Beautiful place. So why are they Indian Cliffs and not White Man Cliffs? - lol

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  3. My wife's sister and her husband , both now deceased, used to live in your neighborhood. We drove out the a couple times to visit them and their family and really enjoyed the trip. Beautiful country. We would take I 94/I 90 and US2 to get there and back. Easy country driving. Always had a nice time.--ken .

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  4. Such a beautiful trail! So, just curious about Mr. Darcy's harness?! My daughter and I are wondering if it is fitting correctly or could it be on upside down. As usually the point where the leash connects to the harness is on top of the dogs back, but yours hooks in front of his chest and looks as though it rest low on his shoulders?!? Anyway, enjoy exploring all the new trails.
    Janae @ Creekside Farmstead

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    1. He's not wearing a regular harness, it's a training harness. The chest clip keeps him from yanking us off our feet in his exuberance.

      - Patrice

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  5. And to think you might be leaving soon without discovering the rest of the trails and beautiful sights. Enjoy while you can.

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  6. Very nice. Beautiful pictures. Thank you for taking us along.
    Montana Guy

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