Then there's Plan B

Plan A:

It's my sister's birthday and we decide to gather our gear and hoof it out Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge. Check another trail off Kristi's bucket list, sleep under the Pacific Northwest sky, and shake out the cobwebs.

Eagle Creek is the most traveled trail in the Columbia Gorge - for good reason. While you will not have summit views, you will hike through a river canyon with moss covered walls, towering big leaf maples, fern-lined trails and 5 named waterfalls (and dozens of smaller unnamed falls). Most who hike the trail go in about 2 miles to see Punchbowl Falls. Others continue on to travel through Tunnel Falls - the trail is high on a cliff and they drilled a tunnel behind the falls to hike through. Stunning but not for those who have a fear of heights.

Even though it's highly traveled, it is so very worth experiencing. So it is on my sister's bucket list.

We invited our friend Evie, who will be joining us on our John Muir trip. Evie brought along her husband. I brought along Zillah.

The day wasn't shaping up to be perfect like the weather reports read, but we had faith the rain wouldn't start falling until we set up camp. We weren't 2 miles in when we needed to get our rain gear out and I looked at Zillah, already soggy and thought sharing a tent with her would not be good for either of us. After a quick consensus, we turned tail and hoofed it back to the car.

Plan B:

A waterfall tour of the gorge with short little hikes.

Our first stop was to Starvation Creek Falls for lunch. Perfect! The rain hadn't yet reached the area so we enjoyed the sun glistening through the new green foliage overhead. The new leaves sparkled in the sun. We left there just as the rain hit us and traveled back to Horsetail Falls. Then on to Multnomah Falls where we walked up to the overly crowded bridge and then bought Kristi a birthday ice cream.

Next stop Bridal Veil Falls where we stopped to photograph the wildflowers along the way. The sun began to peak out again, but we weren't too upset about that - we were having fun. The hike around the lower loop of Latourell Falls had us all giddy. We each saw something exciting to photograph and investigate. On up to Vista House to see the view, we noticed the clouds looked awful dark back the way we had come. Our last stop on Plan B was the Portland Women's Forum at Chanticleer Point for one more view. Just as we got there, the sun peaked through the clouds to light up Vista House. We congratulated not on the pretty picture though - we congratulated ourselves on calling it quits and avoiding the dark band of rain clouds on the horizon.

But it's icky Outside.

It happens the the best of us. We work all week, planning in our mind what we'll do after 5 pm on Friday. We imagine the places we'll see. The grand vistas to photograph at golden hour. The joy we'll have as we hike along the trail in beautiful meadows. As Friday afternoon winds down and gets closer to your time, the clouds creep in and the rain begins to fall and with it your heart.

Don't despair. There is still so much photography to do.

One of my favorite rainy day photo activities is to head to the nursery or greenhouse. In Seattle we're lucky enough to have the Volunteer Park Conservatory - a large greenhouse filled with tropical plants, orchids, and cacti. It's always warm on a cold rainy day.

As it is so warm and humid inside, you'll need to take care of your camera. The lens will immediately steam up as will the viewfinder and the screen. I bring a microfiber cleaning cloth with me to wipe off excess moisture while I meander around looking at the orchids and waiting for my camera to match the greenhouse temperature.

I also wipe the moisture of my diopter filters. I use these instead of a macro lens because I'm cheap and I really have no issue with the focus fall-off they can have. I rather like it - as I'm one of those artsy photographers.

The conservatory (and other greenhouses like them) frowns on the use of tripods so make sure you bump your ISO up to accommodate for hand-holding. On bright rainy days, I can usually get away with 400 ISO. When working with flowers and macro, I tend to open up my aperture fairly wide so I have a very narrow plane of focus. If you like more detail and want a smaller aperture, you'll want to bump your ISO up to 800 or more if your camera can handle the increased sensitivity without adding too much noise. Always be respectful of the rules. Tripods tend to get in the way of other visitors.

I have a few indoor destinations that I like to head to when the weather turns wet. Check your area for a few that you can run to for some playtime with your camera. There is never a need to put away your camera when it's raining. You can still have some photo fun and then go home, make some popcorn, put in a sappy movie, and edit your macro treasures.

Do you know the story of me?

Hi my name is Heidi. Do you know my story? Not MY story but the story of a little girl living with her grandpa in the Swiss Alps who moves to the city to live with her aunt, uncle and her cousin Clara? It's a story I know all too well. When I was 7, I was given at 3 different holidays, the book entitled Heidi. How many of the same book does one child need?

As a refresher, Heidi lived with her grandpa in the mountains and spent her days playing in the meadows with her friend Peter and his herd of goats. Her aunt and uncle come to take her to the city where she can go to school and befriend her cousin Clara, a child suffering from illness so that she could not walk. In the city, Heidi becomes depressed so her aunt and uncle send her to visit her grandfather and Peter and allow Clara to go with her. While they are visiting, and avalanche closes the way and they are stranded in the mountains for months. When Clara's parents finally reach the cabin, fearing the worse after months without Drs and medicine they find that Clara is happy, healthy and walking. The power of nature on a person is nurturing and healing.

I may have been named Heidi but I am more like Clara. I was a sick child always dealing with stomach issues of nausea and cramping. Colds that turned quickly into bronchitis. And parents who started to believe the doctors when they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me so referred to me as lazy (I was faking ill to get out of school & chores), attention seeking, or hypochondriac.

They couldn't find anything wrong with me because they had no idea at the time where to look. Years later, I was diagnosed with a rare hereditary liver disease. Soon followed by a diagnosis of Celiac and other food sensitivities which contributed to the stomach problems. Then this past year on a deep blood test where they were looking for anything and everything (I was dizzy and weak while hiking which turned out to be anemia) they found I am missing a blood protein, an immunoglobulin that protects the mucus layer in your sinuses and lungs (hello, bronchitis).

I don't tell this story for you to feel sorry for me or indignant. But to share with you while I always felt like Clara in the story, I really was Heidi. With all my illnesses, the only place I felt healthy was hiking through the forests and along a wildflower-filled alpine meadow. I could forget about my health while in the mountains. Heidi in the story persuaded Clara to come to the mountains and she was healed. I persuade myself to camp and hike and I too am healed.

When I was 7, I hated being named Heidi. Now I know I am Heidi and Clara and whole.