I have a few favorite trails, here in beautiful Western Washington State.  The nearest, and probably least-known, is the Narbeck Wetland Trail, which is right across a major thoroughfare from the biggest building (by square footage) in Washington, an aerospace factory.  The trail winds through wetland ponds (when there’s not a drought-this year was very dry and a lot of the wetlands dried up), and thickets of native trees and plants.  I go there a few times a year for some (relative) peace and quiet, and photos.

This winding boardwalk goes through normally-boggy terrain.

And this pond never dries up.

However, the bog was nearly dried-up this year, and some users made their own unauthorized “trail” through the now-dry bog.  Those logs perpendicular to the line of trees were laid there by hikers.  There were two brand new yellow signs placed, reminding users not to make their own new trails.  With all the rain we’ve had the past few days, I’m sure the bog is now wet again.

Here are a couple from when the wetland was wet!

My favorite trail with my husband has got to be the trail down to the Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge on the Olympic Peninsula.  The trail starts out on a high bluff through the forest, and descends steeply down to the beach, and the five-mile-long Spit.  We try to get over there every year, and in 2019 I went for a weekend by myself.

This is obviously the path through the forest!

As you go farther down the path, the trees part and you get a good view of the Spit.  The left side is the Strain of Juan de Fuca, and the right side is the inner lagoons.  Both sides are good for wildlife-watching.

And these are from the beach, looking south (left) and north.

Another of our favorite trails is a bit farther from home, in Olympia.  Hubby took me to Tumwater Falls Park when we first started dating in 2001, and we have been back regularly.  The trail starts at the old Olympia Brewery, and goes down both sides of the Deschutes River.  There are two bridges, one at the top and one at the bottom of the falls, and you get different views on each side.

These are the top of the falls.

This is the middle falls, with the old fish ladders in the foreground.  We have seen migrating salmon making their way up the falls.

And this is the lower falls, taken from the bridge.  The dirt trails are an easy walk, with lots of viewpoints to stop at along the way.

All three paths lead us to very #Happy places in our area.  Come and visit sometime!

Here’s the Link to Terri’s Original Post.