Smokey Trails to you!

From the Centennial Trail, to the Columbia Plateau Trail to Iller Creek Trail people weren't letting the smoke and dust stop them from gettin their miles in. In going along the Eastern ridge of the Iller Trail loop it sstruck me how tender dry it is up on top, please be careful to not make sparks of any kind when hiking the trails. Here is a compilation of the last weeks adventure in smoke.

Dishman Hills Natural Area, Camp Caro trail head

The Dishman Hills Natural area is accessed off of Sargent Road just off of Appleway/Sprague.  There is a parking lot just off of Appleway or you can go down Sargent to Camp Caro and park there. There are alot of loop trails of varying lengths. All are very challenging with a lot of ups and downs and trails over rocks. Its pretty dry right now so not as lush as it is in the cooler weather. I don't know what the rock foundation is from, perhaps maybe a long ago house?

Dishman Conservation area, Iller Creek trailhead Spokane Valley, Wa

I had never been to this area from this direction until yesterday. I have gone in at the Sprague Trailhead and back but never in this far. I went to the left trail  right at the outhouse which takes you UP,UP,UP with steep changebacks. Went to the top and along the ridge for a bit and then straight down the side on a primitive path or deer trail. I caught up with the actual Iller Creek trail when I found the bottom and took it back to the parking area. The Dishman Hills area is huge and I will have to go back and explore the rest of the trails. This is a challenging area with a lot of ups and downs and rugged terrain. It was really dry up on top but cool and green down where the creek must run when its not so hot and dry.

James T Slavin Family Conservation Area, Keeney Road

This wonderful area is on about 13,500 S Keeney Road off 195 and Paradise Rd. In the times that I have been there I have seen horse trailers parked with people bringing their horses in to ride the trails, people walking their dogs and just enjoying a beautiful hike. It covers about 600 acres with looping trails. 2 lakes at the back of the property are full of all kinds of water fowl. Beautiful peaceful well marked trails. The loop that goes from parking lot to lake is about 4 miles round trip.

Reimer Conservation Land, 3500 S Assembly & Bee Keeping

Found a neat new hiking Trail just off of 3500 South Assembly. The path runs south off of Assembly and back into the hills to the north of Thorpe road. It is somewhere around 2 miles in length with off shooting paths into the hills.
On the way home I happened to notice someone headed for his hives in a beekeeping suit and just couldn't help stopping and asking to take some pictures. They were gracious enough to also explain some of what goes into keeping the hives and extracting the honey. Thanks for taking the time.

After the fire. Upriver Drive 7/22/2018

All was back to normal on the beaches and the climbing rocks along Upriver Drive today. Families were swimmin and sunning themselves on the beach and rocks. Folks were kayaking and paddling their way up the river and 2 very nice people, Amy and Aaron were at the rope swing. Aaron did some great acrobatics off the rope and into the river.

Summer fun at Fish Lake THE BOYS MADE THE PAPER!

WOW, it really is gonna be summer for a while. Lots O' folks were out enjoying the sun at Fish Lake last evening. It is a wonderful place to hike, boat(but no gas engines allowed), fish and play in the water. A group of brave kids were having a wonderful time on the rope swing. The Spokesman Review published one of the pictures of the boys on the rope swing in the outdoor section of the paper today. Thursday 7/12. Check it out!