Golden Rock

Rocks and Driftwood on Ruby Beach

Golden Rock @ 2010 Bo Mackison

Close up view of Ruby Beach as high tide is approaching. I had to hurry to capture this little golden rock on the weathered log, reminded me of a little golden egg resting in a nest,  before the waves started to pool around my ankles.

Even so, by the time we had walked north along the beach a hundred yards and back, we were cut off from the path to the car. Nothing dangerous, and there were lots of people still walking the area, but we all had to either walk across a fallen tree that functioned as a (very narrow, slippery) foot bridge or wade through the Hoh River  at the spot where it enters the Pacific. We chose the route of wet socks, wet hiking boots, and a story to add to our ever increasing pile of memories.

Ruby Beach is on the Pacific Coast in Olympic National Park.

Pike’s Place Market – From Garden to You

Pike's Place Market in Seattle Washington

From Garden to You © 2010 Bo Mackison

Fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish — all abound at the market at Pike’s Place, located just off the waterfront in Seattle, Washington. The Market opened in 1907 and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers’ markets in the United States. Not only is it a place of business for many small farmers, it has many merchants, craftspeople and artisans displaying their crafts.

(I ended up buying a jar of handmade caramel sauce, gently flavored with tequila. Indulging in two of my favorites — caramel and tequila. However, I don’t think I’ve ever combined the two in one taste treat before. It was yummy!)

Hoh Rain Forest

Hoh Rain Forest © 2010 Bo Mackison

One of the more popular places to experience on a hike in the Olympic National Park in Washington state is the Hoh Rain Forest. It is one of a handful of temperate rain forests in the Northern Hemisphere that are in a protected area. Much of the forest in the surrounding region has been logged in the last century, and many areas still show the scars of uprooted trees. This makes the Hoh Forest that much more sacred.

The forests proximity to the Pacific Ocean brings an average of 140 inches of annual rain to the forest and mist adds another 30 inches each year. A visit to the Hoh in the summer is the driest choice – only four inches of rain falls in June on average. We walked the trails for several miles and though there was evidence of moisture everywhere, we had only a few drops fall on us.

This is surely one of the greenest places I have ever seen. Bright green everywhere I looked.

Dungeness Spit

Dungeness Spit in Strait of Juan de Fuca in Puget Sound, Washington

View from Dungeness Spit © 2010 Bo Mackison

North of Olympic National Park and the city of Port Angeles, Washington is a National Wildlife Refuge called the Dungeness Spit. The refuge’s main attraction is a 5 1/2 mile long spit that stretches into the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Puget Sound. At high tide, portions of the spit are only 50 feet wide and are occasionally breached by the tides. The bay side of the spit is a calm harbor, and provides safety for baby seals and other sea creatures.

In the background are a few of the peaks in Olympic National Park. Some have glaciers, some mountains still have snow as it is still early in their “summer season.”

The spit is a wild place to walk, first a half mile walk through old growth forest hanging with mosses and filled with ferns, then a scramble down a cliff, and finally out on the spit for more scrambling over rocks and huge driftwood logs. What a majestic bit of wilderness!

A Walk in the Canopy

Hike in Canopy of Trees at UBC Botanical Gardens in Vancouver

Canopy Hike © 2010 Bo Mackison

Vancouver has great places to visit and great spaces to get lost in, too — like this canopy walk in the canopy of a forest in the University of British Columbia Botanical Gardens. It’s quite the experience, walking near the tops of the trees.