Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Remembering the Hoh Rain Forest
As we eagerly wait for rain to clear the smoky skies, it seems like a good time to remember a beautiful place where rain is king – the Hoh Rain Forest. Just four hours west of Seattle in Olympic National Park, it’s one of the best examples of temperate rain forest in the world and averages 12 – 14 feet of rain per year! We camped there recently, rain-free, next to the Hoh River and walked the trails through the rain forest.
The upper story is composed of conifers many over 200 feet tall, primarily Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock and Douglas Fir. That’s me standing in front of a giant Sitka Spruce.
The lower story consists of Vine Maples and Big Leaf Maples draped in moss, and of course lots of ferns. The pictures below were taken on the Hall of Mosses Trail and include Bob, my husband and tour guide.
As beautiful as the trees are, I wouldn’t want to be lost in these woods at night, where they might wake up and grab unsuspecting hikers!
After the Hall of Mosses, we took the Spruce Trail through a younger section of the forest,
and passed by Taft Creek which sparkled in the sunlight.
Eventually we reached the banks of the Hoh River and paused to enjoy its raw beauty.
It was a wonderful visit though too short, and honestly a bit too crowded on the trails during the busy summer months. I’d love to return to the Hoh again, perhaps in late spring or fall when rain is falling and the mosses are dripping wet. Or maybe I’m a bit crazy for rain after our hot, dry, and smoky summer. Maybe both.
~ Susanne
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Fun with Blogging, Computers and Ergonomics
When I say ‘fun’ I mean the blogging part, the actual creative writing and posting of pictures, thoughts and other fancies; the technical computer issues and ergonomics, not so much. First let me tell you that for years I got paid to sit at a desk with one or more computers on it, my little fingers working away at those keyboards most of the day and for the most part, pain-free. If I had technical issues with my desktop I could call the Help Desk, and if I had issues with my workspace I could call upon the Safety experts and they would evaluate the desk, chair, keyboard, whatever, until it was ‘ergonomically’ correct.
Now I blog at home and alas there is no one to call upon for these issues. So recently when I became uncomfortable at my desk I decided it was time for a new chair. And since my computer kept freezing up – it was 6 years old, ancient in computer years – I replaced it too.
Sounds simple enough, right? Sure, uh-huh.
First the chair. The old one wasn’t working anymore. I couldn’t sit long without lower back pain so off we went to buy the most comfortable chair in the store. ‘In the store’ – these are the operative words for unfortunately it doesn’t work so well with my desk at home. My husband will likely keep the new chair to replace his ancient one – which I am now using as I type this. I still seek a new chair. And maybe a new desk too. (It’s the domino effect folks, and it’s starting to get expensive.)
Second the computer. I had forgotten about the hassles of dismantling the old one and setting up the new. And the joy of sifting through billions of pictures to save and transfer. Yes, thanks to digital cameras I take five times as many pictures as I need, most of which I will never look at again and save them in files on my computer. And no I don’t use the cloud, whatever exactly that is. Lesson learned I guess.
Don’t mean to complain here, but I’m anxious to get back to blogging in a comfortable environment, sharing with you pictures of my favorite cats and travels too, pain-free. In the meantime Benji has tested the new computer and finds it ergonomically to his satisfaction, especially when using his feet. I admit I haven’t tried that yet.
Do my fellow bloggers have these issues? Or are you all sitting comfortably on your sofa, feet up, blogging on your laptop or phone? If so, I envy you.
~ Susanne
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Tiger ~ a day in the life
Before there was Benji, Tiger had the place to himself; here’s his story of a typical day in paradise.
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Mt Baker Wilderness Under Smoky Skies
Despite the smoky skies over Washington this week, we managed to find beauty in the Mt Baker Wilderness Area, which shares its eastern border with North Cascades National Park. We took the Mt. Baker Highway to its end at Artist Point for views of America’s most photographed mountain (so they say), Mt. Shuksan, which actually lies within the National Park. Sorry to have to show you a less than stellar picture of the famous mountain under smoky, hazy skies but I think you’ll see why photographers flock here.
I took this photo at Picture Lake and admit to ‘enhancing’ the color a bit – no law against that, right?
On our way back down we saw a sign for Nooksack Falls and decided to make the short drive down a gravelly one lane road to see it. Once there we took heed to the warnings to watch our footing and stay behind the chain link fence. Sadly some have not and died trying to get the perfect picture. It’s unfortunate that such beautiful falls must come with serious warnings, but nature must be respected.
I’m happy to report that the smoke is finally clearing out for a few days due to cool maritime air finally pushing through. We’ll see for how long.
~ Susanne
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On Morning’s Orange Sun
The Pacific Northwest is once again under the filmy haze of smoke from Canadian wildfires resulting in unhealthy air. In the meantime we are awakened by a mysterious and brilliant orange sun.
Can’t wait for the rainy fall season to begin.
~ Susanne
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Third Beach at Olympic National Park, but What’s in a Name?
On our recent trip to Olympic National Park, we enjoyed a wonderful hike to Third Beach – and no, the name does not do it justice. Just a short drive from Mora Campground, Third Beach lies south of First Beach and Second Beach – not to be confused with Beach 1, Beach 2 and Beach 3 even further to the south. (I guess after so many gorgeous beaches they decided to go with a numbering system – you try naming a beach!)
The trail through the woods was flat and well maintained and at only 1.4 miles one way, the payoff at the end seemed too easy.
There were only a handful of hikers on the trail including this little fellow below, to whom we gave the right of way.
It wasn’t long before we heard the roar of the Pacific Ocean and saw the promise of blue sky at the end of the trail tunnel.
