North on the Centennial Trail~

Crossing the Haller Trestle Bridge

I'd wanted to get out on this stretch of trail for a while, with the tree farms now closed - the choice was easy.  The slightly cooler temperature too, was nice.  Just a few families at Haller park; wading & splashing in what little water left in the river.

At Resilience Arch

The Coalition had ordered new bricks from a different supplier & found a new person to do the engraving.  A higher quality brick & higher quality etching.  We're hopeful that people using the trail will notice & place orders.

Commemoration of our ride~

To order a Brick~

Soon, we were on the prettiest part of a separate area of the horse trail -

Even here in the shade of the trees - it's dry~

The grass, along side the paving - was so dry that Farah was slipping.

Toward Bryant~

It was great that the mowing got done before things dried out, making it easy to set a medium trot & just go.  There were just a few people out this morning.

Horse trail mowed too~

This is one of Farah's favorite sections :-)  On our way up to the bridge over Pilchuck Creek.  No need to wonder why the trail was so expensive to put in - when you consider all the obstacles.

Pilchuck Creek from the Bridge

It's absolutely, deeply worrisome to see this beautiful little river going dry.  I was hopeful earlier on - when we first knew this drought was going to be bad, that we'd keep flow through until at least the end of Aug.  Now - I'm not so sure...

Unimproved Trail - into Skagit County

   We went on past the barn & followed the unimproved portion of the trail up to where it stops at Hwy 9.  There was still quite a bit of water in the wetland here & flowing in places along the trail.  I found a spot in the shade, with grass for our lunch break.  There was a small area where Farah could get down to the little creek for a drink.  On the far side was one of the largest Douglas Fir's that I've seen in forever.  So big & standing so silent that I did a double take at his amazing size.  Tucked away in the shrubbery - I hope it continues to stand hidden & safe - forever.

Back across the Trestle to Haller Park

We stepped up the pace on the way back.  The bugs were awful, I had to get off twice to spray Farah's face.  We both still came home with fresh welts...  (At Bryant, a little girl was just finishing up her apple as we came by.  Farah was so happy to take the core!  :-)  At the far right, in the photo above - you can just see how far out of the water the end of the boat launch is.  Several feet at least!  Farah was watching the kids playing.

Down in the river bed of the Stillaquamish!

It was so warm by the time we got back, that we took the sandy trail down to the water.  Every step Farah took, we chased little minnows - now just trying to stay alive in the rapidly disappearing & warming water.   The blob is pretty scary - so is the long range weather forecast.  It will take many months & lots of moisture to even begin to return us to the wonderful mild & wet Pacific Northwest that most of us enjoy so much...

In the meantime;  I'm going to ride where I can & hope that the forecast for a cooler than normal fall will help mitigate the drought.