Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Category: National Parks
Rainy Day in Paradise
We’d been in a heat wave for several days and were looking for a place to cool down. We found it in Paradise, on Mt. Rainier. We didn’t mind the rain as there were fewer people on the trail to Myrtle Falls. I wore… Continue Reading “Rainy Day in Paradise”
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Hike to Marymere Falls, at Lake Crescent
Lake Crescent is my favorite lake in Washington, the USA, and maybe the whole world, though of course I haven’t seen them all. An ancient, glacier-carved lake over 600 ft. deep, we never get tired of visiting this beauty any time of year. Even… Continue Reading “Hike to Marymere Falls, at Lake Crescent”
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Olympic Mountains at Hurricane Ridge
I love having the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop to Seattle, but there’s nothing like being immersed in them at Hurricane Ridge. We spent a few days on the Olympic Peninsula earlier this week, a wilderness that includes Olympic National Park. I found the… Continue Reading “Olympic Mountains at Hurricane Ridge”
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Is this Washington’s Best Hike?
You decide. Start at the Paradise Visitor Center and take the trail to Myrtle Falls. Then leave the crowds behind and keep on going, up, up, up! Past the 6,400 elevation mark you’ll enter the land of polished rock and wide-open skies; if you’re… Continue Reading “Is this Washington’s Best Hike?”
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Celebrating #Earth Day with a Walk through the Redwoods
Today is Earth Day and we celebrated early by walking under the shadow of the giants a few days ago. We just returned from a road trip to California, which included a stay in beautiful Napa Valley, America’s wine capital – more on that… Continue Reading “Celebrating #Earth Day with a Walk through the Redwoods”
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Grand Canyon in Purple
The grandest of canyons is of course, beautiful during the day, where you’ll enjoy walks along the rim, and have many photo opportunities for yourself, and the wildlife below. But the real magic occurs at sunrise and sunset when the canyon walls turn various… Continue Reading “Grand Canyon in Purple”
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Ruby Beach – One of the World’s Best?
Don’t take my word for it, listen to Lonely Planet, which included Washington State’s Ruby Beach on their 2025 list of the world’s best beaches, the only one from the United States to make the list! No, it’s not a white sand beach, with… Continue Reading “Ruby Beach – One of the World’s Best?”
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Would You Like to Live in a Rainforest?
Anton Kestner did. Back in 1891 he built his home deep in the rainforest on the north side of Lake Quinault. After taking the Maple Glade Trail, we visited the old homestead. Looks cozy to me, the low clouds like smoke from a still-burning… Continue Reading “Would You Like to Live in a Rainforest?”
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Olympic National Park – Two Nights, Two Roosevelts, and Two Lakes
It was a short get away, but we packed in most of our favorite spots in Olympic National Park, starting with Lake Quinault. We stayed at Lake Quinault Lodge where FDR stayed. It was Franklin Roosevelt who visited the area in 1937 and signed… Continue Reading “Olympic National Park – Two Nights, Two Roosevelts, and Two Lakes”
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I brake for Roosevelt Elk – on the Olympic Peninsula
Last week we spent a few days on the Olympic Peninsula and I was impressed once again with the raw, natural beauty of my home state of Washington. So much so that I don’t know how to unpack the pictures I took, how to… Continue Reading “I brake for Roosevelt Elk – on the Olympic Peninsula”
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 