Gold Creek Pond

Sunday was a beautiful day and I had planned to get the family out of the house for a hike in nature.  At first, we thought about going to Mt. Rainier since the wildflowers are in bloom, but we talked ourselves out of it because of the drive and the potential crowds.

Instead we opted to take Grammie to the place where we go sledding in the winter.  Steve and I really wanted to see what the place looked like with no snow on the ground and we knew we could take the dog and potentially have a good hike.

What we found was the huge difference it makes having snow on the ground versus grass!  We barely recognized the area and were really surprised at how small the actual hills were that we were sledding down.  They were no more than a small embankment with no snow, but add three feet of snow and they were quite fun!

Driving into the mountains - no snow left!

Last December...

We decided to drive just a little past where we usually park to go sledding to find a trail that I had read about online.  The trail, called Gold Creek Pond, was supposed to be only a mile long but circle a picturesque pond.  Well, I would say that the trail was not just picturesque, but picture perfect.  It was soooo beautiful.  We kept saying it looked like something in a calendar and I'm quite sure it's because I've seen it in a nature calendar.  It was just STUNNING!

Believe it or not, in the 1970s and 80s this spot was actually a big gravel pit where they mined the rock to make Interstate 90.  They have since reclaimed the land and made it a truly beautiful location.  The "pond" is the filled in pit and the waters are cold, deep and clear.