Preparing for the Next Generation

An amazing young man is on his way, and we couldn't be more excited. It may make it tricky, though, for the two of us to zip off to the woods for a few days.

Fortunately, we were able to take a few days and spend time together in the beautiful rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula.

We stayed at the lovely and festive Lake Quinault Lodge:


Great place--cozy fireplace, handsome grounds:


Fisheye shot of the lake:


Moon:


This Seattle Times article was one of the reasons we decided to return for another winter visit, and so we drove up to the Hoh Rain Forest to enjoy some of the rainy fun.

Since it was Monday, the visitor center was closed; and we only heard rumors of elk and otters... But we did happen to run into some other families getting ready for the next generation at Taft Creek:


Also took a look at the ocean, but days like that are more pleasant in a forest than on a beach.


Luckily we were able to go back to the lodge to warm up. There's really nothing like reading by a fire on a comfy couch.

Among other things, I read an interesting piece on Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein in the New Yorker, and also a nice review of Parenthood. Really like that show.

Emily, in the meantime, has been enjoying The Hangman's Daughter, by Oliver Pötzsch.

A little funny to mention here, but I also read this Times Op-Ed column, and so I didn't check my email or look at Facebook for a couple of days :) (For a similar theme, but from the perspective of someone a bit more—ahem—like me, see this post from the Times' tech blogger.)

But the main attraction, of course, is the forest. Right near the lodge there is a great set of trails through the Quinault Rain Forest.

That's Gatton Creek up at the top of this post. If you look at the Quinault Rain Forest hiking map, you'll see that the trail up there ("Trail of the Giants") passes a tiny spur called "Connie's Trail." I have no idea who Connie is, but her trail is worth it for the suprise turn that brings you right through a huge downed tree:






Views coming down aren't half bad either:

Well, school's about to start, and soon all kinds of other exciting things will be starting up. In the meantime, cheers!