Comet Falls and Van Trump Park

Last Sunday was a gorgeous day for a hike. I looked at the blue sky around Mt. Rainier with no clouds in sight and knew it was going to be a fabulous day. I met my hiking friend Darrol at the Comet Falls parking lot by 8 am and off we went. Note to self: the trailhead is 4 miles pass Longmire and has a small parking lot that fills up fast.

Here's a little data if you can't see it in the sign. Comet Falls roundtrip 3.8 miles/ 900 feet elevation gain. Van Trump Park roundtrip 5.8 miles /elevation gain 2000 feet.

Fantastic viewing of Van Trump Creek. Beautifully carved out.

Comet Falls in the cool of the morning. We continued on to Van Trump Park.

Nice view of Mt. St. Helens in the distance.

From here the trail started getting steeper and I could feel myself getting exhausted. It was one of those just put one foot out in front of the other and take it slow. Once we got to our destination it is so worth it. The view! Oh my the view. Mt. Rainier smack dab in front of us and Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens behind us. 

Here's a pic of Mt. Adams above

 Hello Mt. Rainier. You look mighty fine today.

 Our resting spot for 2 hours as we soaked in the mountain vibe.

It was such a beautiful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. 

 Our descent down

Hopefully this hike will get me ready for the big hike to Cascade Pass/Sahale Arm in August!

Bear Head Mountain

If you are looking for a nice trail to hike I would recommend Bear Head Mountain. The only word of caution is the last 6.5 mile drive to the trail head is bumpy and filled with lots of potholes. It took us 35 minutes to drive 6.5 miles.
But it's worth it not only when you get to the top but when you get out of the forest and you are surrounded by lush hillsides and the ever present view of Mt. Rainier. I can't wait to go back!

One year older

I love me a freebie and when birthday time comes around I am all over it. I started with My free Jamba Juice (Orange Dream Machine )and Auntie Annes pretzel fresh out of the oven (so convenient that they are located next to each other at Southcenter Mall)

I met up with Victoria and we went to the Scrapbook Expo at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. How nice of them to come on my birthday! It was better than expected and I picked up several die cuts that I have been wanting plus a little more stuff.

One of my favorite things to eat at the Fair are scones so I was surprised to see the scone truck sitting out in front of the Scrapbook Expo.

Nom, Nom!!

I have always wanted to try Machingo at Muckleshoot Casino. Funny how I lived in Auburn for 3 years and never went mainly because I don't like to throw my money away, but on your birthday they give you a player's card loaded with 1000 points so I played for free, woot woot! I didn't know that or else I would have gone last year too, ha! I ended up getting a free dauber and $10 worth of bingo cards to play.

So no winnings here, but I went out the next day and received my free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Cotton Candy is yummy

And a free pastry at Panera. Lemon Drop Cookie was delicious.

Add to the list of sweets - a gift of Frans Salted Caramels by my boss and I was in sweet tooth heaven.

I finally ended the birthday celebration at a Korean Barbecue Restaurant. My mom and I had no idea at first what we were doing, but we caught quickly. So much meat!

Happy to say it was a really good birthday!

Noble Knob

Got another hike in the books last Sunday, woot! I met up with the trailsider group and hiked to Noble Knob. The hike was easy compared to getting there. I love unmarked roads, haha. Once we finally got to the trailhead we hiked easily to our lookout point. (5 miles roundtrip)

Happy 4th of July! Hope everyone celebrated the freedom we enjoy in our beautiful country.