A Great Place to be on Christmas Eve

Last night I asked Graham, our youngest son, if he’d like to join me this morning, Christmas Eve, on a hike to Oyster Dome on Blanchard Mountain.  I was sure that he’d be all over it but added the comment “If he thought he could keep up”.  Well you know that he was banging on my door at 7:00 AM this morning.  He & Mia were all set to go.  In fact he had some disparaging remarks about his Dad’s ability to maintain the pace.  Pretty bold talk for a kid expecting Christmas presents just a few hours before Santa Claus is supposed to arrive.

Blanchard Mtn is only about a 15 minute drive from Fairhaven in Bellingham and while the hike to Oyster Dome & The Overlook is only about 7 miles round trip with an elevation gain of only a little more than 2,000+ feet it’s a 3.5 mile trip of serious switchbacks & straight up billy goat scramble.  It’s a great test of your legs, lungs & knees – mine actually held out pretty good. It’s well worth the effort as the views to the South into Skagit County and to the West of the San Juan and Gulg Islands are nothing short of sdtunning.  The wind was blowing about 25 to 30 & it started to rain but in this Country, if you wait till all the lights are green you’ll never leave your front door.  We put on our Northface & Gortex and headed out.  It’s a Christmas Eve that he & I won’t soon forget.

Click here to view a map of Oyster Dome & Blanchard Mountain

All in all,  it was a terrific day & time well spent with my youngest son.  If you’d care to view additional photos, you can access them at the Oyster Dome Photo Gallery on my Facebook page.

A Morning Well Spent with My Son

If you have a favorite trail or hike that you’d like to share with us please do so.  Of course if your interest is in purchasing real estate rather than hiking it, we can help you with that as well.  Just give us a call at 360-319-3267 or toll free at 1-888-713-3056

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

Years ago I went with my son’s Boy Scout Troop to Philmont in New Mexico.  It’s a high adventure camp offering everything from thunderstorms, orienteering, rock climbing and rattlesnakes – lots for the guys to write home about for sure.  Anyway, it was interesting to me because it soon become obvious  that which we take for granted in the Pacific North West and particularly in Whatcom County’s backyard is something that others in the US travel 100′s of miles to experience and usually it’s something that pales in comparison to the outdoor opportunities in our own backyard.

Lake Whatcom, Lummi Pinninsula, Orcas & Gulf Islands

I was once again reminded of this just yesterday when my oldest son & I decided to spend the afternoon hiking the Wickersham Road of Stewart Mountain.  The trail head is just a few minutes drive from Bellingham and is just past the Smith Creek Bridge in Agate Bay.  Once there, there are miles of logging roads, trails and a BPA power corridor for you to explore.  We chose to hike the Wickersham Road to the top.  The summit is about 3000′ however Chandler tells me that we climbed to about 2600″.  The purest may thumb his nose at the hike because of the power lines running from Ross Lake to Cherry Point, the relative ease of the hike along the Wickersham Road & the presence of the old wrecked car along the way but for us it was a wonderful hike with stunning views in every direction.  From points along the trail we could look North into Ferndale & Canada; West to Lummi, Orcas & the Gulf

The Olympic Mountains & Skagit Flats

 Islands; directly below us was Lake Whatcom  in all it’s entirty from South Bay to Blodel Donovan; to the South & West were the Olympic Mountains and the Samish Flats & then to really put the icing on the cake to the East  is Mt Baker & The Twin Sisters.  All in all it’s a terrific example of what’s available to us all to enjoy.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

Fall in Whatcom County can be a beautiful time to hike – just pick your day and get out to enjoy the crisp air and the vibrant colors.  Rich, Mia and I took this one several weeks ago, but the colors will be even better now.

For additional photos and information access The Johnson’s Team online photo gallery.

Start from the parking area on the Northeast side of the Slater Rd bridge over the Nooksack River.  You will need a parking sticker, available wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold (Yeager’s is one option.)  The cost is $14 and it is good from April 1 to March 31. 

The trail heads off to the North, along the top of the Nooksack River dike.  Views are across the fields to Mt Baker and the Sisters to the East, with an occasional glimpse of the Nooksack through the trees to the West.  As the trail leaves the dike and cuts across to Tennant Lake, you will catch glimpses of Hovander Farm’s big red barn and start to recognize the wetlands that surround Tennant Lake.  

The Tennant Lake Interpretive Center is impressive, with a viewing tower looking out over the lake toward the mountains and a fragrance garden where visitors are encouraged to touch and smell as well as look.  The boardwalk allows visitors to explore the wetlands up close and stay clean, but note that it is closed during hunting season.

From the Tennant Lake Interpretive Center, it is an easy, level walk over to Hovander Farm Park, a beautiful site featuring one of Whatcom County’s early homesteads.  The house and barn are surrounded by expansive lawns available for picnicing and family gatherings.  The Highland Games and Civil War Re-enactment are just two of the events that are often held here, but a major attraction is the animals and the petting zoo with animal babies in the spring. 

The Hovander grounds border the Nooksack, so it is easy to pick up the trail along the top of the dike that will take you back to your car.  When the river is low, there are several spots where it is possible to scramble down the bank to broad sand bars.

Two to three hours will give you time to make the loop, enjoy the scenery along the way and explore the Tennant Lake Interpretive Center and Hovander Farm Park.  Part of the route allows dogs off leash, but make sure you take supplies to clean up after your pets.  It’s a wonderful introduction to Whatcom County’s outdoors and history.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!