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Dipping into the Hall of Mosses | Olympic National Park
We arrived to Hoh Rainforest unit of the Olympic National Park right before dinnertime and since the campground is first-come-first-serve we made a beeline for the camping area to find a spot. We found a nice spot tucked in the forest with enough cover not to really see too many people other than the folks directly across the road from us. The self registration was near the bathrooms (no showers in the bathrooms if you are inclined for cleanliness, but there is running water for a rag bath if you are desperate) and after registering we headed for the Hall of Mosses Trail. Evening was setting in which made the…
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Making Way For New Growth
For various reasons we decided to leave the community garden we were gardening at earlier than expected. We still have a plot of sweet potatoes there that we will harvest in a month or so and then we will be done. So, that has forced us to find a place to throw some seeds down for the Fall or purchase some of our produce instead. This area is the south side of our house where eventually it will be a flower garden with a nice pathway. It had tomato and peppers plants when we moved in, and I found a rosemary plant that will survive with some pruning and care.…
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Life Lately | Mid-September
+ One of my complaints about living a ‘normal’ life is that time speeds up too fast. While backpacking time slows down and it feels like life is mellow and enjoyable. You can stop and relish the way the light lands on different things throughout the day. The rhythm of hiking is simple: wake, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, relax, sleep. And while I don’t really have a very complicated life (let’s keep it that way!) life sure does speed up through getting up and working, coming home doing chores and somehow finding time to relax and wind down. + While we still have a long…
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Studio Tour
Behold! The Studio! It is kind of daunting to look at. I managed to throw a few dried up pens and bent paint brushes out, but not much else.
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Magical Maidenhair (and Miscellany)
These maidenhair fern photos were taken at Westcave Preserve back in March. I still haven’t finished out the photos from that day, but slowly I want to work back to doing that. I find myself feeling like I am on top of the pile again, not suffocating below it, but then I find something else thrown on top and there I am again trying to get up to breathe. While going through my old ‘writing desk’ (which turned into an art desk at one point) I found a journal, one that was surprisingly not tattered and beaten up, but still rigid and pretty with its seashell adorned cover. Inside was…
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Hoh River Elk
According to the rangers in the park office, this herd often visits this area just down the river from the campground. We spotted them after finishing a short hike and planning a quick drive up the road to ‘see what we can see’. We saw the elk! First we saw the cars—and a ‘herd’ of cars is a good sign something is nearby, so we peered over the edge into the river and then pulled over so we could get a closer look.
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A Batty Surprise
On our way to the Hoh Rainforest we quickly stopped in at a general store before we entered the park. We bought some sodas and walked outside to look at the display case to see what was posted. I looked down and saw what I thought was a bat. I looked closer, yeaahhhhh, looked like a bat. I squinched my eyes together to determine if it was fake and determined that it was breathing—nope, very real! We asked the girl working the counter if she knew it was there but this seemed to be a surprise to her. It’s not every day you get to see a bat up close…
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The Pacific | II
+We didn’t spend enough time at the beach, maybe an hour. This area deserves to be explored more. I could poke in all of the tidepools and search the surf for marine mammals. We watched something poke its head up out of the water a few times. Sealion? Seal? +I’m going to have to start making photo books out of our photos because I’m going to want to come back and drool at an ocean I don’t get to look at often….ok rarely! “Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” -Rachel Carson
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The Pacific | I
+I think the photos speak for themselves. +No matter how long away from the ocean, no matter how much I think that I’m ok with just being a land lover (lubber!), the ocean always tells me otherwise when it slaps me in the face with a bit of salty air. +Tidepools, tidepools…tidepools. *sigh* “One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, ‘What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?’” -Rachel Carson
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The Magic of the Ancients
As we approached the outer reaches of Olympic National Park we suddenly saw a sign for the worlds largest sitka spruce tree. Being big/ancient tree lovers, we made a quick detour down a side road to find the worlds largest spruce tree. This was a very short walk from the car, I believe around a quarter mile one way. We quickly learned that there are many giants on the Olympic peninsula, however we didn’t have the time to devote to visiting all of them. Having seen several large and old trees it is hard not to pass them up, particularly because you never know when they will be gone. What…