One of my brother’s very favorite things to do is play tour guide and show visitors around the places he calls home. Since moving to western Colorado, he has leaned into the dinosaur territory in a big way, and when we decided to visit for Thanksgiving he promised to take us all on his ultimate tour of all his favorite fossil spots.

Part I of Uncle Dan’s Dinosaur Tour started in a non-descript pull-off from a back road. No signs, no trail markers – just desert. Dan and Danielle love to poke around and “find stuff” and on one weekend’s ramble they came across a big boulder studded with circular shapes that the local dinosaur club (society?) confirmed were eggs. It was tucked away, deep in the canyon, but Dan and Danielle led us there expertly.

Unmistakably eggs of some sort! Looks like they hatched – hopefully – so… dinosaur babies! Too cute.

It was so cool to not only be able to get close to these egg fossils, but to actually touch them and see how they were preserved in nature – rather than in a museum case. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good natural history museum, but this was just a totally different, very unusual experience.

We scuttled downhill and back to the car, and drove about ten minutes to the next stop – another non-descript pull-off. This time, there was no short hike – just a big natural stone pillar right by the road, with this:

Friends, that is a bone imprint. It looked like something out of The Flintstones. Too big for Pebbles to wear as a hair bow, sadly.

This was just the beginning! Uncle Dan had more dinosaur fun in store, but first an off-roading interlude – next week.

Another day in Olympic National Park… another waterfall! You know how it is. 😉

While our main waterfall priority was Sol Duc Falls, we agreed that if time allowed we also wanted to check out Marymere Falls, which was supposed to be spectacular and – bonus – was reached by a trail that started and ended on the shores of the lovely Lake Crescent. We’d driven by the lake several times on our trips between Port Angeles (where we were staying) and the park, and I was itching to get my feet onto its shores. First things first, though.

The trail to Marymere Falls starts with a little stone and corrugated tin tunnel. Did we all shout “Echo!” as we walked through this tunnel? If you really need to ask, you don’t know us at all.

Much of the Marymere Falls trail winds gently through the woods – can never get sick of those towering spruces – but eventually comes out on a wide stream, so we knew that we were on the right track.

A short climb to an observation platform and –

There she is!

Marymere was just as spectacular as Sol Duc Falls, but in a completely different way. The observation platform was situated about halfway up, so we could look up to see the falls’ inception in a narrow stream and watch as they got wider as they cascaded over mossy and lichened rocks. Totally magical.

We tore ourselves away reluctantly, the blow at leaving the falls sweetened by knowing that our next destination was Lake Crescent.

The Twilight movies (and I think the books?) are set on the Olympic Peninsula, in Forks – not far from Port Angeles and the park. (There was Edward and Bella merchandise everywhere.) I haven’t read the books, nor have I seen the movies, but I can see why the setting – the scenery out here is mystical and mysterious. Case in point: Lake Crescent. As we drove past the lake on our way to one hike or another, I spotted something large and black out of the corner of my eye. Figuring it was the wind on the waves, I thought nothing more of it until Steve said: “Was that Nessie?” Hmmmmmm. And that wasn’t the only thing. As we were driving along the shores of the lake, a black SUV drove by us in the opposite direction, with Steve’s kayak – a red Current Designs Solstice GT with a Canadian maple leaf decal – on the roof rack. We laughed and pointed it out. Then, two minutes later – another black SUV with Steve’s exact kayak on the roof rack, again heading in the opposite direction to us. Now that’s just too mysterious.

I mean, with scenery like this – you can understand the presence of the unexplainable.

As you can imagine, we were a little bit relieved to get back to civilization and the ONP visitors’ center in Port Angeles. The kids took their Junior Ranger oath of office.

It was almost time to end our weekend in the park – sadly, because there was so much more I wanted to see, although it’s always nice to leave something for next time. But I wasn’t ready to go before stepping foot on Hurricane Ridge. This was what I was most looking forward to doing all week – I had visions of a jaw-dropping stretch of Olympic Mountains, and fields of frolicking marmots.

It was not to be.

We had a foggy, white-knuckled drive up into the mountains, only to find Hurricane Ridge socked in with fog, the Olympics hidden behind a wall of clouds, and not a marmot in sight – clearly they were all tucked up in their nests, sleeping away the cold and wet weather (and who could blame them?).

Still absolutely beautiful in a windy, mysterious way – oh, and I almost forgot to mention, it started to snow, just flurries, while we were up there – and like I said, it’s good to leave something for next time. Because I will definitely be back to see those mountains and those marmots. And in the meantime, this view was pretty wonderful.

