There is something magical and timeless about standing among the tallest trees in the world, something that is impossible to put into words. There is an energy here that’s difficult to describe until you feel it for yourself – A connection to something infinitely bigger than we are. Some of these trees are over 3000 years old, imagine the stories they could tell. Walking through these forests is like walking through the giant cathedrals of Europe.

I’m not much one for including myself in my photos, but with the sheer size of these trees, it’s impossible to understand the scale without a human for perspective.

One of my favorite nature-related books is The Wild Trees by Richard Preston, about how these giants were first climbed (safely) and the amazing hidden world that lives up in the canopy. It’s also incredibly sad to know that only about 3% of these living beings are still standing, the rest were logged without consideration that it takes literally thousands of years for them to grow to this size.

These forests demand respect and reverence. We can’t begin to imagine how many generations of humans it will take to rebuild just ONE generation of these trees. We need to protect those that are still standing tall.

I’ve had Smith Rock State Park on my radar for a few years, and we finally managed to add it to our Eastern/Central Oregon trip in May – so very glad we did. Smith Rock is heaven for rock climbers, and while I don’t do any climbing, there are also wonderful hiking trails here.

Feeling adventurous, we opted for the Misery Ridge Trail – very aptly named!! If you look closely at the photos, you can see the switchback trail we climbed up from the Crooked River, then another set of switchbacks to get to the top of the rock. From the top we found a small spur trail with a beautiful bench, and spent at least an hour looking down across central Oregon and counting the line of mountains and volcanoes in the distance: Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, the Three Sisters, Black Butte, and Mt. Washington.

But what goes up must come down, and we most definitely took our time on the descent. I would have never made it without hiking poles. The trail was steep and covered in loose pebbles that act like marbles, easily slipping your feet out from underneath. On the way down we paused to watch climbers on Monkey Face, a column of rock that must be wonderful to climb – if you’re into that kind of thing!

The final section of the hike was flat and followed the Crooked River back to the entry point, with huge cliffs on one side and the river on the other. If Misery Ridge is not your cuppa tea, it’s well worth it to still walk the flat trail that follows the river.

Quite different the second time around! When I was here 2 years ago temperatures were nearing 100, and hiking was a slow, sweaty ordeal. This time around weather was perfect!! There are 3 units of the John Day Monument in Central/Eastern Oregon, and Sheep Rock is the main one with a fantastic visitor center that we were very pleased to find open. It’s well worth a stop if you ever get the chance.

My favorite hike is to Blue Basin, an other-worldly short hike up a canyon prone to flash floods, thus at least a dozen sturdy bridges to cross to get to the end. Don’t think you’ll make it to the moon in this lifetime? Hike the Blue Basin trail! I didn’t do the larger loops when I was here before because of the heat, but this time we did do the full loop up and behind, where we were able to look down into Blue Basin – with views stretching far and wide along a large part of the area.

If geology and dinosaurs are your thing, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is definitely worth a visit.

I love rugged, wild areas. Hells Canyon on the border of Oregon and Idaho fits that description quite well. I was here 2 years ago, but didn’t hike because of high temperatures. This year the weather was perfect and we were able to hike up the canyon from Hells Canyon Dam and enjoy more scenery and watch rafters navigating the river.

That night we found an amazing campsite on the Oregon side of the canyon, with our own private beach overlooking the Snake River, where we spent hours sitting, reading, and just staring out across the water — Exactly what a vacation is supposed to be like!

The Dungeness Spit near Sequim, WA, is the longest natural sand spit in the United States at just over 5 miles long. The hike out to the New Dungeness Lighthouse (built in 1857) is 11.2 miles round trip, and well worth it on a beautiful day. This area is also within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

Dungeness Spit with Mt. Baker and the New Dungeness Lighthouse in the distance to the right.

Mama Nature called me, and I listened I spent a glorious 2 days hiking on the Olympic Peninsula, total 17 miles hiked. The highlight was the hike out to New Dungeness lighthouse, 11.2 miles R/T, with 10 of that beach walking. The lighthouse is normally open for public tours, but due to COVID is currently closed. There is a restroom open, though.

I started at first light, it was overcast, and then ended up being a most amazing and incredible sunny day. I saw about a dozen people all day on the Dungeness Spit, more near the parking area ~ but to be able to walk miles and miles alone with nothing but the waves and driftwood for company filled my happy-meter up to FULL. So beautiful. Part of my hike out was during high tide, and though I had to hop away from a couple of waves, the beach is accessible 99% of the time.

Mt. Baker decided to show off in the afternoon, framing the lighthouse. Icing on the cake I didn’t realize how much I needed quiet solitude, time outside to think and disconnect from civilization for a day, the sound of the ocean, and wide open sky. I imagine it can get crowded during the summer, but during the week on a sunny January day was pretty much perfect.