Kathryn Taylor & Redmond Watershed

Coyote

I was up early, checked with Amanda & our ride was ON!  It was a gray, cold morning - but we'd planned a ride together & were determined to get one in this Thanksgiving week!  When I unloaded Farah at Kathryn Taylor, I noticed that she was watching the ridge that overlooks the parking area.  It took me a minute, but I could just pick out the ears of a Coyote watching us.  I zoomed in & actually got the above photo of him as he moved down the hill.  Seeing him watching us - reminded me so much of Kitt.

Amanda & Cato~

 Farah was thrilled to see her friend Cato!  Cato seems to like Farah too, we did quite a lot of side-by-side trotting.  Lynn riding Sophie & Sara Jane riding Lou - joined us too!  It had been a very long while since I'd been here to ride & I'd forgotten how beautiful the trails are.

Sara Jane on Lou & Lynn on Sophie

 Amanda discussed our route with Lynn.  The park personnel are working on one set of bridges, so we detoured through a neighborhood.  It was a day that felt a little more like Winter than any of us expected. No other horsemen on the trails, just a couple bikes & hikers.

Google Route~

 Riding along side NE Novelty Hill Rd. to get to the Trilogy Trails is pretty noisy - traffic whizzes by close to the sidewalk, but all four horses did just fine.  Once across - the trails are so pretty, it's worth making the crossing.

On the Powerline Trail~

After that loop, we crossed Novelty one more time & headed down the Powerline Trail to return to the Watershed trails that would take us back to KTP.  We didn't seen any animal life at all, after riding under the new overpass that was built for wildlife.  We again discussed why that overpass wasn't built for trail users, rather than the non-existent wildlife.

Coming to the 133rd street crossing~

 This crossing not nearly as busy.  It seems so strange to come out of the beautiful wooded trails to civilization!  :-)  Even in the winter months most of these trails stay in good condition.

View from the top of the hill~

We rode up to the top of the hill, already knowing that the view would be hazy at best & we were not disappointed.

Our rigs as we come down the hill~

After the sunshine all weekend, it seemed later than it was with the cloud cover.  The day was cooling off again already.  I decided to forgo lunch & get on the road in the hope of missing most of the afternoon traffic.  There was a stalled car on the bridge going to Duvall & the usual holdups in Monroe, but we made it safely back just as the rain started at home.

Our route~

It was so good to get in such a great ride this time of year!  Thanks to all for including me!