Tolmie State Park is a very small park designated for day use only. The Discover Pass is required at this park. We parked in the lower parking lot which is closest to the beach access and walked down. As we got near the beach, we noticed a woman carrying up a huge bag of clams. We thought it was interesting that she could clam in a state park, but didn't think any more of it.
After hanging on the beach for awhile, we made our way over the bridge that leads to the hiking trails. There are two trails to choose from. The four cedars trail and the sandy beach trail. We chose the sandy beach trail that turned out to be quite short, but was fun none the less.
It's always fun to watch the little crabs, especially since we don't live near the water.
It's a little hard to see this picture, but it is a maple tree that fell down a few years ago. Now there are about 20 new trees growing from the trunk.
Tolmie State Park, isn't big, but it still has a lot to offer. As we made our way back to the parking lot, the sheriff was there, talking to the lady that had removed all of the clams from the beach. Apparently, we were right...clamming isn't allow. Now we know.
We've been working hard on balancing being helpful but giving the kids time to be a family with no interruptions. So some days we are completely on our own just enjoying beautiful Washington. Today we started out at Zittel Marina on Johnson Point. It is a private marina, but they seemed to have no problem with us just looking around. They have a small shop with fishing and boating supplies, in addition to all of the maintenance areas. The store was open, even during Covid.
From Zittel Marina, we drove further west to the small town of Boston Harbor. It was a really cute harbor town with a seaside restaurant that was open for business with outdoor "take-out" type food. Parking in this town was definitely at a premium. We tried for about 15 minutes to find a spot, and eventually got one on the roadside.
Our final stop today was at the Woodard Bay trail. The parking lot for this trail requires the discover Pass. It is a beautiful, easy hike with a round trip loop if you want.
As we walked along, we could hear the continuous chant of what sounded like thousands of birds. We weren't sure where it was coming from, but we were hoping to find out.
Apparently these trees are the home of two different nesting birds, the great blue herons and the cormorants. The heron nesting season was already over, but the cormorants were very busy raising their young. This is what all of the ruckus was about.
Everywhere we looked, there were nesting cormorants.
The trail ended at the sound, in an area where the Native Americans once lived, before it became a lumbering waterway.
Old piers and pylons where they used to load the lumber onto barges. Now they inhabited only by the harbor seals that live in this area.
The remains of a railway pier is now inhabited by several species of bats.
From a viewing point on the other side of the park, we could again see the cormorant nests from a different angle. It's crazy how many nests are in a single community.
On our way back to the car, we took the salamander trail that winds by a small pond created during the logging days, and then up through the forest.
There are so many big slugs in Washington. I've taken a liking to them!
We both find Washington to be so enchanting. If it wasn't for the long, wet, cold winters it would be the perfect place to live!
It is a gorgeous day in the south sound area, so Steve and I packed up and headed out to explore one of our favorite little towns, Steilacoom. We found a little trail, parked and headed up to see where it would lead us. At the top, was a tiny little park overlooking the sound, the ferry terminal and Anderson Island. It's a great spot to just sit and enjoy the marine wildlife.
When we finally left our little park, we walked back down the trail and then got in the car to see if we could find the little park from the top. As we drove through Steilacoom, we came across a doe and her twin fawns.
They crossed the road in front of us, and headed down the hill on the other side.
It was so impressive, they even used the crosswalk.
The doe went over the fence, but the fawns had to make their way between the fences. They were almost to big to get through.
Such a fun sight to see. I never get tired of seeing wildlife!
After a wonderful day of exploring on our own, we picked up sushi at the kids favorite place, I-shush Teriyaki, and enjoyed the pie we picked up at the cherry festival. Such a fun way to finish our day!
