Exploring Washington

While we're waiting for a flight to Germany, we are making the most of our time here in Washington. We are seeing rivers, forests, waterfalls, and more. We started at Granite Falls to see the fish ladder:

We decided to go on a hike at the Big Four Mountain (one mile each way) to see the ice caves. The path was so wide and smooth that we were able to bring David in his stroller. Here are the kids at the beginning of our hike:

Grandma W. was our tour guide:

The views were spectacular:

We saw a lot of places for animals to hide. These hiding places work well for kids too:

The ice caves are located at the bottom of glaciers where water runs through the middle. It was extremely cold at the opening of the caves. Cold mist was blowing out of this one:

Luckily, the kids had their jackets for the bigger cave. It is unsafe to go inside the caves, but the kids had a good time playing in the snow on the outside:

Looking into the cave at the melting ice and dripping water:

My favorite views were of the waterfalls above the ice and snow:

Here is the view without my cute kids:

After the hike, Mom and Dad took us for a drive on Mountain Loop Highway on a road that closes in the winter because of the snow. The rest of these pictures are my favorite scenes of the day (at least the ones without the kids):