Snowshoeing with Dad

Dad's Christmas present this year was a pair of snowshoes. Tromping down a trail in snowshoes gives you all the fun of a day playing in the snow without the pain of ski boots.
We took off from the Salmon Ridge sno-park, just east of Glacier and down the hill from Mt Baker Ski Area. The park has a network of XC and snowshoe trails maintained by the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club. You need to buy a sno-park pass to park in the large, ploughed lot. Next time around, we are thinking of using our Discover/Parks pass to park at the Shuksan picnic area across the river.

At the trailhead

We hiked along the north fork of the Nooksack river for a mile or two, then climbed up to the Razerhorn Road. The snow was fresh and soft, and the trees neatly frosted. The trails weren't especially busy, but we did see groups of snowshoers, classic skiers sliding by, and skate skiers flying. And a few 4-pawed friends loping along, too! Nearly 2.5 hours after we headed out, we tiredly unbuckled our snowshoes back at the car.

Winter Wonderland

Parents visit!

Mom and Dad came to visit on Thursday, and just left today. It was an almost perfect last-hurrah around Chucktown. Perfect would have been above-freezing weather when they arrived and not getting soaked today!
While I was at work, Mom and Dad toured downtown, Ft Sumter, one of the museum mansions, Middleton Place Plantation, and a bunch of other fun stuff. In the evenings we had good food, walked around, and relaxed.

This morning we rolled out of breakfast and headed to Shem Creek. A drizzle turned into a straight up rain, and we were soaked as we came back from the boardwalk.
After changing into dry pants we went out to Ft Moultrie, which displayed 200 years of defensive history on Sullivan's Island. The original fort was palmetto logs with dirt behind. They held off British ships at during the revolution. Instead of splintering, the logs flexed when shots hit them.

It's pointed at Sumter.

In the civil was Moultrie was held by the Confederates. It was from there that the shots starting the Civil War were fired. The fort was modernized during the Spanish-American war, and was fully manned as part of the coastal defenses during the 1st and 2nd World Wars.

After one last bout of Barbecue at Firey Ron's and a walk on the beach, Mom and dad packed up and headed back to WA. There's a light at the end of the tunnel - I'll be following them home soon(ish)!