Lake Sylvia Fall Colors
Last year during our first visit to Lake Sylvia State Park I was intrigued by the large population of deciduous trees surrounding the lake. It’s always hard to tell if you’re going to get a muddy color or something that really pops, but we knew we needed to come back in the fall and see what the lake had to offer. Finding our self’s at Wynoochee Dam was the last place we expected.
And so we did. Unfortunately, I think we mistimed the change and arrived a bit too early to really get that explosion of color. The cool air combined with the calm waters gave the place that characteristic charm of fall. The leaves were indeed changing but we weren’t getting the brilliant colors I had hoped for.
Wasn’t what we had planned, but there was still plenty to explore which is exactly what we did.
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Finding a Lost City
To be honest, we didn’t actually find a ‘Lost City’…actually, I doubt we were the first to find these structures either. We headed off on a couple of trails we hadn’t had time to follow our last visit.
The trail snaked over hills and down into gullies as it followed the creek draining Lake Sylvia. It was on the return portion of the loop that I noticed all the brickwork near the tail. After seeing multiple patches. I released this had to be part of some lost structure which had been reclaimed by the damp forest.
Looking at the surrounding area more closely I realized I was looking at a trestle of some sort. Just as I was congratulating myself on my keen archeology skills Theresa noticed the reader board which explained this was the site of an old sawmill from the first homestead in the area. Oh well…..
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Toleak Beach is located on the coast of Washington. The sea stacks in the background are part of the Giant's Graveyard.
This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was unusually relaxed during our hike out on the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge boardwalk. We almost tripped over him before noticing him. Never could see what he was so intently looking at.
Mt. Rainier as seen from the mouth of the Nisqually Delta.
Sunset over the Pacific on Washington's coast.
Just published our latest adventure, or maybe misadventure. You can find the link in my bio up top. - "A Regenerating Dip in Coldwater Lake"
Here's my latest news article regarding the world of citizen-science | "A Summer of Wild and Scenic Rivers"
Low tide on Crescent Bay.
Lake Crescent after the big wind storm we had last night. We got hammered on the beach, losing our weather station from atop the RV. I was recording gust of nearly 40 before we lost our instrumentation. However, all’s good this morning.
Pinto Falls in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This little hidden ravine sits on an otherwise nondescript hillside. Never know what you’re going to find.
Took advantage of the clear skies and set up a day camp on the Washington coast. After a week of forest fire haze, it was a relief to see blue on the horizon.
The North Head lighthouse was built in 1989 just north of the Columbia River on the Washington coast.
Just published our latest adventure - "A Night at Dusty Lake" - You can find the link in my bio up top.
Lewis & Clark had their dog, 'Seaman’ and we have 'Ghost' to round out our team of explorers. Pinto Falls is in the background. A big thanks to Brad for bringing him along.
Tower Rock in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This monolith soars 2000' above the Cispus Valley floor.
Sunrise from basecamp over Tower Rock in the background. Are we sure this is October?
Made it to the top of Burley Mountain and the fire lookout there. Mt. Rainier in the background.
Wynoochee Dam
Lately, dams have been getting a bad reputation and I understand the reasoning behind that. However, the boy in me still wonders when I come upon one and look at the engineering behind it. Visiting Wynoochee Dam in the offseason is just one of the moments of wonder.
The Wynoochee Dam was built by the Army Corp of Engineers in 1972 to help control floods in the area. It wasn’t until 1994 that Tacoma Power added a 30MW hydroelectric generating plant downstream from the dam. Although access to the dam has been restricted since September 11, 2001, tours are available by appointment.
We also explored the Coho Campground on the west shore of the lake. It’s a beautiful campground with 45 campsites available as well as some yurts and walk-in sites. Be warned that there didn’t appear to be any cellular service and as it’s about 30 miles north of Aberdeen you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of gas to make it back.
There were few campers when we drove through but I imagine that’s not the case in the summer season. I think we’ll be back to try it out as a base camp and explore more of the Olympic National Forest in this area.
