Last Bit of Summer

 I was feeling some cabin fever last weekend.  I begged and whined and complained until the family agreed to get out.  Then we hemmed and hawed trying to decide what to do.  We finally decided to go find a waterfall.  We decided on Union Creek Falls, which is purported to be only 2 tenths of a mile from the road...I'm not so sure about that...it seemed, to my out of shape legs, to be two tenths of a mile in elevation.

The previously reported bridge was not in existence, but someone had fashioned a rope to support the crossing of the stream on a log.  We discovered the log bridge AFTER I got my feet wet attempting to ford the stream on rocks with a camera in hand.

Chloe had her heart set on walking in the stream after I insisted on packing an extra set of shoes with that in mind as a possibility.

The water was crystal clear, Chloe is standing in about 8 inches of water here.

The falls were nice, but the trail had obviously seen better days and there was a little bit of confusion because of the changes.  There was a path to the upper falls, but we were all tired by the time we thought to try for it.  Maybe next time.  The whole point was to get out, and we did.  It was fun.

 Still, when we pulled away from the falls, we felt we had more time on our hands, so we drove up to the summit of Chinook Pass.  If you have never been there, it is totally city kid friendly.  Flat paths and open space allows you to watch your kid on the path for a great distance.  We stopped and walked around Tipsoo Lake, which has a pretty good view of Mount Rainier several miles away.  It's a beautiful alpine lake with frogs, tadpoles, and salamanders.

Once again, Chloe managed to get her feet wet.  I swear, she isn't happy until she's walking in water.  Still, it was fun to watch her catch frogs and then release them with gusto, "You're free froggy!" 

It was a great day!  I love my family.