A nice place to walk on a nice day is the Watershed park, along Rattlesnake Lake, which is just down the road from where we live. 

Microsoft really IS everywhere!  :-)

Apparently, they donated money to the entryway to the Cedar Falls Watershed Area. 

The watershed provides water to the City of Seattle, some 40 miles away.  First talked about in the 1870's, the first pipe was installed in 1897 or so, after the "Great Seattle Fire" sent home the fact that the city was in dire need of a reliable water supply.

Outside the visitor's center, a garden houses "Water Drums", played by dripping water from the trees (or by water taps when its not raining or dripping from the trees).

 
A walk through the welcome center explains the importance of the region, and the Watershed's efforts at preservation.

There's also several displays that tell the story of Cedar Falls, an old Logging and Mining Town that was partially inundated by the Cedar Falls Reservoir, and closed by the City to ensure the integrity of the water suppy.

After walking through the Visitor's center, we set out on one of the many trails crisscrossing the park.  We picked one that would take us down to the lake.

 
The park is quite well maintained, and seems to be a great place to ride a bike.

The views of the lake are nothing short of spectacular!

 
On some of the old stumps, submerged for most of the year, you can still see the notches cut for the spring boards, cut to hold a board for the loggers to stand on so they could cut above the root swell.

The view was very peaceful and calming.  We sat there for a bit, watching the scene before us in the still quiet of a fall morning.

A couple of fish jumped, forming ripples.

We couldn't help thinking that all of this is only 5 minutes or so from where we live... Have I ever mentioned that I like it up here in North Bend?

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