Around 10 AM, I noticed the clouds were breaking up and patches of blue were appearing. Hooray! I began to have other ideas for the day besides watching a movie or reading. Consulting the internet on my trusty laptop, I discovered that near Yacolt, there is a park called Moulton Falls Park. It looked as if we might find some good hiking there.
We packed up the dogs and a few odds and ends and hit the road. Winding through beautiful countryside, first along the Lewis river and then along Cedar Creek, we traveled through the bucolic splendor of southwest Washington state at the end of summer. We passed through Amboy and then on to Yacolt and finally to Moulton Falls County Park. I don't even know what county this is (Clark?).
Suffice to say that our travels were not in vain. The park is gorgeous. It is set in a canyon, through which flows the east fork of the Lewis river. There are numerous stony outcroppings and a few waterfalls. The big attraction, though, for most of the other, obviously repeat, visitors, was the swimming holes. There are several spots where the river becomes wide and deep, perfect for swimming.
We were neither in the mood nor equipped for swimming, so we simply hiked up the trail that first crosses the river via a beautiful bridge (of which I neglected to make a photo) and then parallels the stream. The trail was wide and sandy, and the dogs had a wonderful time sniffing and exploring. Lulu in particular would have explored every trail we came to, given a fighting chance. Alas, our time was limited, so we turned back and headed for home.
All in all, the day turned out much different than I had expected when I arose. Indeed, it was about as delightful a day as a fellow could ask for.
Looking downstream from the Moulton Falls bridge at one of the swimming holes.
And looking upstream.
Looking upstream from the trail along the south side of the river.
No comments:
Post a Comment