That ends our time in Olympic National Park – for now! I’ll definitely be making a trip back here. But we’re moving on, for the moment. Sad, because I’ve so enjoyed reliving this trip for you. Also happy, because this isn’t the end of travel posts – far from it; I have a lot more to come. Next week, off to Colorado! We spent Thanksgiving week with my brother and sister-in-law and they loaded us up with adventures, so there’s more travel fun ahead. Check in next week!

The Hoh Rainforest was the surprise of our trip to Olympic National Park. I knew it would be amazing, of course, but I was really interested in the coastline and the mountains. But it ended up being the rainforest that drew us in for most of our ONP hikes; it was just so magical.

Steve and I both independently decided that we really, really wanted to hike to Sol Duc Falls – a relatively short hike, and mostly flat until the very end, but with major bang for the buck in terms of scenery payoff. That’s really the name of the game when hiking with kids – or our kids, at least – keep it short and pretty flat – so we’ve gotten good at finding the hikes that meet those criteria but also pack a punch and feel special.

As with all of the trails we experienced in Olympic, the pathways were groomed and easy to walk, and there was a riot of things to look at all around us.

From the very, very big – towering Sitka spruces…

To the tiny details of fruits and fungus.

We walked past a few streams that picked up power and energy as we got closer to our destination.

And finally (after only one detour to get lost briefly) we made it to the falls. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Roaring!

We were all impressed by the four side-by-side cascading falls and the powerful spray. So, so gorgeous!

Next week: wrapping up our time in Olympic with another waterfall, a lake, AND Hurricane Ridge all socked in with fog.

After the Hall of Mosses hike, we put our heads together and decided that we had time for a second hike – and we weren’t ready to leave the Hoh Rainforest. I plumped for the famous Hoh River Trail, but was outvoted three to one in favor of the shorter and easier (but tbh, no less spectacular) Spruce Nature Trail.

We decided we’d walk as far as the Hoh River, so we could see it, and then make our way back to the warmth of the car (and a long drive back to Port Angeles).

All over the rainforest, we saw these trees on elevated roots – looking like they were standing on stilts. The trees took root initially on fallen logs – called nurse logs – and when the nurse logs rotted away the new growth was left standing on tiptoe. Weird!

The Spruce Nature Trail boasted its share of moss-hung trees, too – and other cool sights. Like this uprooted tree:

WOWSERS.

I was fascinated by the knotty bark. With all of the fascinating things to see and observe, it felt like no time at all before we reached the banks of the Hoh River.

With all the mist, the visibility was a bit limited – but it really didn’t matter. It was mysterious and quiet – and just beautiful.

When we got back to the car, we had our biggest wildlife sighting of the day – right off the parking lot! – a mother black-tailed deer and her two fawns.

Too cute!

We watched them quietly and from a safe distance until they decided they were done foraging, and ambled off to surprise some other lucky park visitors. Definitely a magical end to our afternoon in the Hoh Rainforest!

Next week: stopping by the Sol Duc River for some fishing – wink, wink.

After our morning at Ruby Beach, we headed for something completely different – Hoh Rainforest, park ecosystem #2. We were all a bit damp – okay, drenched – after the coastline, so I think the idea of walking under a rain-breaking canopy of trees was appealing to everyone.

Hoh Rainforest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the United States. The landscape was carved by glaciers, and it’s a completely different world from the coastline we had just left.

Our destination was the Hall of Mosses trail. If I’m being completely honest, I’ll tell you that we picked the trail based – pretty much – on the name alone. I mean, how could we pass up a trail called “Hall of Mosses” – could you? It helped that our cursory research confirmed the trail’s kid-friendliness; it’s short, relatively flat, and steeped with interesting things to look at.

My favorite thing about the trail was, predictably, the old-growth trees hung with primeval quantities of emerald green moss.

I know that Longfellow’s famous line “This is the forest primeval” was written about eastern Canada – but it could easily have been about this spot.

We veered off the main trail onto a little spur that took us into a magical grove of maples overhung with club moss.

Nugget liked the maple grove.

The other day, Nugget asked me what my favorite hike is. I couldn’t possibly decide – I’ve been privileged to experience so many incredible trails, in habitats ranging from coastlines to deserts to mountains to forests – and everything in between. But the Hall of Mosses trail would have to be up there. There was just so much to look at – from the largest moss-hung trees…

…to the tiniest details of mushrooms, moss, and tiny leaves.

The Hall of Mosses trail was short, but packed so much into a fascinating space. I’d love to go back – again and again. I’m sure it must change every day.

