Whatcom Creek Trail and Leaving Washington

I’m leaving Washington, heading over to Idaho for a week, then onto Montana for two weeks, where I hope to connect with two of my AT Trail friends!

I like Washington very much and although I could stay longer if I wished, I’m looking forward to returning to Michigan and the Mid-West for the summer. I have plans to visit family, reconnect with Michigan friends and so forth.

There is much more to do here in Washington, and I’ve been enjoying the seafood, the oysters seem exceptionally tasty. Ordinarily, I don’t care for oysters, but these are very good. Washington will move to the top of my list for a return visit, at this point.

My last trail here was the easy Whatcom Creek Trail at Whatcom Falls Park, a metro park. Alltrails(TM) lists the loop as 4 miles, maybe, and 400 feet, no way. The paths were wide and a good amount paved. There were two waterfalls, a dam with the spillway running, a large pond, and a fish hatchery.

A family approached me by the water lilies near the outermost end. The grandfather was wearing a Tigers shirt, which led me to ask if they were originally from Michigan. The “Cool Family,” grandparents visiting from Michigan, parents transplanted from Michigan, and a wide dark-eyed, eyed-dark haired handsome grandson, born in Seattle, who stopped his bike in front of me and stared up at me, while we talked. I’ve been having this effect on children lately. Is it a grandfatherly thing, or like Tim Allen in the movie, the Santa Clause, with my beard and greying hair, am I starting to resemble Santa Claus the first? I have put on more weight than I like since selling my house. I miss those stairs! The family was headed back while I was still heading out, and we ran into each other again back near the exhibits. It was a fun surprise to see them again.

Since leaving southern California at the end of March, I’ve gone many places and seen wonderful sights, but the highlight of the last two months was seeing Candypants again. There is a special bond forged on a trek between trail friends. Although we’re not in each other’s lives, although we may be of widely different ages and life styles, and even though we have changed, when we meet again that bond reemerges to be renewed and strengthened.