Walking in the Redwoods

Yes they really are giants.

When I was growing up I saw the redwoods every time my family drove to the beach.  We lived in the southwest corner of Oregon and driving to our favorite beach in Brookings meant a drive down the Redwood Highway through the Jedediah Smith Redwood Grove.

A couple of years ago Scott and I returned to the area with our cameras. We stayed in Crescent City with the plan of exploring a few of the trails in the area. There are several very easy hikes that will take you through the woods, and we were eager to try them out.

The road was finally open!

Earlier this year we found an awesome forest service road that led us to an awesome waterfall and wonderful displays of moss and ferns. We found though that most of the road was closed for the season and were looking forward to returning when it was open. Finally, it was open, and we made the return.

What we found was amazing! A beautiful lake, 4 waterfalls, and several streams surrounded by bright green moss.

There’s nothing like the Palouse in springtime. Barns, granaries, fields of wheat, and rolling hills. These are a few of the things you can expect to see in the Palouse. And in the spring the hills are covered in green and there’s nothing else like it.

Chinook pass was finally open after being closed all winter. It was a clear sunny day, and I couldn’t wait to get a look at Tipsoo lake and Mount Rainier.  I wasn’t even sure if the lake would be visible at all or if it was still covered with snow. But we would find out.

We got there and found gorgeous views of the mountain, but the lakes were still mostly covered with snow. Several feet of snow. We could see how deep it was because here and there patches had melted away revealing spots of grass or lake below. This, however, would end up being a very good thing.

The first time I saw Silver Falls was in the spring of 2020 in the middle of the Covid shut down. Like most of the country, Scott and I were suffering from severe cabin fever and were looking for an outdoor place to enjoy.

We heard the National Parks were closed to cars, but open to foot and bike traffic and decided to walk into the Stevens Canyon entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. Grove of the Patriarchs is just a short distance from the entrance and we knew we could easily walk there.

I love tree blossoms in the spring. Flowering plumb blossoms, cherry blossoms, and apple blossoms. I love an early morning walk with the smell of freshly cut grass and the sweet scent of tree blossoms in the air. Nothing announces that spring has arrived quite like the tree blossoms do.

As soon as I opened the car door, I could hear them barking. They’re here! Scott and I grabbed our cameras and made our way down the dock.

It was Sunday afternoon, and we didn’t have time or energy for a full-on adventure but still wanted to get out of the house.  We picked up some coffee and headed for the town of Allyn, Washington hoping to see some sea lions.

I knew there would be a waterfall at the end of this trail but what I really wanted to see was the green moss peeking out from underneath the snow.

Scott and I have hiked this trail a couple of times before in the summertime when we were camping nearby. Scott had been here a couple of weeks ago with a friend and thought that I would enjoy it so here we were.

The first time I saw a field of tulips was a complete accident. Our family of 4 was out exploring near Mossyrock Washington during spring break and we happened to drive right past them. A sign on the edge of the field said we were welcome to walk through the tulips as long as we didn’t pick them or damage them. We enjoyed them very much.

Fields of daffodils were showing up in my social media. Spring was finally here, and I really wanted to go see them for myself. Scott and I couldn’t get away in the upcoming weekend, so we were thinking of making an evening of it. We saw a window of good weather in the forecast, so we decided to make a run for it.