Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Quinault Rainforest – Olympic National Park
Did you know there are four temperate rainforests in Olympic National Park? They’re the Hoh, Quinault, Queets and Bogachiel. The most popular is the Hoh and that’s the one we’d visited on prior trips to the National Park. But the Quinault Rainforest is every bit as beautiful and our stay at Lake Quinault Lodge gave us time to explore it on trails that were mostly deserted.
One of my favorites was the Maple Glade Trail. We found it near the Ranger Station on the north side of the lake where we’d gone looking for the world’s largest Western Red Cedar. More on that later.
The walk through the rainforest under giant moss-drenched Maples was refreshing and peaceful on a hot summer day.
It also intersected with the Kestner Homestead Trail which took us to a clearing and an early homestead from 1891. We tried to imagine living in such an isolated location, deep in the woods, with 12 feet of rain per year!
We wandered the grounds and I stopped to watch the hummingbirds. They didn’t look like the Anna’s I have in my garden; most likely they were Rufous Hummingbirds that visit from April to October.
Afterwards we headed down the road with a stop by July Creek for a short walk to the lake. Here we caught glimpses of the Olympic Mountains and the Lodge on the other side.
On our way back, we continued to look for the big Cedar tree but there were no signs anywhere. Eventually we found a ranger and asked him about it.
”Not there anymore,’ he said. ‘Came down in a windstorm back in 2016.’
We were obviously disappointed and he offered to take us there anyway. Only the top was gone he said, and he wanted to see the condition of what remained himself; there were also many other giants in the same area though it might be dangerous getting to them.
‘No thanks,’ we told him. We’d look for the others.
‘Did you see the Sitka Spruce yet?’ he asked. ‘On the south side of the lake. Its the largest in the world.’
Yes, we had, the night before, not far from the Lodge.
But I’ll save that for the next post.
Until then,
~ Susanne
Backyard Interlude and Benji
I gathered up my writing materials, my camera and my memories and headed outside to ponder last week’s trip to Olympic National Park. I would review the brochures, look at my pictures and develop the coming stories. On the Quinault Rainforest. On the world’s largest Spruce tree. On magnificent Ruby Beach.
The weather was perfect and there was a slight breeze blowing as I sat down in my Adirondack chair, stream flowing. Rather than writing at my desk in my office on this beautiful summer day, I would write in my garden.
Then Benji appeared. Sweet boy. He missed me while we were gone and I owed him some attention. Somehow I could pet the cat, fill my paper with beautiful prose, and relax by the stream too.
Then the slight breeze began to lift my papers into the air. And Benji became distracted.
And distracting.
So I am back at my desk writing this.
And will save the Rainforest for tomorrow.
~ Susanne & Benji
Lake Quinault Lodge
We just returned from a trip to Olympic National Park and no matter how many times we visit, we continue to make new discoveries. This time we started in the park’s southwest corner, in the remote Quinault Rainforest and stayed at historic Lake Quinault Lodge.
Here we found a gorgeous lake in a peaceful setting, rivers and streams, trails through the rainforest and some of the largest trees in the world.
I’m still unpacking the memories and photos so I’ll just give you a foretaste starting with the historic lodge, built in 1926, and modeled after Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone.
According to the park’s website, “On October 1, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Lake Quinault Lodge during a fact-finding trip. During his visit, the topic of establishing a park came up over lunch. Nine months later, Roosevelt signed a bill creating Olympic National Park, which to this day remains a treasure countless visitors continue to enjoy.”
Yes, we were among those happy visitors and enjoyed our time at the Lodge in a responsibly distant manner, masks inside, nothing between us and the fresh air outside.
More to come.
~ Susanne
Looking to the Sky – The Moon from my Backyard
I’ve always enjoyed looking at the night sky. These days that mostly means watching the moon rise over my backyard where the garden shed and trees sometimes obscure the views.
The results can be mysterious.
You may even see the eye of God wink at you.
Shared for Sunday Still’s Photo Challenge – Sky.
~ Susanne
Perspective – Under a Western Red Cedar
After bemoaning our lack of summer in the Pacific Northwest, a day showed up to prove me wrong. Cool yes, but fresh and bright with sunshine, the only clouds in the sky showcasing the brilliant blue behind.
