It’s Tuesday. Kiddo hiking day. Except we’re not hiking. Turns out having only one totally free day each week makes it really tough to squeeze in all other things we like to do, in addition to hiking. Duh. I should have realized this but I was in planning mode. And I plan waaay better than I execute. So I’m downgrading my Tuesday kiddo hiking goals to twice a month, leaving the other Tuesdays open for whatever comes up. Like today. Blaise, Laine, and Saige are heading to a pumpkin patch with their buddies. Baby was invited but she doesn’t like to go places without me. We’ll have a date with Maive while the others are pumpkin patching.
But last Tuesday, we hiked Cherry Creek Falls. What a perfect kiddo hike. It’s always a better hike when there’s an attraction. It sets the kiddos’ expectations and gives them something to look forward to after hiking however many miles. Cherry Creek Falls did not disappoint.
Cherry Creek Falls.
The hike is five miles round trip. Knowing this—and that we planned to meet friends—I decided to leave Saige and Baby home. They can totally hike this one, but I would want to take them without others… or with others who also have kiddos their ages. And sometimes it’s nice having only Blaise and Laine. Well, and Maive.
Gaiter head Blaise and the hikers, with a rare picture with me.
We met our friends later than usual, at 11am. It’s funny, both their mom and I are early risers. Texting as early as 5am some days. Except we both wanted to meet later. I wanted to check off some things on my list, like going for a run. And I didn’t want to feel rushed between all my standard morning tasks. I cannot leave the house with unmade beds or dishes in the sink. I’ve tried. And for once, I wasn’t worried about parking! Haha. It was a school day. Even with virtual learning, regular school kiddos have to be online most of the day. Score for us actual homeschoolers (using actual sounds pretentious).
Not Cherry Creek Falls hike, but the Snoqualmie Valley Trail from my morning run. All the Maive baby weight is gone, now the to get off the old baby weight, haha. It’s starting to look like FALL!!!
At 11am, we hit the trail. The trail starts off winding behind private property, which one resident makes perfectly clear. There are about eight private property signs, along with a private property cameras in use sign. We got the point. Not long after passing the private property, we came upon an old car. The trail used to be an old logging road. I’d love to know the story of abandoned cars on trails. There seem to be abandoned cars on trails more than I ever would have thought. Granted, I never thought about abandoned cars on trails until I saw my first one a while back. The kiddos checked out the mangled car, with bullet holes scattered all over the frame.
Hiker kiddos and mangled car number one.
Back on the trail, we hiked on. The trail is easy, gradually going up and down but never steep. It’s wide and well-maintained, and fairly boring in the scenery department. I mean, it’s beautiful in that it’s forest. But it’s your standard forest trees and brush, nothing noteworthy other than the car, and the second car. Two abandoned cars? Cool. The kiddos nosed around the second mangled, bullet-ridden car. There was a large downed tree next to the car that was also pretty cool. Nature’s balance beams.
Mangled car number two.
Random hike photos.
We kept going until we made it to the falls. Beautiful. Better than I had expected. When we decided to hike in Duvall, my expectations were fairly low. I’m not much of a Duvall fan, so my mind thought eh, it’s probably not going to be that great. Because it makes total sense a waterfall hike would be lame. Here’s where I should add an eye roll emoji.
The falls, with the fancy zoom out option.
I’m glad I was wrong. There are two waterfalls that flow into a shallow pool. We parked on the side of the water and the kiddos got down to eating lunch and getting their water play on. Maive fell asleep on the way to the water… I let her sleep a bit before pulling her out of the hiking backpack. I was worried if she slept through the falls play, she would wake up on the way back and want out. She was so cute. When I pulled her out and she came back to the living, she immediately noticed the waterfalls. She extended her hand and tried to grab one. Haha! She did this in Cannon Beach also, trying to grab a flying kite in the sky. Her depth perception isn’t quite there yet, 10 months and all.
Sleepy Maive! And the hikers at the falls.
Kiddos!
Blaise was in his element. This was much needed. He’s a gamer and would love to game all day, every day. If we let him. To see him here, kick off his boots and roll up his pants, and get in the water… much needed. For him and me. I know his carefreeness will wane in the next few years, now that he’s 10.
Blaise!
The boys tromping in the water.
And Laine, she enjoyed herself on the sidelines. She cut her foot the evening before and didn’t want to walk barefoot in the water. I admire her decisions. Blaise would say screw it and walk in the water anyway. Laine is much more disciplined. Luckily the kiddos wore boots so she was able to splash a bit in the shallow water. Laine enjoyed her lunch and fiddled with Maive a bit while Blaise and their buddies played in the water. I think she liked it this way; she was in a calm mood.
Laine!
It was nearly an hour before we packed up and headed back on the trail. It was an uneventful trek back. The kiddos checked out the cars again, briefly. Before we knew it, we were back at the start. It was a successful hike. I’m excited to take Saige and Baby back so they can experience the waterfalls and water play.
Jumping Raccoons 