(Semi) wild animals and spring waterfalls

We're having a "warm" winter by Pacific Northwest standards. Average temperatures in January were the warmest on record by almost a half degree. There has not been any snow at all down here in the lower elevations. But we have still gotten all the rain and then some. But the weather has started to turn for the better. We're starting to see the sun more and more and temperatures approaching 60. So it's time to take some longer outdoor day trips.


This past weekend, I took the girls out to Northwest Trek. It's affiliated with the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. We had not been out there yet and it was a lot of fun. There's a tram that takes you through a section with moose, Roosevelt Elk, deer, a bison herd, mountain goats and bighorn sheep. It takes about an hour to take the whole tour. Fortunately, we got there early enough to get on the first one of the morning the the animals were still out and about. Granted, the area is not big enough for them to really hide but there is cover and it's hilly enough that the sheep and goats could hide. After a PB&J picnic lunch, we walked through the zoo like areas where they had gray wolves, grizzlies, river otters and cougars among other animals. For some reason, Campbell really wanted to see the skunk. Ellie was more interested in going back to the Cafe and getting one of the animal shaped juice bottles. I felt like we kind of sped through the park but we were there for almost 2.5 hours.


We had spectacular weather so I decided to head towards Mt. Rainier. I love going out there and even though the girls aren't ready to do the trails yet, we still had a chance to get out of the car and goof around. For some reason, Ellie was convinced that she wanted to go have a snow ball fight even though 1.) there was no snow on the ground where we were and 2.) we were completely ill-equipped if we found some. But we could see the mountain and it's snow capped as can be so she thought it was possible. Paradise has several feet up there but I was wearing shorts and the girls only had windbreakers. I took the scenic route down to Packwood and we found some early waterfalls which the girls loved "hiking." Ellie loves taking pictures even if only of the ground or sky. During the tram ride, she had my camera about half the time and I have an amazing array of photos of the inside of the tram. With a little instruction, she gets some good ones too.

Even though we didn't have a snow ball fight, seeing the lack of snow near the Park entrance has me planning my first day out at the mountain. I hope to get out there this weekend. It'd be pretty cool to get some winter photos.