To the Bat Cave!

So my buddy Myles seems to be convinced that there are no truly good hikes in Southern Washington like there are in Northern Washington. An argument I'm not convinced of but am open to. I'm pretty darn sure the argument is done...for now. Now that he showed me the bat caves!

Officially the trail is called the Oyster Dome (a major beauty herself - you'll see soon) but at the base of the dome are these bat caves Myles has been telling me about. The trail is very moderate and pretty. It had the perfect amount of fog and mist leaving me wondering which tree Edward was watching us from.

I'm a sucker for tree pictures - what is it about trees? I like to lay on my back and look at clouds and stars but I like looking up at trees even more. Call me Nell (ten points if you got that reference).

I'm sorry tree, I'm not doing you justice here. This tree looked radiant standing alone with it's branches covered with snow. The sun was hitting it just right. Look slightly to the left...

A typical tree convention here. I sat in on the meeting momentarily....

I'll get off my back now....

I can only think of the word "enchanting" once we reached the point of elevation where fluffy snow was coming down like fairy dust. I love how you can literally see the soft snow line here. *sigh* Can you tell I want to go back? I'm feeling quite mystical. Moving on....

Again - my camera does this view absolutely NO JUSTICE. This is the base of Osyter Dome in all her glory. The snow covered trees on top had me stinking envious. This is what the world looked like before The Nothing came in The Neverending Story - don't ya think?

So I REALLY should of taken a picture of the caves before we hopped down. For some reason in my head I was thinking of simple Point A to Point B caves where light was somewhat of a constant. I was wrong. And somehow Myles convinced me to follow him down. Looking up was the view.

This is me after hopping down. This is my "I'm scared yet smiling" smile. There is a crevice to the left of me that Myles told me we could go down. "Really? You're kidding...no way! People cant go down there! That's where dead bodies go!"

But Myles took it in stride. Look at him. Completely calm and smiling. And it took 5 seconds from there to twist my rubber arm and follow him deeper down...

Quick picture of Myles deep down in the rock! It's pitch-black, wet, disorienting, full of numerous tunnels and I suddenly realize "This is effing awesome!" If I'm claustrophic then I don't know it because my curosity and excitement were in overdrive at this point.

And now I leave my scared smile behind - this is my "H*ll to the yeah this is effing awesome" smile!

So despite me being 45 minutes...60 minutes...or just really late for the hike, we still made it out for the sunset. This little tree has the best view in the world...

This may be just the back of my head, but it's the back of my head feeling completely alive and satisified.

And Myles: you are stinking awesome. Best host ever. No one can challenge you and if they consider it they shouldn't. Instead they should just all bow down. Thanks for showing me around and convincing me of your argument that Northern Washington may be a little better than my neck of the woods.

I said "may" be a little better. I didn't say better. Just so you know...

Oh, and my lovers Ann Taylor and Lululemon - I will see you next weekend. I know I seemed to have just disregarded you as I drove by but please know you have my heart. I love you dearly and can't wait to see you!

The Last Hurrah

Born June 9th, 1979, Big D's Gall ladder did her well. Her G.B. shared many memories with us and was always a trooper anytime we decided to have junk food at our camping site or at the cabin. When her G.B. grew into our twenties with us it let Big D know that cheesy salsa is not a good idea anymore. (My G.B. agrees).
After many tests and false self-diagnoses Big D learned it was time to leave her G.B. behind and lay it to rest. Quite frankly when the doctor said that your G.B. has "too many stones to count" and has stretched itself out because of that....well, that's a very bad sign.
So - before G.B. is laid to rest this week Big D wanted to do one last hike. Rain, or snow, or shine.



It was pouring out - I look at Big D - "I'm not so sure about this." But her enthusiasm is contagious. Besides - the woods have a different smell to them in the rain. We took advantage of the less than ideal weather by doing a nice hike that's usually crowded on any other day.

***See Pet Peeves #54: Overly popular hikes***

Anyway - it's a nice moderate hike with enough elevation gain to earn our burger and a beer afterwards.

Strike a pose Big D!

Did I mention that it was wet & cold? Cuz it was. I left my camera in my coat and thought to myself "I don't need any pictures..."



But then we came to the waterfall. Gosh dangit, I *have* to take a picture of this! And it was too high to get one full shot so I split it up!





There were a series of stairs that they built so you can get directly in front of the falls. Which is super nice because both Big D and I have a habit of just staring at waterfalls. Or is everyone like that? Water hypnotism. Is it more common than I thought?



Oh, and it's still raining, were super wet - but it's a great secluded hike today! But at this point it'd only be about 3 miles round trip.

Big D: Shall we go further?
Me: Yeah, let's just keeping hiking until the trail stops going "up".
Big D: Sounds good.

(Check in with us 30 mintues later regarding how much further we'll go...)

Can't you just tell this is a family friendly hike? You can't see it too well but this path leads to a bridge that goes over the falls.




And that's me standing on it so you don't have to take my word for it! It started doing snowy rain here and I thought I was hallucinating from the cold when a couple walked behind us with umbrellas. Something we don't see a lot when we hike. Think about it. Umbrellas. On a trail. Just seemed odd.

But I digress...

This is a view from the bridge and you can tell that Winter is putting up a good fight before her season is over! See Edward in that tree on the left? I do.



So at this point the rain is turning into snow but Big D and I are both so wet. There are waterfalls running down our legs - this rain is penetrating!



So there's no top. There's only wet. Let's turn around.

And wouldn't you know? Once we get back to the trailhead the sun comes out. It's all good - nothing better than changing into warm clothes, getting a garden burger & a beer while planning our upcoming Colorado trip.



One last thought though: What does this look like to you? I've been playing the cloud game with this tree - it looks like several things to me. All clean things - keep it clean!!



R.I.P - Big D's Gall Bladder.
June 9, 1979 - March 20, 2009.

Will my real age please stand up?

I don't even like checking my mail anymore. I check it at *least* once a week. I have my stance down and sometimes have one hand ready and waiting to catch the falling pile once I open up the hatch. In fact, at my prior residence the mailman had to leave me notes that he was going to stop delivering my mail when my box would get too full. A kick in the butt I certainly deserved.

But when did this all start? With freaking AARP! I'm not even 30...yet. I have just a few months left in my 20s and I'm trying to enjoy them in peace but AARP is harping at me. They've actually been sending me mail for more than a few years.

At first I was alarmed thinking I was a victim of ID Theft but my credit report was solid reassured me that I wasn't over 30 or 60 for that matter. I scan my brain to think what I bought on the internet to make AARP think I belonged with them? No Depends, no cross-stitch patterns, no year-supply of prune juice, no polyster pants, no black walnut ice cream (that one is for Jenny), no polident, no Listen Up (that commercial where she eavesdrops on her neighbors and yells at her husband for the loud tv)...so how old am I? I am only in my 20s right?

I was thinking of making a pile of all the AARP mail I've received in the past few months but it was becoming a fire and papercut hazard.

For the record: I may have to pluck gray hairs out of my head *everyday*, but I'm still in my 20s. For now. Stay back AARP - I'm not ready for you yet!