Totem Lake, Kirkland

Description:
Totem Lake is more of a little nature-trail-slash-boardwalk, rather than a walk-walk. We managed to turn it into at least a 2-mile walk, though. In fact, tricky as it was, we managed to circumnavigate it. We were quite determined! It started out as a little trek down the boardwalk and standing against the fence to watch dozens swallows perform their amazing aerobatics. Then we grabbed ourselves a cattail and meandered down a little unused trail, where I fluffed up the cattail and Pete munched on the blackberries. Note to self: go back there in a week or two to gather berries for a yummy pie. We still had time to kill, so we headed the other direction around the lake. The nature trail pretty much ended at the gas station and a street, but we kept following the sidewalk, stopped at a couple interpretive signs, then headed down the railroad track. Our chance of finding our way around the lake seemed unpromising. We kept following the railroad track though, until we finally found a dry spot to cut across through the woods. We ended up in the parking lot of a Nintendo customer service center. Again, it didn't look very promising. It pretty much looked like a little mountain we needed to cut across, and then there was a swampy wetland down below us. Somehow, we managed to find a dry trail, which led us to some apartments and a hotel parking lot. Voila! Back to the beginning. I could proudly say that we circumnavigated Totem Lake, and I relived the type of adventure I used to have all the time in my late teens/young adulthood, when I used to get lost in some woods and try to find my way out. Now that's what I call a Date Night with my wonderful, adventuresome hubby!
          I have one other memory of Totem Lake. That's where Desiree collected a sample of water for the 6th grade science fair project. We discovered Totem Lake water helps grass to grow like crazy, compared to other water sources. Totem Lake is thriving and full of life and full of natural fertilizers!

Location & Parking:
Go to the Totem Lake Shopping Center in Kirkland. Totem Lake is tucked somewhat behind Big 5, by the old movie theater complex. I think the Hotel where the boardwalk starts is called the Carlton Inn. I found the birds at Totem Lake much more fascinating to watch than the ones at nearby Denny's Pet World. Here is a website dedicated to birdwatching at Totem Lake: Birder Central.

Willapa Hills Trail, Chehalis

Description:
The Rails-to-Trails website did a good job describing this trail, so I'm going to cut and paste the info: The Willapa Hills Trail runs 56 miles between Chehalis and South Bend in Washington. Formerly a Northern Pacific Railway, this corridor was railbanked and converted into a rail-trail. The 5 mile section from Raymond to South Bend is paved and follows the Willapa River. The trail offers hiking, biking, horseback riding and fishing. Visitors will find picnic facilities and restrooms at Riverfront Park in Raymond. The trail has modest grades and gorgeous water and valley views and there are plans to restore the historic swinging bridge along this trail.

We really enjoyed this quiet trail and being out in the open country. I like that the trail ahead looks like it reaches out to infinity. The section we walked started in Chehalis, and we look forward to exploring other sections of the trail in the future.

Location & Parking:
Map and Directions can be found at the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy website. We parked at an access location just down the street from the Chehalis Steam Train Station. There's really only enough space to park 3-4 cars.

Centennial Trail, Snohomish

Description:
This is a typical rail-to-trail asphalt path that runs 17 miles from the town of Snohomish to Arlington. We walked the southernmost portion of the trail, beginning at Pine and Maple, and covered 3 1/4 miles both ways (6.5 miles round trip). The trail is quite flat, with almost no variation in elevation. The scenery is open, flat countryside, with mountains in the horizon. We had little glimpses of Mt. Pilchuck and Mt. Baker. The trail traveled somewhat along Pilchuck(?) Creek. There was a busy road adjacent to the trail, and I didn't care for listening to the traffic. However, the walk was relaxing overall, and it helped time to slow down for me awhile this afternoon. I was inspired by the different forms of recreation I observed people enjoying on or near the trail. These included:
*horseback riding
*the usual...walking, jogging, strollers, biking
*rollerblading
*cross-country skis on wheels (what is this called?)
*pulling a fat bassett hound in a cart behind a bike (I want a pull-cart for Squeaky!)
*radio-controlled airplanes
It was so nice to remove myself from my job for a couple hours and appreciate life in a relaxing way. I forgot how therapeutic recreation can be. The weather was gorgeous today. I got some heavy doses of light therapy and soaked up plenty of Vitamin D -- just what the doctor ordered!

Location & Parking:
There are several places to park along this walking route. See the Snohomish County Parks website for details: Centennial Park Information