The morning hours became blended with the night and before I knew it, the alarm was sounding the 01:50am wakeup that had been set less than two hours before. There had been lots of things to discuss and do before Dan headed home and by the time everything had been dealt with, it was midnight...only time for an hour-and-a-half nap before getting ready to make the nearly two-hour drive to the airport. It doesn't seem like that long ago when extinuating circumstances that required my attention into the early morning hours was nothing...it was easy to stay awake and finish the day with no problem. I found that this is not the case anymore; I need my sleep.

The plan for the day was to get up in enough time to get Dan at SeaTac by 04:30 for his 05:30 departure; he would make his connection in Atlanta and be home by 5pm. Since I had planned to hike in the Cougar Mountain Wildland Park - just outside of Seattle, it only made sense to take all my gear and start on the trails as soon as the sun came up. I had been told that people were on the trails around 06:00am and there wouldn't be a problem if I started before the park opened at 08:00am. All went as scheduled; the drive to the airport took about 1-hour and 45 minutes - in plenty of time for Dan's check-in and still about an hour before the sunrise. I had decided to start with the Red Town Trail - just off exit 13 from I-90; the directions had mentioned that the trailhead wasn't easily seen and to count steps in a certain direction to find the beginning of the trail; if finding this in daylight hours was tricky I had no choice but to wait for sunrise. I figured while I sat waiting for the amber glow of the sun to lighten the trail I would watch for animals heading back to their lairs after roaming so secretely in the night. I did see a couple of rabbits scurring along the edge of parking lot and heard a couple of birds calling to one another in the far distance; all else was quiet and still.

As daylight approached and I could see the terrain, I got my gear together and set off to find the trailhead. The memories I had of my earlier days in Seattle were that the mornings were usually wet and on the cooler side...today was no different. Finding the trail wasn't as difficult as I thought but it was a little out of direct sight. The ground was spongy and the trail seemed more narrow than they described. Within the first few feet I was layered in cobbwebs; I may have even said a few choice words and called myself "crazy". Shortly into the trail, the canopy of the forest thickened and the early morning light faded as quickly as it had risen...each step took me farther into thicket and further into the darkness. I had used my flashlight the night before and failed to put it back in my pack so I slowed my steps to allow my eyes to adjust the shadowed trail. Hearing a twig snap, my steps stopped - I listened for sounds...nothing but silence; the silence was as cold as the brisk air. I continued to walk towards an opening in the thick hammock; ahead I could see larger splatters of light streaming through the brush and to the forest floor. The clearing would provide more light and a chance to look at the trail map to make sure I was where I thought I should be. I stood there for a moment as if standing under a spotlight - enjoying the rays of sun that lightly warmed my face as I looked up...remember, it was only 45 degrees when I started my hike. Feeling confident that I was on the correct trail, I stepped out of the comfort of the morning sun back onto the twilit trail. Shortly after getting back under the darkened canapy of the forest, it happened. I heard a faint rattley-rumble from behind me. I hadn't gone that far into the trail so I guessed it was coming from the direction of the parking lot...hummm. It was getting louder, and louder and when it dawned on me what I was hearing, I exhaled a heavy breathe of disappointment. "Disappointment" may have not been the best word that described what I felt when I realized where the sound was coming from but the sound of cars was not my idea of the wilderness experience I had planned on. My next thought was, now the trail is going to be bombarded with people and where there are people, there is usually noise; luckily, that was not the case - it was just morning interstate traffic getting heavy.

As the trail took me deeper into the wilderness park, once again, all became quiet except for a few birds chirpping as if saying good morning to the others as they flew by and a distorted whistle from an elk would ocassionally catch my ear, For several hours while exploring the trails, I came across only a couple of other people but a nod and passing "hello" was the limit to any communnication with others; so, my plan to spend a quiet day in the wilderness was a success. As the trail became alive under a higher sun I could see the natural beauty that has been preserved for all to share. The Red Town Trail is one of the most liked trails; in addition to its ease of walking, it has a lot of great connecting trails that offer miles of twisting and turning paths through beautiful foliages just bursting with color.