Next week: Still in the Hoh Rainforest, we explore another trail and amble down to the Hoh River.

When I decided to bring my family with me on my October business trip to Seattle, I began researching ideas for the following weekend right away. There are so many incredible destinations in Washington State, but I knew I wanted something within fairly easy reach of Seattle. A repeat trip to the San Juan Islands was out, because the San Juan Clipper season ended the week before we were scheduled to arrive, and the ferry had been unreliable due to COVID-related staffing shortages. So I hopped on a call with a colleague (who loves planning vacations for people) to discuss options. I told her I wanted something outdoorsy, within a couple of hours of Seattle. We kicked around Leavenworth, Bainbridge Island, Mount Rainier, and even driving as far as North Cascades, but ultimately settled on Olympic National Park.

Any travel book or tour guide would tell you that one of the things that makes Olympic special is that it’s really three parks in one. There’s the rugged Pacific coastline, the hauntingly beautiful Hoh Rainforest, and the Alpine expanses of the mountain section. With my colleague’s help, I planned a packed weekend that would allow us to experience all three.

The coastline was first – I was so stoked to show the kids the wonders of Washington tidepooling. As it happened, time was not on our side – low tide was at about 5:00 a.m., and the closest beaches (Ruby and Kalaloch) were almost a two hour drive from our hotel in Port Angeles. Tidepooling would have to wait for a future trip, but we still had plenty of visual treats in the pounding waves and towering sea stacks. We made for Ruby Beach, keeping Kalaloch in reserve if time and weather allowed.

There’s something so wild and compelling about rain at the beach, isn’t there?

It was wet and cold, but we layered up and kept our feet moving, and it was totally worth it. I wouldn’t have missed Ruby Beach for the world.

Wet but happy family! A little rain won’t get in the way of our beach day.

We started out walking up the coastline, but the tide rushed in and cut off our path, so we turned and headed in the opposite direction, exploring as far as we could.

Although I would have loved to tidepool with the anklebiters, Ruby Beach was well worth the drive even without tidepooling – the trees, dramatic sea stacks, and crashing surf were spectacular. Someday we’ll make it back when the tide tables are our friends, and it’s not the worst thing in the world to have something to look forward to!

Next week: a truly magical walk through the Hoh Rainforest.

Another pandemic year, sigh. 2021 was, as expected, better than 2020. We were better at assessing and managing COVID risk, and we got out and about more – even traveling a few times. I’m cautiously optimistic that 2022 will bring more improvement, maybe gradual, but I have hope.

January got off to a rocky start, as we all know. I was downtown on January 6 – not close to the Capitol, fortunately; I was at my office on K Street, taking a deposition – but we didn’t know what was going on or what parts of the city might be dangerous, and it was a white-knuckled drive through Georgetown before I crossed the river into Virginia and breathed a sigh of relief. I stayed home the rest of the month, with great relief at having the ability to do so. A blanket of snow and a host of winter visitors to my bird feeders brought much-needed peace.

In February we had more snow, but it warmed up toward the end of the month and we cautiously poked our heads out of our den. After a year of almost complete solitude, we began to explore ways to manage COVID risk and get more socialization in. My law school bestie, Carly, drove her kids out to the exurbs for a play date one warm day, and we hit up a new-to-us playground. It was a small thing, but it felt monumental. Also a small thing that turned out to be monumental: at the end of the month I received an email from one of my law firm colleagues, noting that a client of his – a west coast-based tech company – was looking for an addition to their legal department. Dream job! I threw caution to the wind and my hat in the ring.

I spent most of March working on my application – and then on preparing for multiple rounds of interviews – to the tech company. Recently, relating the experience to an acquaintance, I reflected that I’ve never poured so much time or effort into getting a job before. I spent hours almost every March evening, and over multiple weekends, on the project. It didn’t leave much time for adventuring, but we did manage to scoot out for a hike toward the end of the month, to explore a little reservoir in Ashburn, Virginia, where I was hoping to paddle once the weather warmed up. We’d first visited in January, when the rushes in the shallows were crusted with ice, but the trail around the lake was beautiful – a winter wonderland – and I made plans to return again and again.

Here comes the sun! All that work in March paid off, because the first Friday of April brought the news that I landed the dream job! April was another busy month as I started the onboarding process with my soon-to-be new employer, told my firm I was leaving, and worked round the clock to transition my cases to other attorneys. But again, we made time for fun – spring arrived in earnest with the return of warm, sunny days, and our traditional bluebell hike. For the past couple of years, we’ve bluebell-spotted at Manassas National Battlefield Park. We hit the peak just right in 2021!

