Out and About

Out and About

There are many things I truly do love about the Pacific Northwest and our little corner of Washington. The weather is mild and finally, starting to dry out and warm up. Everyone reminds me the best months are August and September, as claimed to be the “dry months”, but there is never a limit of outdoor activities on the Peninsula, and with the temps ranging from mid 50's to the mid 60's right now, we really cannot complain. One of my goals this past year was to make the effort to get outside more. Brad and I have also been looking up trails we can take, that are an easy day trip for the weekends he is off, in which he ended up buying several trail books for the Peninsula. This even prompted me to start a group, called M.O.H.A.W.K.S. (Moms On Hikes, All ages, With KidS), which had the first official outing yesterday. 

Discovery Trail-Morris Creek

Shimmering trees-Madelynne loves to watch these!

What is noticeably different about the PACNW in comparison to Wyoming/Colorado is the abundance of the old growth forests. They are particularly intriguing to my some-what, overactive imagination. Growing up, some of my favorite books to read were The Little's or The Borrowers, where the author’s envisioned a world where small people shared our world, just on a much smaller scale. I used to be captivated by a selection of fairy tales my parents had bought us, where the illustrators were so vivid in their pictures, that they took the time to create gnomes and dwarfs holding lanterns at the base of tree trunk houses. The images painted a creative world, a whole forest full of creatures that could never be seen by the naked eye. On some of the trails and hikes we take, I am looking at the overgrown, mossy wonderland that encompasses the forest floors, and think about the “little people” who inhabit a world that is unbeknown to the rest of us. Mythical creatures roamed the fortresses of the forests of my imagination, like unicorns, pixies and fairies, rodents of unusual size (Oh, The Princess Bride), ghosts, and maybe even a Goblin King (had to add a Labyrinth reference!).  It was always more exuberant than the realities of running into a mountain lion or a black bear. And sometimes, looking at mossy overhangs on sunken trees or mushroom staircases, you can’t help but wonder what could be possible?

Heart of the Hills trail 

Mushrooms up a trunk

Natural "wreathe" 

Moss, ferns, forest floor...

 In reality, the forest is always an adventure. From saving banana slugs and salamandar’s from getting squashed, who land themselves in the middle of the trail somehow, to overgrowth, fungi, trickling streams, crystal lakes…the northwest is jammed packed with “evergreen”. Our trails take us into the depths of Olympic National Park, along the coast and Strait, and even in our own backyard.

Banana Slug

Salamander

Nature's Smile

Irony

Mushrooms

Babbling brook

Most of the time Madelynne and I walk in town. We walk along the pier or the Discovery Trail. With the onset of spring, flowers come in full force and bloom. It is the best part of the year for me. I love the floral parade, and they are here year round. Of course, some are seasonal, but our Oriental Lillie's have yet to bloom and our roses are just getting buds. We also love walking along the water's edge. The Discovery Trail wraps downtown and near the harbor, and on out toward Sequim. We often see harbor seals and sea lions, tons of diverse birds and water foul, and bald eagles.

Strait of Juan de Fuca

Cherry Blossoms in bloom-By the harbor

The Olympics

Bridge on a portion of the Discovery Trail

One my fave places to walk

Sunset through the blossoms

Columbines

Hibiscus

Bella (have to walk the dog's separate when I am by myself)

Noelle

Waterfront Trail

 Despite the misty rain that can be a damper, (lol), it usually doesn’t deter us from getting outside and enjoying a healthy lifestyle. There are countless trails that weave in, out, and around our humble abode. It makes us take into account how vast our world really is and how grateful we are to be able to share such beauty. Like last weekend's hike, when we stopped for lunch, I just loved the solace of sitting in the stillness of the surrounding woods, and the company of my two favorite people. It is really a beautiful little place we get to call home.

Reminder to us how BIG Mother Nature really is

Discovery starts young-even losing a shoe on a hike