What I Did On My Very First Vacation. Cullaby Lake part 3d

After the dogs explored Cullaby Lake we found this wonderful interior trail that was so beautiful and serene. The first trail we had been on that goes around the outside edge of the park was actually a gated service road. This next trail was chock full of huge Sitka Spruce trees, nurse logs, moss, ferns, oxalis,  lichen, giant dead snags, and more! Again we hit it perfect, never met another soul on this trail...well we did hear many song birds but no other people. I'm sure this park gets really crowded at times. They stock the lake with a lot of different types of fish, and the parking lot was huge. But this day we just had it all to our selves and so the dogs got to do the whole thing off leash and they were in heaven.

Just so you can feel how serene this trail was I won't caption the photos...

I love this photo, I had to break the silence to tell you that :)

Once we got back almost to the parking lot Dave wanted to walk down the boat launch. Tim had been feeling so confident and happy with the whole big loop walk, he ran right down the slatted ramp without even thinking. I was shocked he got all the way to the bottom and didn't miss a beat.

But then reality set in, the dock swayed and bucked, and he was starting to worry.

Skip on the other hand just thought this was another chance to find a stick to pull out of the water, but none to be found.

We finally saw some other people so it was time to leash up and head back to the car. Tim walked the ramp back up, not nearly with the same gusto he had when he had walked down but he didn't balk and he recovered very quickly.

Skip and Jenny were fine with it, they were ready to get to the car, get a drink, something to chew, and take a nap. It was a wonderful day.

 If you are wondering where we ate that day you can check it out here Pacific Way Bakery in Gearhart, OR. Yum yum...

Oh the trip is not over yet, more trails, more beach and Skip shows off his nosework skills too!

What I Did On My Very First Vacation. Cullaby Lake part 3c

After our photoshoot on the bench it was time to continue with the walk. 
Such a great area to meander through and it is always so fun to find a new trail and discover where it leads...

Tim probably telling Skip how much he loves his vacation so far...

In the distance we saw this lookout. There are wetlands here and lots of birds so this is a good place to birdwatch. There was an eagle's nest in one dead snag and the sign showed all sorts of animals and birds that frequent this area. BUT the cool thing here is that Tim ran up ahead and right up the stairs! We were very surprised he did this all on his own. Normally he would not be so brave, but he was feeling pretty good about things and so he ran up and down the stairs and also under the platform like a confident dog.

Skip tries out the wheelchair ramp.

Skip was whining and whining to get up on the hand rail so I put him on.

Mr. Acrobat

 After walking some more we finally came to it! The lake! Cullaby Lake! And although it was an overcast day, it was mid 60's and really just perfect...

 

Skip and Tim ran straight for the lake and immediately started to explore the edge and the water. Skip showing Tim how it is done...

One of Skip's passions is to find a stick or branch sticking up out of the water and to try to pull it to shore. He is checking it out now for one such stick.

He was very interested in that mound of grass.

Any sticks in there?

Tim decides he should look for whatever Skip is looking for....

Tim could not figure out where to go next, he was all over the place, it was all so fascinating.

They checked out the water's edge for quite a long time...

  Little Jenny found this marker and she wanted everyone to know why the lake is called Cullaby Lake.                                                                                                                                                                                    

But wait there's more! There is still more trail we have to show you, and lots of BIG trees!

What I Did On My Very First Vacation. Cullaby Lake part 3b

Rounding the corner and continuing our walk in Cullaby Lake park the boys spotted a chipmunk on this log that looks like someone made into a bench. By the time they got to it Mr Chipmunk was long gone but they were sure they could still find him somewhere around here. It turned out to make a cute photo shoot.

Tim smelling where the chipmunk had been perched...

"Where are you Mr. Chipmunk, we don't want to hurt you.....we just want to sniff you." Mr Chipmunk is much too smart to believe that for a millisecond!

Tim is really into this now...

I asked him to stay for a second so I could snap and picture and I am sure I could hear him say "OKAY mom hurry up, take the darn picture, can't you see I am busy?"

Did someone say "treats"?

Treats seem to fall from the sky when we are all up here.....

Jenny figured she did her bit for my photo shoot but the boys finally decide to give mom a nice pose, of course dad was holding the treats in front of them but I'll take it!

Tim asks Skip how long this might take, he is starting to remember what he was doing prior to this darn photo shoot.

Little Jenny-Boo says, "dad if I stand on your foot could I please have another treat?" Yes of course she got several....

I bet you are wondering why this is called Cullaby Lake Park when so far there has been no lake! Stay tuned, you won't be disappointed.

What I Did On My Very First Vacation. Cullaby Lake part 3a

The way we vacation is pretty simple..... we like to explore the area to find places to walk/hike, then we eat, then more walking, then more eating, repeat all day until we are ready to snuggle up in the eve with dogs in our laps, reading or watching a video. Yup this is the perfect type of vacation for us and it turns out worked really well for Timken, Skip, and Jenny. We didn't hear one complaint the entire trip! :)

We found that this trail went all around Cullaby Lake County Park, and as many times as we have been down to this area we had never walked here. This is more what Tim is used to as we walk on wooded trails 5-7 times a week at home so he was ready to go explore this new trail and as luck would have it we had the whole place to ourselves!

Let the exploring begin...

Nice wetland area here with lots of wonderful things to smell and get to know....

This water ran all along the side of this gated road we were walking on. Luckily we were there before the mosquitoes hatched but we could tell this will be a very "buzzy" place in the very near future...

Skip was having a blast checking out the brush...

Lots of these huge leaved water plants...

This was kind of a strange thing...looked like these mounds would be from the Moon, but the dogs thought they were pretty awesome!

Tim strikes a pose on one of the mounds.

Jenny even got in the action of checking out the mounds...

Tim says "look what we can do mom!", Skip says "here comes dad I wonder where he was?"

Dad had been checking out what was around the corner. There was a pretty cool photo shoot opportunity but you will have to come back tomorrow to see it!