A Walk to the Botanic Garden

On Saturday, we decided to take a long walk up to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Our decision might have been sliightly influenced by the fact that it was the end of the week and our Fitbits were angry at us for not getting any steps on Friday. But it was also a nice fall day, so we thought a long walk would be perfect! We also realized that we somehow haven't ever really visited the botanic garden except in the spring and summer. So we set off north...











We walked up through Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, over to Windsor Terrace, and then through Prospect Park, past a pretty pond and through the woods. On the way, we passed lots of cute kids in Halloween costumes - all the shops in Park Slope were handing out candy. Then we got to the botanic garden! We stopped in the bonsai greenhouse first to see one of the Noguchi sculptures currently on loan. The bonsai all looked amazing with their fall colors!













After we learned about bonsai (like how bonsai are most shaped by the trimming of their roots!) and saw the Noguchi sculpture, we walked through the rest of the garden and stopped at the Japanese pond to take a photo. All of a sudden, a huge heron came swooping across the water and landed right on the torii gate! Somehow, nobody else even seemed to notice. The heron sat up on the torii for a few minutes until it dove down into the pond and flew back up. Then it flew to the other side of the pond, so we followed and saw it dive into the pond again - this time, emerging with a bright orange koi in its mouth! After having a tasty snack, it walked around the small island in the middle of the pond for a while. It was really a special sight, because not only was this amazing dinosaur bird about ten feet away from us, but it was also right next to another Noguchi sculpture called "Strange Birds". Maybe the heron felt a certain affinity toward it, even though it's an abstract bit of bronze :)

















On our way out, we passed by the last of the roses, which were still lovely, and another Noguchi sculpture that seemed to fit the mood of the day particularly well. Even though spring and summer seem the most obvious time to visit the botanic garden, we decided that autumn is just as good! Especially if herons pay us a visit.

Olympic Trip : Day Two - Hoh Rainforest

The second day of our Olympia adventure started with a drive deep into the National Park, along the Hoh River. The Hoh Rainforest is said to be one of the "must see" places in the park, so we decided we had to see it! It was another long drive down a two-lane road...I can imagine that in the summer, the traffic is probably super slow, but we hardly saw any cards on our drive in.

The Hoh River is beautiful! There are so many huge rivers that come down out of the mountains...all of them have banks lined with huge logs, and look like something out of a nature special. It really seemed like we were in the middle of the wilderness! We were really close to it, we certainly weren't in it (we did drive there, after all) - but it still seemed a lot closer than our usual hiking destinations! We started out on a short trail, the Hall of Mosses trail, right by the ranger station. It's the one that everyone does, since it's short and shows off the rainforest at its best.

It was a great little warmup hike! Similar to the overwhelming amount of green we encountered at Lake Quinault, the rainforest was incredible (if much more sunny than rainy...). The trailside signs told me to look at the tree that fell along the path, and to try to guess how long it was...I was so absorbed in tree measurements that I turned the corner of the trail and found that we were suddenly about twenty feet away...

...from a huge elk! It was just munching on some berry bushes, or something - it knew we were there (it's not as if we exactly walk quietly), but it just ignored us and kept eating. Kind of like our cats! It slightly unnerved me, though, because of a similarly giant warning sign down at the ranger station that said to "beware of aggressive elk!" and to "stay at least 100 feet away and report all sightings!". Aggressive elk? I thought we only had to worry about black bears and mountain lions...sigh. Anyway, we went (or hid...) behind some logs to take this picture, even though it certainly wouldn't have cared or noticed if we hadn't! We continued onto the actual trail, the Hoh River Trail, wondering if we'd encounter any more large forest animals.

That trail was uneventful in terms of large wildlife, but really pretty and quiet. We didn't pass another hiker until we were almost all the way back to the parking lot! We had a quick lunch by the river, in the sun, and came back to the entrance. When we got back, I was wishing I hadn't hidden behind those logs to take a picture of the elk, so we decided to go back up to the first trail just in case it was still there. A family with loud kids came out right before we got there, so we figured it had probably gone a long time ago. When we got back to the spot where we saw it before, there was no trace, just a green patch. Then, we turned around...

He was still there! A little bit farther away this time, still just eating away. There was another elk with him this time...but she was probably there all along. We were glad we went back up and got to see both of them. We don't get many up-close encounters with wildlife in Oregon...just the occasional squirrel. After our hike, we drove back to the coast and headed out to the beach. More on that to come!