At least once a year I pull the kids out of Ballard to get them to Cougar Mountain. They are still too young to appreciate its history, but they dig the fact that the last time we were here they saw a momma bear and her cubs, and this year’s trip was highlighted by the yip and howl of a pack of coyotes.

The mom bear had to be pointed to many times by dad (yes concerned mothers, from a safe distance), as it was not shooting rainbow colored Pokemon lasers from it’s eyes, but they still love the story. This year’s coyote event was signaled by the eldest alerting the entire Red Town parking lot of impending coyote doom with “Danger, danger there are coyotes close by!”

It may not register now, but I am happy that these city kids can be taken 30 minutes outside the city to see and hear wildlife I never came across in a childhood spent at the foot of the Cascades.

It makes me proud to work for an agency that keeps and maintains these amazing lands, which are becoming a rarity. Get out there and get your nature on folks.