We live in a pretty cool place. One of the many state parks we live near is the Ironhorse State park, which actually is a very large park spanning a huge distance. Once the railway line known as the Milwaukee Road, the remaining grade is now a state park known as the Iron Horse Trail. It extends through the Cascades and is now an 80+ mile hiking and mountain bike trail.

The engines of the Milwaukee Road
The Milwaukee Road was once an important link between Seattle and parts East. It was replaced by lines that had larger tunnels, and were less bothered by snow.

Visible history
The history of the railway in the area is pretty interesting

Dealing with Snow
This is what eventually closed the line down... snow. Opened in the mid 1800's, the line ran until about 1976 or so, when the line was turned over to the state as a park

The Tunnel is Closed
The park is broken by the Tunnel Closure... and by 3 other tunnels in the Cascades that are also closed. They're still working on a way to provide a bypass to open it back up end to end.

Junction on the trail
The trails in the area are well used, and well maintained.

An old sign
This Cedar Falls sign once marked the station for the city that was bought by the city of Seattle when it created the Cedar River watershed.

Banana Slug
It was drizzly, and had been for several days, an there were a lot of Banana Slugs out, much to the joy of the little guy!

Running ahead
He had a blast running on ahead of us, looking for slugs!

Watching the water
At times, he'd pause to check out a small stream or two that flowed along the railroad grade.

Looking for more slugs
He went from edge to edge, looking for slugs. the trees in the area were all well-covered with moss, and indicator of how much rain the area gets.

Checking out the waterfall
We walked the length fo the bridge on the board, checking out the 'waterfall' as he went. Boxley Creek cascaded down into the valley under the bridge.

Sack of Potatoes
On the way back, he got tired, so I threw him up on my shoulder...

Walking back the easy way
He really has it nice, eh?

Letters are fun
We went through the letters making up the sign... and then headed back to the Mariner. It was a nice walk that we all enjoyed quite a bit!

 

< Back to Currently