The last couple years my DH and I have gone on a hike to celebrate Mother's Day.
Since all three of our kids live out of state now (sad sigh)
and both of our mom's have passed on (second sad sigh), we find it a pleasant way to spend this day--
and somehow, maybe because my mom loved nature so very much, it just seems right.
Of course, during our travels we always hear from our kids which is a very pleasant part of our Mother's Day celebrations too:)
Last year we hiked the trail to Fishhawk Falls (near Jewell) in the coast range
It was beautiful...
it was an easy walk...
it was green...
and
we LOVED it!
When exploring possibilities for this year's celebration,
I happened upon a mention of a hike in one of my favorite areas--
and that's when I, lover of local history and nature, knew where we had to go.
Of course, since my daughter and sons couldn't be here...
we brought another 'daughter'--
a small, white, furry one.
She LOVES it when her mom and dad say she's invited too!
:)
No, you won't find this wonderful sculpture at Kilchis...
but we did spend some yummy moments later in the day with him.
Kilchis Point is located in Bay City (south of Garibaldi; north of Tillamook)
and is the site of a former Native American village
and, later on, pioneer homesteads.
If you go, be prepared to be fully immersed into a world of green loveliness!
The first section of the trail (The Trailhead Loop trail)
consists of beautiful pavers and is very handicap accessible.
It is easy walking and quite delightful!
Other trail surfaces include boardwalks over the wetland areas
(with more to come)
and compacted gravel trails beyond the Trailhead Loop
(we walked quite a bit of the trail called Native American Way
but would like to do all the trails in the future).
Signs along the trail talk about the history and animals of the area
(I didn't know this was cougar and black bear territory).
Everything was VERY well done and added to our enjoyment of the area.
We were there late morning and mostly had this piece of paradise to ourselves--
well except for the birds that is
(birdsong included in your hike for free--actually I should say there is
NO admission so your walk is totally free).
Salmonberries in different stages.
Mmm. We need to plant some here.
Native mushroom.
The different types of mushrooms we have in the Pacific NW amaze me!
See?
I told you to be prepared for being immersed in green
(beautiful woodland, forest, wetland areas)
and whoever designed the walkways has a very artistic eye.
You will agree should you come here!
Speaking of art--this gorgeous salmon sculpture can be seen along the trail...
there are also wonderful log (and other) benches should you feel the need to relax for awhile.
It is a great trail for your furry friends, kids and adults alike!
Well I could post a dozen or more photos of our hike here
and a couple photos along the bay too
(from when we got lost before we found the reserve),
but household tasks call me so I will leave you with some links where you can find
more information and photos of Kilchis Point Reserve.
Have a great week:)
Blessings,
Aimee
Links:
(Kilchis is owned by the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum--
they have some plans for the reserve's future!)
(Kilchis Point Reserve blog--love it!
Lots of photos and info about the Reserve can be found here).
Besides Fishhawk Falls and Kilchis Point,
another fairly easy walk in this area is Munson Falls located a bit south of Tillamook.
Here is a link to our walk there...
12 comments:
I've never hiked here, but after reading your recap I'm putting this one on my list! Oh - and Happy Mother's Day to you. :)
Hi Aimee,
What a treat ! Thank you for sharing photos of the gorgeous areas that you visited in your neck of the woods !
You know I would love that trail .
I hope you had a wonderful Mothers day.
Happy Monday,
Willow
@Linda~
Thank you for the Mother's Day wishes! As you can see, and will see, it was awesome! I hope your MD was wonderful as well:)
I am thrilled that you want to hike at Kilchis Point--I absolutely love an area that combines two of my passions--history and nature! It is really short and easy (I think about 2 miles or so) though compared to your usual hikes, so you might consider adding on another easy hike (Munson Falls or Bayocean Spit perhaps) or a more challenging hike and this one--perhaps one of the nearby headlands or one in the coast range (as I remember you've hiked part of the Tillamook Forest before). Just want to make sure we keep you challenged enough :):):)
Blessings,
Aimee
@Willow~
It truly was! You are SO welcome--I KNOW you would love it there as you are a nature lover just like me:)
Thanks for the MD wishes. Hope you had a great and most wonderful MD also!
Blessings,
Aimee
Hi Aimee, those were very nice photos of your hike. We're glad that you brought along your white, furry "daughter". It's always good to have us around. We hope that you had a great Mother's Day. You can always visit us, we're just up the street.
Aimee...
Enjoy your blog so much! Thanks for following mine and for your wonderful comments! Thanks for stopping by! My Mom was an amazing lady and I appreciate your comments on my post about Mothers Day! Take Care!
Jayne
@Sam~
Hi Sam! It wouldn't be a GOOD Mother's Day hike without the white furry one:)
Actually I would love to come visit your beautiful area again--hopefully some day I'll make it up there again.
Blessings,
Aimee
@Jayne~
Thank you and you are most welcome--it's my pleasure:)
Blessings,
Aimee
What a great thing to do on Mother's Day! I went up to Vista House to man a table for the Portland Women's Forum.. it was neat to talk to old friends there. Dayle made me a special dinner. A good day.
((hugs)), Teresa :-)
What a beautiful place to hike. It really is green, green, green here at this time of year. Everything is so lush. You mentioned planting salmon berries - do you enjoy eating them? I find them very bland.
@Teresa~
I bet it was gorgeous up there at Vista House last Sunday and it's always good to be able to spend time with old friends!
Yum! I hope you'll have photos of Dayle's special dinner--he seems very talented and looking at the photos always makes me hungry:)
Blessings,
Aimee
@Lorrie~
It was beautiful! You make me want to visit Canada again! I absolutely love BC and always enjoyed our visits to the island when I was younger! RE: salmonberries. My hubby is more familiar with them than I, but I would probably use them in some kind of fruit dessert or preserves. My interest in them would be both for food but also because I love planting NW natives here...:)
BLessings,
Aimee
Lovely post Aimee -- we are back in the Pacific Northwest and I am thrilled to be here. (although we haven't had time to get out on any trails yet, but it is lovely and green everywhere here and the flowers are amazing. Rhododendrons... need I say more?)
It is a great thing to find alternate ways to celebrate Holidays after family dynamics change and shift. (We're experts at that by now). You picked a way to celebrate that would suit me to a T!
@Sallie~
Thanks and welcome back! So happy you made it in time to enjoy our rhodies and other native flowers!! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy:)
Yep-we definitely share many things in common!
Blessings,
Aimee
PS: Looking forward to seeing your PNW posts!
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