Chehalis-Western Trail

Yesterday I went for a beautiful walk with my mom on the Chehalis-Western Trail. If you haven't been on this trail before, you are in for a treat. It's a flat, paved trail that is great for walking, running,biking, or skating. Spanning twenty-two miles, the trail runs north-south through Thurston County, and then hooks up with Yelm-Tenino trail. We heard many birds on our walk yesterday, and I have also seen families of raccoons and opossums on the trail. One of my favorite things about the Chehalis-Western trail is that some of the trailheads are right off of busy urban streets like Martin Way. You walk for a bit, and then suddenly you feel like you are far away from all the noise and bustle. The plants along the trail are waking up- many of the trees and bushes have little blooms starting to appear, but as you can see on the Thurston County Parks and Recreation site (linked to above), the trail is also a lot of fun in the winter. I can't wait for it to get warm; I think this summer I'm going to ride to Tenino, something I've wanted to do for years but just haven't gotten around to. Spending time walking with my mom out in the sun yesterday was awesome. I felt so relaxed, comfortable, and happy!