Mt. Constitution

Sure you can drive to the top of Mt. Constitution, but where lies the challenge?
Moran State Park. We did a five mile hike up to the top and back down. Starting near a boat launch, we headed for Twin Lakes, actually circled one of the lakes and then headed to the top. Lots of switchbacks. So there we were, all sweaty and panting amongst people who just got out of their never-seen-a-dirt-road SUV and walked a few yards to get to the same place.
I'm thinking of having a "hikers only" sign for my front door. There is also trails that people can take their mountain bikes on. Some are restricted depending on what time of year it is.

Robert Moran, who the park is named after, was an amazing man. I wish I could find one website that would tell his whole story. There is a lot, from shipbuilding to being the Mayor of Seattle for a year after the Great Fire. His mansion became Rosario Resort and he fought the U.S. Government for 10 years to get them to accept his gift of the land for a State Park. I would have to list a bunch of links to tell each part of his story. This is the closest I can come for one link:http://www.whatcommuseum.org/pages/archives/moran.htm

Pretty rowboats near the beginning of our hike.

And she's the one with the map!

Twin Lakes.

A view from the top.

We hiked around the one on the right.

Apparently they are fraternal twins.

The view is amazing from over 2,400 ft. elevation. You can see all the way to Canada! Ok, it is rather close by to begin with.

This is only a small portion of the view from the top of Mt. Constitution. I'm going to stitch all the pictures together eventually. I also took a movie on the digital camera, panning across the entire view. As soon as I can find a computer that can handle the upload, I'll post it. That is Mt. Baker in the background. I believe that the largest mass in the middle of the picture is Lummi Island.

Civilian Conservation Corps built the tower in 1930's. And many other things, such as kitchen shelters at the park and created the hiking trails. That's another great history story. You can read all about the CCC and Robert Moran inside the tower.

Probably the only time I wasn't smiling during the whole trip. That was my realization that I'm not able to keep in shape when I work 24/7. But you should have seen me in April when I was unemployed and exercised all the time!