The morning was sunny and warm, and it was a
holiday – so I dressed accordingly; I wore a nice turquoise outfit (Bob isn’t
here, but he still sees me), and sandals. I didn’t get fancy with my hair
because I knew my hair would be blown all over the place: an open moon-roof was in
the plans ;-)
I started this year’s Father’s Day off with a
visit to Eden Valley before making my daytrip drive (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-man-in-my-life.html).
I got a little rain on the windshield around
Stella area, but by the time I made Bunker Hill, the sun was back in play – and
hung around all day long :-D
Other than having a tearful one-sided-heart-to-heart
chat at the cemetery; the day – and my adventures as the day unfurled – progressed
pleasantly.
Backroad out of Naselle that starts the planned loop roadtrip - the blue sky was making promises and luring me forward.
Every time I drive this stretch of road,
memories of my stepfather asking us what we’d like to hear him slip into the
8-track player runs through my thoughts and I smile. “Cream” & “Spooky
Tooth” were the choices :-D
SPOOKY TOOTH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD5DbKdx0AE&list=PL94gOvpr5yt1o3fQx66cqoPd8VD1b15ZP&index=2
Raymond turnoff: the road that starts my loop roadtrip :-D
Restaurant was open; Bush Pioneer Park was closed - I'll come back when the Park is opened to walk the trail there.
Oyster Bed Markers - no ducks to be seen this time :-(
Driving this stretch of road, you just pray you don’t meet traffic coming at you.
The little patch of highway at Bone River
(and crossing the Astoria Megler Bridge) are scenic … but, they are deadly
views because the headwinds and crosswinds are brutally strong – they physically
move vehicles when they blow in and butt up against vehicles. Both scenic
routes are treacherous travel points.
Nice outfit for a holiday outing, but it was unsuited for adventuring!
Walking the Willapa River Trail.
A DEER!
I’ve walked through an elk herd 24 years ago –
I was walking the dogs one cold winter night with my infant granddaughter bundled
warm and snug under my heavy coat, strapped to my chest in one of those
Johnny-Jumper thingees: it was foggy and I did not realize I was in the midst
of the herd until the fog thinned and I saw I was surrounded on all sides with
about 30 elk! Once I realized the fix I was in, I told the dogs they better be
as good as gold and not make a sound (I was scared: elk are as large as a
horse, and I had my precious baby with me!) … one bark from either of the
dogs could cause a panic in the herd and a stampede would not turn out well; the
dogs were good, and we passed safely; but, I’ve never walked with deer: I've never even be close to a deer - they usually bound away quickly.
I was curious about how long the deer would let me
trail it.
It was a pretty cool adventure :-D
FUN!
Indecisive deer …
I followed the deer about 4 minutes before it decided to get shuck of me. I'm glad it didn't spook easy - a skittish animal can be a dicey situation.
Deer, deer … everywhere, is deer.
People lay on their horns trying to make the meandering deer give them passage, but that’s stupid because the horns blaring could scare
the deer and end up with a deer through the windshield – best thing to do is
stop and let the deer pass. Safer for people: safer for the deer.
Coming into the river area of the walk, the muddy
smell of the wetlands was strong – not offensive, but unmistakable.
A scenic perch ...
South Bend Highway crosses over Skidmore Slough … the slough empties into the Willapa River, which the trail runs along.
An abandoned boat.
Kinda sad to see the hill being denuded to make space for houses; but people have to have somewhere to live. Towns and cities are filling up fast.
Use your imagination :-D
Wild roses, blackberry brambles, and Devil’s Club shrub. The Devil’s Club is native to the Pacific Northwest, and thrives in the rainforest environments of Washington State – by the ocean, as well as in the mountains: Devil's Club gets HUGE in Box Canyon in Mt. Rainier National Park.
Washington State receives so much rainfall,
and has such a high percentage of humidity, that it qualifies as a “rainforest
ecosystem”. Everything in our rainforest environment grows tall and large …
including the men and women; I am dwarfed by everything; and everyone. But I grew a flexible attitude in this rainforest environment that is tall, useful, and noticeable ;-)
Marsh flowers – I researched them when I got home, but never could track down what they actually are …
Horseshoe shaped inlet.
Tansy Ragwort & White Morning Glory wildflowers.
Interesting bark on this tree.
Enjoyable walk; peaceful and laid-back.
Holey piling.
Eagle in Flight sight ;-)
Wild sweet-pea vine & scotch broom wildflowers.
