I had the opportunity to hike the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainer National Park! I went with a good friend of mine for 10 nights and 11 days. Here are a couple of my thoughts:
- It was cold! Think of winter backpacking without the snow! Luckily (and due to *some* planning (e.g. A lot of planning), we had enough gear to keep warm. I still would have liked an extra layer.
- It was beautiful! I do wish I could have gone earlier in the year when the wild flowers are in bloom, but you need a permit to hike the trail and this was the best available dates so I had to take it or leave it. By the way, it took me 3 years to be able to even “get in” to have a permit at all. That’s how popular this trail is!
- I would do it again if it was earlier in the year.
All in all it was a great trip and the most beautiful thing about it was I was away from instant communication for that time. Being out in nature is healing and restorative in and of itself and when that’s coupledTravel, Wildlife
Earlier this year I went on a trip to Michigan for a few days with some good friends of mine. It was a great time! Fires every night, board games, plenty of fishing (hardly caught anything though!) and a beautiful lake that provided wonderful photos! I was able to catch a beautiful sunrise one morning and a Heron the next. It was an all-around good time filled with friends and photos! Here are a couple of my favorite from the trip!
Here's a photo of the Lake and Pier right outside our Cabins
Closer in on the boat.
Catching the heron in flight!
Travel, Sunrises And Sunsets, Wildlife
So there is a nice little pine tree right outside my window. It's probably not more than 8 feet high. It's tucked away right up against the house and is pretty dense in pine tree foilage. One day I opened the window and there were 3 birds in a nest, only inches away from the window I just opened! I was startled that they weren't startled - they didn't even budge!
It was a momma bird and her two nestlings and they just sat quietly and kept staring at me with a cold stare - anxiously deciding if I was a threat or not. Of course, I wasn't a threat but I did have to intrude on their space a little bit! A photographic opportunity like this rarely comes along. So I grabbed my camera and took some pictures. Again, I was so surprised how close they let me get - I didn't even need to use my telephoto lens! I think the momma bird was protecting her young and that's why she had the courage to not fly away while I captured their photo.
Here are a couple of the imagesWildlife
