Day 16, 17 and 18

Lots of family active time this weekend during a trip out to the Olympic Penninsula.

Day 16
We went to Railroad Bridge Park, a beautiful former railroad bridge that is situated on the Olympic Discovery Trail, a rail trial that spans from Port Townsend to Port Angeles. We have been vactioning in this area for over 10 years and never knew about this park until I was training for a marathon earlier this year. The marathon course takes you right over the bridge. As it has been raining nonstop for days, there was lots of water rushing under the bridge. I can never get tired of watching it and the sound of the water was so loud, I could have sworn we were close to I-5. Nothing spectacular about the energy spent and calories consumed on this walk. It was close to dark and our 4 year old was not finding the "joy" in being out in nature. 30 min.

Day 17
Playing the snow, sledding and snowshoeing at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. We are having an El Nino Winter in the Northwest which translates into rain, rain, and more rain and very mild temperatures. Not sure how this is going to translate into snow for the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver, but enough snow does seem to be falling in the mountains. We usually get snow at or near sea level at least one or two days, but so far nothing. The girls were overjoyed to see the snow as we were winding our way up the mountain. You would have thought that it was Christmas. Haley kept squealing in her cute little high pitched voice, "It's a Winter Wonderland!" The girls had plenty of time to sled and make a snowman, and then they got interested in digging a hole. John and I took turns heading off down the snowshoe trail by ourselves. I was freezing, so this was the only way I could think to get my extremities warm. The mountain was "closing" early due to an impending snow, so John and I each only got a 15-20 workout, but it's a great one. You can't beat the scenery and the way back is entirely uphill. It is a great trail and I can't wait until the girls get their own snowshoes and can join us, maybe later this winter. 2 hours.

Day 18
On this day, we visited another former railroad bridge on the Olympic Discovery Trail - Morse Creek Bridge. More stunning scenery across the river and a nice stroll down the newly paved trail. Afterwards we took the girls to a playground in Port Angeles, quite a nice one. It's one of those playgrounds that is fully fenced and has lots of structures to climb on, looks very similar to a castle or fortress. The trail then playground was our way of getting some exercise in for the adults. Although, we did have a chance to climb around on the playground as well. 20 min at the bridge 1 hour at the park.