In which we visit my old stompin' grounds and do a bit of stompin'

There was a holiday from work and a day off from school AND it wasn't raining or sn*wing, so we loaded everybody--and I do mean everybody--into the rig and headed north.

The kids brought bicycles, and I gave them a good map and some directions for stuff to look for.  Their destination:  Fairhaven, the historical district of my hometown.

These two city kids couldn't wait to bicycle out of the woods (about 3 miles, if you stay on the trail and don't get lost...) and into the little town where they could walk around and oogle the quaint little shops.  We don't have a lot of quaint shops in Arlington.  Arlington is a practical place, where you can buy plumbing supplies and building supplies and farming supplies, where you can go bowling or get a burger or even a bowl of vegetable soup, where you wave at neighbors and clerks in the stores will ask you how the barn-building project is progressing.  Quaintness, however, is in short supply.  I'm good with it, but the kids sometimes feel deprived.

We could have dropped them off close to town, but that's no fun.  We all started and returned at the trailhead--room for bikes and horses and anything else you want to bring. 

Willy took pictures while they were still in the woods,

but once they got to town, I think they were too busy revelling in paved sidewalks and interesting shop windows to bring out the camera!

Jim and I took the horses in the other direction, out the Interurban Trail to the south. 

The Interurban is built on an old railroad grade that connected Bellingham with Mt Vernon and other coastal towns.  The trail currently stops at the Clayton Beach trailhead about 7 miles from town, but I know that trail groups and recreational groups like the City and County and State parks service folks are busily land-swapping with private landowners to increase the trail-usable space accessed by the Interurban.  When I still lived nearby, I did some trail scouting for Whatcom County Parks, and some of the trails we poked through 12 years ago are now on the map!

This waterfall

was cause for tremendous worry and consternation.  The mares were finally convinced that walking past it on a perfectly flat, dry trail would probably not kill them.  When we passed it going home, they gave it The Ear of Danger, but that's all. 

We took a snack break

at the Clayton Beach trailhead, consulted the map,

and headed uphill for a bit more strenuous workout.

On the way up the hill, we ran into weather.  Yes, that's sn*w in Fiddle's mane.  Bleck.

Even with storm clouds moving in, the overlook is beautiful.  We could see Lummi Island and part of the Canadian San Juan Islands.

Roundtrip: about 14 miles.  And, oh.  So much fun.