After walking a couple of miles, I could tell my stamina was not par and not knowing the trails I thought - this may be a shorter day than planned. After crosssing over to the Wilderness Trail and getting my feet soaking wet, I decided to call it a day and make my way back to the parking lot. Once there, I changed my shoes and socks and I felt a burst of energy so I decided to make a quick stop at the Pioneer Place Park at 1st & James to see if access to the Underground Seattle was still open. Underground Seattle still offered tours but they are given only on the hour and I had missed it by 5 minutes and knew I didn't want to wait for another hour. When in Seattle, this is a very nice tour of subterranean sidewalks and store fronts that were abandoned when the streets were raised up to 35 feet following a fire in the late 1800's. As I remember, tour guides made the 2 hour walk not only funny but historically, informative. With nothing more on my agenda, I head back to camp.

The drive back took me nearly 3-1/2 hours (double the time of getting there); the traffic was slow and heavy-just as my eyes were. It was a struggle but with help of the stereo, Tina Turner and loud, open-window singing, the drive back to camp went without event...other than a few gawking stares as I billowed, "Steamy Windows".

Once back at camp I knew I had the whole next day to get rest, do laundry and get my energy back before tackling a day of exploring the Elma and Satsop areas so I had a few evening hours left in me to search for some unusal place to see or some "must do" trail. I came across an article about the neuclear power plants in Satsop. I thought, how cool would that be to go inside a neuclear power plant. Dan and I had passed the huge towers a week earlier when we passed through on our way to the westcoast and wondered if they were indeed, neuclear. As I read about the unusal history of the power plants I found out that construction was 75% complete in 1983 before they supposedly ran out of money and the job abandoned and even better, there was access to the empty giants. After a day of rest, my day starting with a visit to see the neuclear power plants. When I arrived at the Satsop Business Park it was incredible seeing the huge towers hugging the sky. I walked around, thinking, "Do I want to take a chance of getting caught scaling the fence or just be satisfied with being this close; then, from out of no where, a local business owner interupted my thoughts. He introduced himself and pointed to his shop, which was under the shadow of one of the cooling towers. He shared his version of the real story as to why the towers were vacated; he said someone in the community finally WOKE UP and convinced the government that having a neuclear power plant that close to an active volcano might not be the best idea and the government pulled their funding. For which ever reason, the project was halted and the vacated towers stand guard over the Satsop Business Park. So to add a twist to my adventures, I now say that I went by a neuclear power plant to pick up some neuclear juice as a souvenir from Satsop, WA.

The day was still early so I continued on to Schaffer State Park - about 6 miles west. Being recommended by one of the camp host, I felt this was a good choice...not ! Twenty-some miles later when I arrived, I found a small, single-trail park that had a (packed) campground - meaning lots of children. The signage for the park was confusing except the one wanting the required fee ($10/day). It was difficult to justify the money for such a small endeavor so I took the pay envelope and laid it on my dash. I figured I would take a peek at the trail and if it looked appealing, I'd go ahead and drop the envelope; if not, I'd spend my money elsewhere. Though the trail was small and had heavy foot traffic, it was pretty but not ten dollars' worth of pretty. Need I say anymore?

Because the park was a wash and the day was still young, I decided Iwould take the motorcycle out for a run through the quaint towns of Elma and Montesano. The backroads had little traffic and the towns had colorful decor and as well as colorful names for some of the businesses. I particularly like the business name, "Another Alibi" - a cute roadside bar on the outskirts of Elma. Upon my return to camp, I noticed the temperature had warmed to a sweet 75 degrees and the bright blue sky was in contrast with a few white, puffy clouds - it ended up being a beautful day, indeed.

As I closed my writing for the evening, I noticed that the campground was now full... the local fairgrounds were hosting an antique tractor show & tractor pull this weekend as well as host a motocross event. I was amist the most unusual and diverse crowd of campers; I could only imagine what the nights were going to be like being surrounded by tractor and motorcycle lovers of all ages. To my suprise, all was quiet and by 11:00am Sunday, nearly all had packed up and moved on. The Elma RV Park is a very nicely operated and clean campground; we were welcomed with freshly baked cookies and lots information on the local activities and sites to see. They gave us internet access but I was never able to connect and after not having internet for most of this trip, it didn't bother me to be out of touch with the social media. The time spent here was quiet enjoyable but it was time to head to the North Cascades National Park so I can check the last National Park in Washington off my "still-to-see" list.