And then – Ocean in View!
After scrambling over the giant drift logs that guarded the beach (look closely and you will see my speck of a husband), we were there!
The rugged beach was ours to enjoy, complete with an offshore metropolis, which I shall call the City of Sea Stacks. (I guess naming things is difficult!)
While Bob cast his line in the surf (for seaweed it turns out)
I accrued more steps on my fitbit by heading down the beach for a closer look at the mysterious sea stacks and small waterfalls tumbling from the cliffs.
It was great to be walking, alone with my thoughts, in the fresh air, enjoying the waves and the surf and the drift logs and giant boulders strewn about.
As I write this I find myself wishing I were there right now – spending the night on the beach.
I returned from my walk and found that Bob had failed to catch us lunch so we settled instead for the snack I’d brought along – nuts, crackers, chips cookies, washed down with water and surprisingly tasty. Then it was time to go: another scramble over the logs, a long walk through the woods and we were back at the trailhead. Next up was La Push and First Beach where no hiking was necessary to enjoy the drive-up beach on the Quileute Indian Reservation. (Second Beach does require a hike and will have to wait for another trip.)
Exhausted by our adventures (18,000 steps for me – but who’s counting?) we stopped at Three Rivers Resort for a ‘Quil Burger’ (it was delicious). While we were there we learned of another threat, greater than mere fire danger, a nod to the Twilight series based here.
Regardless, we slept peacefully in our trailer that night, and were ready the next day to move on to the Hoh Rain Forest, one of the best remaining examples of temperate rain forest in the world, according to the Park’s newspaper, and that deserves another post. Stay tuned.
~ Susanne
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Let sleeping cats lie…..
Just a few pictures of happy sleeping cats to start your weekend!
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Happy International Cat Day!
Who knew?? August 8th is International Cat Day! Well I didn’t until I was reminded by my fellow bloggers! And so I couldn’t let the day go by without sharing pictures of my favorite felines: Tiger and Benji, who went from this:
to this:
Aren’t they handsome boys?
So Happy International Cat Day to all cat lovers and their feline friends everywhere!
~ Susanne
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Mora and Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park spreads over the Olympic Peninsula in the northwest corner of Washington State, almost a million acres of protected wilderness, with mountains, forests and the wildest coastline in the contiguous United States. A designated World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve it attracts visitors from around the world. It also attracts us locals and we visited again this summer, this time camping in a remote section of the Park at beautiful Mora.
Mora Campground
Located next to the Quillayute River, and a mile from Rialto Beach, Mora lies deep in old growth forest, dripping green and gorgeous and that’s where we parked our trailer the first two nights. Mora doesn’t take reservations but we got there early in the week and easily found a spot. You may be surprised to hear it cost us a measly $10 a night to camp. Yes, true. Already a bargain at $20 a night, it’s only $10 for those with a Senior National Parks Pass. Money well spent, I think.
Quillayute River
The Quillayute River is only four miles long, formed by the confluence of the Sol Duc and the Bogachiel Rivers, before it flows into the Pacific Ocean. We stopped by the river on our way to Rialto Beach and I felt transported to an earlier time, almost expecting to see Native Americans in traditional garb, fishing, and weaving baskets from cedar bark. In fact the Quileute Indian Reservation is home to the Quileute tribe who’ve lived in this area for thousands of years. The village of La Push is its largest community and sits at the mouth of river, just south of Rialto Beach.
We visited instead with a family from France, who had stopped to take pictures of the eagles.
They also pointed out this resting seal to us, a real treat!
Rialto Beach
We discovered Rialto Beach on our trip to the park last year, but I was impressed all over again with its rugged beauty, offshore sea stacks, and the size of the giant drift logs and standing ghost trees on the beach.
I asked Bob to pose in front of one of the logs for scale and he obliged.
Then while he fished in the surf (catching only seaweed) I walked a mile up the beach to get a closer look at some sea stacks.
On my walk I saw what looked like a giant tarantula but was another tree stump, not completely bleached of color yet.
Though it was cool and overcast, it was a refreshing change from the dry heat we’ve had in the Seattle area most of the summer. We did find blue skies on our visit to La Push and First Beach the next day and on our hike to Third Beach; more to come on that in a future post.
~ Susanne
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Can We Come Too?
‘Hey Benji. What are you doing there?’
‘Waiting for you Sue!’ he replied.
‘On the trailer step?’ I asked.
‘Yes!’ he said. ‘Tiger and I talked it over and we want to go camping with you. I thought this would be the best place to wait so you don’t forget us next time.’
‘That’s right,’ Tiger replied. ‘And I think I’ll just stay in here till we go. I’ve been checking it out and it will work perfectly.’
‘There’s lots of room for all of us,’ continued Benji. ‘I can sleep here in the corner. Tiger can have the floor. You won’t even know we’re here.’
‘Nice of you to give the floor to Tiger, Benji. Anyway we’d love to take you but you wouldn’t enjoy it, trust me. Remember how much you hate riding in cars? This would even be worse!’
‘Please Sue. We really want to come.’
”Sorry Benji. Even if you could handle the ride – which I don’t think you could – what would you do at the campground? I couldn’t let you out or you might get lost. (Or even worse – there are bears out there!) And you and Tiger would get on each other’s nerves all cooped up in here!’
‘Well you have some valid points,’ he conceded.
‘Good. I’m glad you agree. You’ll be much happier at home. And anyway we’re not leaving again anytime soon. So why don’t you go out and chase some mice?’
~ Susanne, Tiger & Benji
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 