To enjoy the day we went to Lincoln Park, one of our favorite parks in Seattle.
Seeking shade we walked through a grove of trees and one giant specimen stood out, tall and rich in bark. I believe it’s a Western Red Cedar though it’s hard to tell for sure from this perspective, looking up.
Shared with Becky’s Squares and Sunday Still’s Perspective.
~ Susanne
Benji in Training
Perhaps this is wishful thinking so let me explain.
Benji and I share an office.
I have my chair.
He has his perch.
Every morning after I feed him I retreat to my office to enjoy my coffee.
Every morning Benji joins me.
I welcome him on my lap but I don’t allow him to to sharpen his claws on my chair – we discuss this daily.
To assist with our discussion I have enlisted the support of a squirt bottle but with moderate success. So I brought in a scratching post – ‘use this’ I said – but he was reluctant to oblige.
Until I sprayed it with catnip.
Wild boy that Benji.
Still I remain hopeful.
~ Susanne
Cloudy Skies and The Summer that Wasn’t
While the rest of the country is burning up, here in the Pacific Northwest we continue to have cool temperatures. And wind. And rain. And always cloudy skies. Perhaps we’ll have no summer at all.
Earlier this week I walked along the Cedar River where sky and lake ran together in milky gray.
A later sunset walk at Coulon proved to be more interesting, especially when I played with my camera settings. We do what we can.
~ Susanne
Today’s Chickadees in the Garden
Before the hummingbirds won my heart the chickadees had it already. Tiny, cheerful, and talkative they call to one another while feasting among the evergreen trees.
Today as I sat with my camera – waiting for the hummingbirds to come and drink from freshly filled feeders – the chickadees caught my attention overhead.
‘Look at me-me-me’ they seemed to say so I did.
I’ll save the hummingbirds for another day.
~ Susanne
Bison – Wild Symbol of the American West
Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where Bison – commonly called American Buffalo – have lived continuously since prehistoric times.
They once covered the Great Plains of North America in numbers estimated as high as 60 million, but were nearly driven to extinction by slaughter in the 19th Century. There are now close to 5,000 Bison living in Yellowstone National Park, one of the best reasons to visit.
The largest land-dwelling animal in North America, males weigh up to 2,000 pounds, females up to 1,100 pounds. Visitors must be alert at all times and keep a safe distance away as posted signs warn. Unfortunately many people are injured by the animals each year by approaching too closely. All of my pictures were taken safely from a distance, sometimes from inside my vehicle where I always gave them the right-of-way.
~ Susanne
Come along for a Drive on the Chinook Scenic Byway
I have to admit we live in a beautiful part of the country. So even though our travel has been limited by the pandemic we’re still able to visit many scenic destinations nearby.
Recently that meant a drive on the Chinook Scenic Byway. They call it a ‘scenic byway’ for a reason.
Starting south in Enumclaw the road follows the White River, continues inside the northeast corner of Mt. Rainier National Park, crosses Chinook Pass to the east side of the Cascade Mountains and ends at Naches.
There were many photo ops along the way including our first – a stop next to the White River for a look at Skookum Falls.
The White River owes its milky color to its source – nearby Emmons Glacier – the largest glacier on Mt. Rainier.
Across the river, 250 foot Skookum Falls can be seen in the distance.
A nice view and no hike required.
Next was Silver Springs Campground which we were surprised to find mostly full. It didn’t matter as we only stopped to use the facilities and view the bubbling springs that appeared from nowhere out of the ground.
Continuing upward we stopped for a walk around Tipsoo Lake – or so we thought – it was completely snowed in.
Still, we managed to get some nice views of the Mountain next door;
before crossing over to the east side where all was sunny and dry as expected. By then we were hungry so we headed to Gold Creek for their world famous Fish & Chips. Oh yes, they delivered on their promise!
After lunch, while Bob practiced fly fishing,
I wandered around with my camera, taking pictures of the trees and flowers,
and wishing I’d paid more attention in Geology class.
Then it was home again, home again, jiggety jig.
Till next time.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 