Presidents Day, Spokane River Loop, Riverside State Park

One year ago on Presidents day we were enjoying our holiday by trekking up Y mountain with friends on snowshoes. I remember having Spring fever so badly that day, being sick of the snow and ready for real hiking (or was I sick from being pregnant. . . hard to remember). Fast forward one year and here we are in Washington still looking for some way to get outside and some how usher in warmer weather. As if being outside and wishing it may help Spring to hurry back.

We recently received this awesome trail guide book for Christmas (Thanks Matt). It covers the good hikes in this new area we live in. We figured a good place to start is close to home, we will start with the hikes closest to us and then slowly start checking them off! Luckily for us the snow has been melting down here in the foothills and river bottoms. Trails in these places are starting to thaw and get some traffic. I thought this might be the perfect day to head over to Riverside State Park to check it out and cross of hike number 16 in the book. We have been meaning to explore this wilderness that is seemingly right in the middle the city of Spokane.

After Erik finished his morning practice with his athletes we bundled up the baby and headed out. The trail was icy right at the beginning, but once we ventured past where most people walk and dropped down by the river the trails were clear. We cruised an easy 5 mile loop and saw deer and osprey. I really wanted to see a porcupine since we had heard of lots of people seeing them in the area recently, but alas no quills to be found. Erik heads off to Bozeman, MT this week for the Big Sky Indoor Conference championships so I am really glad we got to spend a whole day together before he heads out.

Columbia Plateau Trail, My New Hiking Club

Have you ever heard of meetup.com? Maybe it has been around forever and lots of people already know about it, maybe I am the last person to discover this gem of a website, I am not sure. But if you haven't gone there yet to check it out you really need to and here is why.

I have been dying to get out and do some exploring since we moved to Washington. However, Erik has been working a lot, (which is a great thing) and now he is traveling to track meets on the weekends. Combine that with the cold weather and lets just say our adventures have slowed down the past few months. In the past I have had no problem hiking alone, I actually love the solitude and chance to meditate on personal matters. However, two things have made me apprehensive to venture out alone. One, I am really unfamiliar with the area, I like to know where I am. Two, I am packing little Tate along with me. She loves to be outside and does great on hikes, however, if something was to happen to me I worry about her. Being a parent makes you worry about things you never contemplated before. Well, one day as I was searching online for a good hike in the area I came across a pretty cool looking hike. I also came across a club that was planning an outing to this particular trail the following week. It occurred to me that a hiking club is what I needed. A way to learn trails in the area and meet new friends in this lonely land up North.

That is how I stumbled across meetup.com. Not just for hikers, you enter in what city you live in, how far you are willing to travel, and what you interests are, and BOOM! It spits out a list of clubs according to the activities you are looking for. You then meet up with people and do said activity. It is awesome! There are women's hiking groups, camping clubs, Mothers groups, running packs, etc. After some research on a few clubs, I joined a hiking groups called the Inland Northwest Hikers. They are really active and have several meet ups a week in the area.

Well, even after joining, it still took me two months of getting invited to all their events to finally get up the courage to actually attend one. The group was hiking at a trailhead that was just 5 min from my house, no excuses to not attend that one. So I apprehensively RSVP'd to the event and showed up with Tate. It was a great time and I met some wonderful people. I don't know why I was so nervous to go.

We hiked 5 miles on the Columbia Plateau trail into the Turnbull wildlife refuge. The trail is an old rail line and was totally straight and flat, nothing to write home about, but the company was great.  There were about 12 people there and everyone just spread out and walked in smaller groups according to speed. We had such a great time chatting while we walked and everyone loved Tate. The weather is slowly warming up! Soon the hiking will move from the low foothills to the mountain tops!

Higgens Point Eagle Watching, Lake Coeur d' Alene

The day after Christmas we went with Brenda and the boys to Higgins Point on Coeur d' Alene Lake. Every year at this time the kokanee salmon are spawning which brings hundreds of bald eagles here on their migration. Higgins Point is a where the centennial trail ends and a great park to hike around near the water and watch the eagles.

It was one of the most increadible sights I have ever seen. These massive and majestic birds owning the sky, trees and water. We spotted at least 10 eagles in trees and even more flying in the distant skies. I wish a had a better photo of the eagles, this one above has 5 in the same tree. The picture does not do the incredible sight justice.  But we had binoculars and they were all so close and fun to watch. We even got so see many go swooping down over the lake surface, snatch a fish, and fly back up to the branches to devour its prey. Under the trees where the eagles were, the ground was littered with fish heads, it was so cool. I have never seen anything like it! Matthew, the nature expert of the group told us many facts about eagles to make the trip even more exciting. Here is more info on the birds that come every season if anyone is interested.

It was a fun day! The Lucas family are just full of fun ideas, we are so grateful to have them close to show us the outdoor recreation in the area. We came home to Cheney and now we are all sick! Erik and I have had bad colds for several days, but now poor little Tate is sick too! This is the first time she had ever gotten sick. I can't think of anything worse as a parent to see you little one suffering and there isn't much you can do. Typical holiday. . . the whole family sick as dogs!