A perfect naturalist spot

Nolte State Park, 5/9/09, 1 .5 miles

As Michael & I walked the trail around Deep Lake with the girls, Michael stated that he felt this was a forest where he should be able to identify all of the plants. And really he was right. The forest surrounding Deep Lake at Nolte State Park is the stereotypical coastal forest of Washington - a perfect place for a new naturalist to hone their skills or just bone-up on what they already knew.

Along he way we spotted the three coastal forest conifers, plus vine maple, salal, oregon grape and a couple of ferns. A few wildflowers were blooming and the birds twittered. So much fun we were having walking in this little naturalist treasure that the daylight began to slip away more quickly than we were walking. We arrived back at the car at dusk and the awaiting rangers ready to give us a parking ticket for being in the park too late. We talked or way out of the ticket much to our relief since it would have been $137.00 naturalist trip. Yikes! and I started this partly because it was a cheaper hobby to accompany my photography.

Coastal Forest

Kalaloch Nature Trail, 4/26/08, 2 miles

A good way to get to know a new area, or even an familiar one, is to take a hike n the local nature trail. Of all the years I'd camped at Kalaloch, I had never explored this little loop in the woods.

The coastal forest is in all its glory along the trail, with large trees blocking most of the sky so that the sunlight is filtered through green boughs making the forest floor a kaleidoscope of greens. Moss clings to anything it can. Shrubs fight for space, sunlight and nutrients in the soil - enough of a fight that they will grow anywhere they can get a toe-hold including the trunks of dead and even living trees. Flowers and mushroom spot the ground with often vibrant colors and sometimes muted tones.

A coastal forest is a place of life and in the early spring it is a place to see life blossom exponentially in the moist and nutrient rich world.

Spring to Winter to Spring Again

Mt St Helens - Road Trip, Spring 2008, 3/23/08

Of all the times I have gone to Mt St Helens, stopping to walk along the lake trail at Silver Lake along the Mt St Helens highway seemed to be put off for another day. Since I had 9 days and a free schedule, why not make today the day to walk along the nature trail at the Silver Lake Visitor Center.

The sun filtered through the clouds as Olympia started out along the boardwalk leading out into the lake. Purple leaves of waterlilies were just beginning to spread out on the lake's surface, they will turn a yellow-green by the end of spring when the blooms speckle the lake. A few ducks drifted along beyond the rushes. Fishermen, too, drifted in their boat. Ever present was Mt St Helens on the horizon.

I was informed by the staff that the road was now open all the way to Coldwater. We drove back through the seasons our way up - from early spring and sprouting foliage around Silver Lake to winter and several feet of snow around Coldwater Lake. Olympia was thrilled to see the snow. She rooted and rolled in the snow, a smile stretching from ear to ear. Anyone who believes that dogs can't smile has never seen Olympia playing in the snow.

On the way back down the mountain, we stopped by the the Forest Learning Center to look down into the Toutle River Valley and the resident elk herd. I could see the elk, small tan ovals the size of grains of rice against the chartreuse lichen, far below. Olympia did her own type of seeing - with her nose. She pressed her nose firmly against the fence, nostrils wiggling, sniffing the breezes for a hint of just where these fantastic beasts were hiding.

Our day was far from over, but our adventure up Mt St Helens was over for today.

A Story to Tell

Trail of Shadows 5/5/07 .7 miles

After touring the damage on Mt Rainier, Michael & I walked around the Trail of Shadows near Longmire. The Trail of Shadows is a short nature trail that encircles the mineral springs which brought James Longmire and his family to settle in the area.

After leading a group of climbers to the mountain, Longmire went in search of his horse which had wandered off during the days of climbing, as horses will do. He found the horse grazing near the mineral springs, a feature of the area that had up until now been hidden from history's gaze. He later brought his family to homestead in the area with dreams of opening a resort. Mineral baths were all the rage in the latter half of the 19th century.

Now all that remain of Longmire's original dream are a few bathing areas and an old cottage. But the dream is still alive in the remembrances of the dreamer. Michael & I meandered through the old growth forest past the cabin and the baths. We gazed out over the meadow and watched as the discolored water bubbled to the surface. And at each sign we stopped to read what story there was to tell.

It's that way with all nature trails. Take time to stop along the way and meander along a short trail; read the signs. The history you learn keeps the dreamer in all of us alive for it is in the telling that a story breathes life.