May was a roller coaster. I started the month with a week of “funemployment” – that delightful period between one job and another. The week coincided with the beginning of really warm weather, so I had big paddleboarding plans (and I did make it out twice), but a death in the family sent me up to New York twice – first with Nugget in tow, to say goodbye to a cherished person, and then a week later for the funeral. Water always helps, so I paddled a lot in May. At the end of the month, a hot weekend drew the kids and me to the beach with my dear friend Carly and her family, and we took turns duffing the kids in the Chesapeake Bay. Meanwhile, amongst all of the upheaval, I started my new job and discovered right away that it was exactly the move I needed to make.

June was wonderful. Looking back, it feels like I spent almost the entire month outside (although I know that can’t possibly be true). Between paddleboarding, the start of our family kayaking season, a new mountain bike, and cheering for Nugget at his weekly tee-ball games, it does seem like I never went indoors. As a die-hard summer fan, this is about right for me.

Joy bookended July. We rang in the month camping on Chincoteague over Independence Day weekend (my favorite holiday). Saw the famous wild horses three times, toasted marshmallows over our own campfire, and charged into the surf at Assateague Island National Seashore – perfect. Most of the month was spent getting used to my new job (and to feeling truly happy as a lawyer for the first time EVER), and playing outside whenever I got the chance – taking my paddleboard to Beaverdam Reservoir as much as possible, mountain biking with Nugget, and hiking and kayaking with Steve and both kids every weekend day. At the end of the month, we drove up to New York State for my cousin Jocelyn’s wedding celebration – it was postponed by a year because of the pandemic, but worth the wait. Both kids were in the wedding, along with Jocelyn’s niece and nephew. It was seriously cute.

August brought adventure! First, at the end of July, Steve and I fulfilled a long-cherished wish and bought touring kayaks (as a fifteenth anniversary gift to each other, two weeks before our sixteenth anniversary – the pandemic had interfered with our plans for almost a year). My parents wanted the kids to themselves for a week, so we took the kayaks off for a week of paddling in the Adirondacks; we hit up Schroon Lake, Lake Placid, Lake Flower, Upper St. Regis Lake, and Spitfire Lake. We also found time to hike almost every day, and knocked off our fifth Adirondack high peak. The rest of the month was quieter, at home, but the hot Virginia sun was comforting and life-affirming to this summer-loving girl.

The start of September brought mixed feelings. The kids were back at school, which is conflicting for me. On the one hand, it’s easier to work without them around (self-evident truths…). On the other hand, I always worry about their safety when I send them out into the world. It’s hard being a parent in 2021. We found pockets of joy, though. Time on our favorite trails – always restoring. And at the end of the month, I made my way back to a start line – this time with my bike, not my running shoes. Twenty miles of car-free biking in D.C. was a treat (despite a flat tire midway through the ride).

October took us all the way across the country! I had a weeklong business trip to my company’s headquarters in Seattle, and since it happened to coincide with my birthday, Steve and the kids accompanied me so I wouldn’t have to ring in the year alone. We made it fun: bookended the workweek with one weekend of Seattle tourist treats (including a ride to the top of the Space Needle!), and one weekend of hiking and beachcombing at Olympic National Park. Back at home, we found the BEST trick-or-treating street in our neighborhood, and the kids both chose to wear costumes they already owned (Peanut was a veterinarian, and Nugget was a baseball player), so I didn’t have to spend a dime on equipping them for Halloween. A treat indeed!

November saw us on the go again, traveling to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and sister-in-law. Uncle Dan loves playing tour guide, and we were treated to the very best highlights of western Colorado (including Uncle Dan’s Dinosaur Tour, parts one, two, and three) and Utah. Three national parks, one national monument, an adorable Alpine adventure town, pizza at a famous spot in Fruita, lots of doggy petting, Thanksgiving with our people – lots of stories to come, but it was all wonderful.

Bringing us to December. Jingle and sparkle, ahoy. Although our celebrations have been curtailed this year – a nod to what feels like a never-ending pandemic – we’ve found ways to make magic. I went back to Seattle at the beginning of the month (alone this time) for work, and got to see Pike Place in its Christmas finery. Back at home, we chose and decorated our tree, walked our old stomping grounds at Mount Vernon and Old Town Alexandria, and celebrated the fact that as of early December, all four of us are finally fully vaxxed against COVID (and Steve and I are now boosted, as of just this week). Yay, science! And yay us, for making it through another pandemic year and finding SO MUCH JOY along the way.

Here’s to an even better 2022, for all of us!