Tennant Lake Park

A couple of days ago, we drove about 25 miles north to Ferndale, WA to run an errand. We figured that since we were driving there anyway, we ought to make an afternoon out of it. We found a park on the map called Tennant Lake Park and decided to check it out.

It was like no park we've seen before. We parked in a small lot next to the Fragrance Gardens. This is somewhere we'll have to take you, Mom and Grandma, when you come visit. It's a meandering pathway through a large herb garden. All of the herbs are marked, and visitors are allowed to smell and feel the plants at their leisure. Just beyond the garden is a viewing tower with a lovely panorama of Mount Baker.

As we moseyed along, we found a well-kept field that appeared to be getting invaded for some sort of festival. We asked one woman what they were getting ready for, and she told us they were hosting an SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) gathering all weekend. Those are the medieval fests with jousting and the whole shebang. Had we gone a day later, we may have met a knight in shining armor! There's always next year.

Past the field, a trail picks up. We followed it and found our way to a secluded spot on a river that was perfect for tossing sticks with the girls. It was one of the few times we've been with the girls in a place of limited distractions, so they even got to play off-leash for a while. They were thrilled, to say the least.

After our fair share of swimming and fetching, we ventured along the path further, which led us past a nicely maintained picnic area and playground and to another fine plot of shoreline. We picked and ate a few blackberries and decided to head back to the car.

While trying to find the shortest path back to the parking lot, we were afraid for a moment that we'd trespassed onto someone's property, as there were very suddenly several barns and pens with various farm animals. After a few double takes, we realized we actually had stumbled upon a sort of petting zoo. The dogs had a blast pissing off the geese and turkeys.

Not a Bad View These Barn Yard Creatures Have

The icing on the cake to this little afternoon in Ferndale really came when a goat escaped from his pen. Good thing we had two herding dogs with us. After watching three or four folks open the gate and try to chase the goat back in his pen, the dogs lived up to their namesake and quickly told that goat who was boss. He ran back through the gate without thinking twice, and the pooches got some serious praise from their small audience before hopping in the car to ride back to B'ham.

~TK