a hike in the cold

Last week we went for a hike. It was actually a park, with picnic benches and lots of nice little walking trails, even a campground. it was so pretty and right next to the river. we parked in the lot and walked down a few of the trails. I was picturing hiking with VIEWS of the river; much like most seattle area hikes are next to a creek or river but there's not much access. not this one. we were RIGHT there. RIGHT next to the raging-with-snowmelt-river, which made it so enticing for little boys. I took one look at this:




and decided we wouldn't be crossing. I was told there were tons of hiking trails on the other side, but when I took a closer look at the other side (thinking maybe I would talk myself into crossing if they looked good) I noticed they were snowed and iced over still (dang it).
well the boys and I checked it out anyway but decided to stay on the side we were on. aren't they the cutest little hikers?


I love bright's boots in that photo.

Here's bright scaling a huge lava flow "mountain" (if you click on the photo you can see an enlarged version)


what we saw on our hike:
a big stripey rock


A cute Asher and a "mountain"


A very chill deer, just hanging out.


I can't wait to go back to the park in the summer when the river is less ragey and the trails are prime.


After we hiked we stopped at a diner. it was set up in an antique rail car. I was sure I had the place figured out before I got in there (greasy spoon, nasty coffee, dirty diner decor) I was wrong! and glad.
here's a photo of our booth, you can see the cool old stained glass window and the wood was all glossy and dark, the lighting was the original 1905 light fixtures updated with energy efficient bulbs (yay), walls adorned with photos of it in its prime.



the boys got some pancakes which were surprisingly tasty, I got some coffee-nasty but a nice warm up after our 30 degree hike.
here're the boys out in front. they were so excited to eat in a REAL train!