Vetter’s Vet Clinic - I can still picture the room where Tyson was restitched, and the humor on Bob's face at the Dr's fear of our little furry beast; who could become a terror - and that why he got snipped ;-)(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/04/sundayfunday-9-7-12-hr-loop-daytrip.html)
I think this is a hogweed. Google really is not very helpful.
Erosion - I tried not to dwell on the "what if's".
Briny water.
Purple Vetch vine.
This swimming duck caught my eye, but I couldn’t figure out why its back end was so elongated: AND THEN …
I saw, as it got closer ... that it was a Mama duck with 7 trailing babies bobbling on the waves; closely behind her!
Willow, blackberries, wild roses, and cattails: ALL medicinal & food source wild plants.
I’ve never seen cattails look like these ones; they are very strange looking.
They look like they’ve been covered with a hard-setting foam substance.
There was nothing at all soft and delicate
about them! They appeared to be very hard – not brittle, but coated with a
hard-set substance. Very strange.
Wild cucumber vine & fruit; these fruits are not edible – they just contain 4 large seeds inside that drop to the ground to start new plants when the fruit bursts.
Orange hawkweed.
Horrible stench!
1½ mile point.
I was coughing and sneezing – and my eyes were burning!
EVERY OLFACTORY SENSE WAS TRIGGERED, but I did not need to use my inhaler - ((((thank YOU, Yeshua))))!
SCION Biochemical Inc., is supposedly a ‘medical
laboratory’ … but the stench is aggressively oppressive >:-p
Little wild Bellis daisies. I love wild daisies :-D
Buttercups & White Clover.
A speeding boat broke the tranquility, but it was Father’s Day …
Scotch Broom.
An interesting pink flower in the berry bramble; I did a google search when I got home, but couldn’t find out what it was.
Thistle.
Purple Clover & Scotch Broom.
Salmon Berry - tart; good to eat.
Foot blister.
Spiraea.
Common weed; don’t know the name of it. Google was not helpful.
Google is only a good search engine IF you
already KNOW WHAT you know … it is worthless in actually helping you learn
anything.
Patch of white Foxgloves. Pure, White foxgloves are rare.
At first glance, it looked like there were 2 Hippos in the field … but when they separated, they appeared to be 2 fat Shetland-Donkey breeds. A zoomed view at home shows that they are basically just 2 fat little donkeys ;-)
Deer were everywhere – all the time. Most are fearless.
Spotted Touch-Me-Not flowers; they are like little orchids on a vine.
Restrooms were open at Thriftway - my jostled bladder was happy; Trailhead Restrooms are closed.
I walked 3 miles of the Willapa River Trail,
which is also part of the Willapa Hills Trail, as the Willapa Hills Trailhead
starts at the restroom end of the Willapa River Trail; for a while, I wasn’t
sure which trail I was walking – leave it to Raymond, WA to complicate things.
The Willapa River Trail starts in South Bend,
and ends at the Raymond Thriftway store. This is a true Solo Lobo Adventure - Bob and I never did this together; we had driven through here together ... but we never walked this trail at this point. There was a LOT to see packed into the short 3 miles I walked. Next time I walk it, I will wear my hiking sneakers ;-)
The Willapa Trail starts in South Bend and
ends up in Chehalis – 56 miles of backcountry hiking through South Bend,
Raymond, Menlo, Lebam, Pe Ell, Rainbow Falls State Park, Adna, and Chehalis (Bob
and I walked a few miles of the trail from the Chehalis end).
I came home from Pe Ell via Boisfort - and I learned something new looking at this Map: I can try a new route next time by breezing straight thru Pe Ell to Adna, and home via Napavine ... it'll be longer, but I'll be able to nip into Frosty's (if they're open) and grab some yummy garlic fries :-D
Happy bladder, brushed hair; open moonroof, blaring stereo … laidback drive home ;-)
Menlo was the first place I could safely pull
over to the side of the road to open the car’s moonroof and slip a music disc
in the disc player – I chose Los Lonely Boys: no particular reason, I just hadn’t
played it for a while and was in the mood …
It was a 6 hour day: it was an adventurous fun day – and a long round
trip drive back home – but I got out of the house, honored my husband, and I treated myself with a much-needed backroads daytrip outing faaar away from crazed virus hysteria and hateful media political hype.
Thank you, Yeshua, for the fun adventure of walking with the deer; it made my
solo adventuring a fun experience – and thank you for keeping my lungs safe (no asthma attack), no allergy complications; and thank You, getting me home safely
after my stupidity of walking 3 miles in sandals not crafted for hiking comfort
;-)
**SUNDAY~FUNDAY POSTS (2020)
–
#9 – https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020_04_27_archive.html (plus
1st thru 8th SUNDAY~FUNDAY links)**
