Saturday, August 30, 2008

Wonderland


It's late tonight; so late that it's almost tomorrow. As I sort through pictures from Yellowstone, I feel once more the wonder that overwhelmed me during that long day. How can so much beauty, so many kinds of beauty, be contained in one place, in one small speck of the glorious universe that we live in? As we traveled to the different natural wonders in Yellowstone, I often found myself speechless with awe, groping for the words to describe the indescribable. At last, words came -- insufficient, unsatisfying, as any words that take so much upon themselves are doomed to be, but words nonetheless: A wild, untamed, untameable land. And so it is. The only hand that has the power to tame it is the Hand that created it. I think I prefer to let pictures speak for themselves, rather than give a detailed (and very boring) account of our journey. So, without further ado: 






















And now it is morning (if that is not too ambitious a word for this particular hour of the night) and high time for me to "retire." I'll end with a quotation from John Muir, the famed naturalist. While we did not spend the night in Yellowstone, night had fallen by the time we made our way out of the park. We caught a glimpse of the forest fire that had redirected (and lengthened our journey) as we drove into the night, and the smell of charred wood lingered fragrantly in the car. But Muir's words are more descriptive and appropriate than mine: 

  "Now comes the gloaming. The alpenglow is fading into earthy, murky gloom, but do not let your town habits draw you away to the hotel. Stay on this good fire-mountain and spend the night among the stars. Watch their glorious bloom until the dawn, and get one more baptism of light. Then, with fresh heart, go down to your work, and whatever your fate, under whatever ignorance or knowledge you may afterward chance to suffer, you will remember these fine, wild views, and look back with joy to your wanderings in the blessed old Yellowstone Wonderland." ~ John Muir.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Farewell to the West Coast


Reluctantly leaving the Seattle area, we headed north and east toward Whidbey Island. The ferry to cross over to the island departs from Port Townsend, a charming town situated on a bluff overlooking the water. We just had time to walk down the main street, which is lined with historic buildings and has a delightfully quaint atmosphere.





The highlight of the town was a used book shop -- of course. We didn't have the time to tour the historic neighborhood, but that just gives me a reason to go back...




The ferry left us on Whidbey Island, which reminded me a great deal of Nova Scotia, Canada. Verdant evergreens overspreading rocky coastline and meadows covered in waving grasses are the principle features of the island, from what I could see! We even caught a glimpse of a historic schoolhouse. The bridge over Deception Pass:











As we drove east through Washington, we drove past Wild Horses National Monument. It was so unexpected and dramatic that we had to pause on our journey.

 



This area of Washington reminded me of Nevada. The land is incredibly brown and barren, but the water is vividly blue -- whether of itself, or because everything else seems so drab, I don't know!

 


We drove for seemingly endless hours, across the states of Washington, Idaho, and part of Montana. The thin strip of Idaho that we traversed was mountainous and densely forested. It was quite beautiful, and not at all what I expected! We stopped for the night at Livingston, Montana, and in the morning we headed to Yellowstone National Park -- which I think deserves a post to itself!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A New Decade


Yesterday marked the start of a new decade in my life -- I can officially drop the term "teenager" now. And what should start the day but a beautiful breakfast, made for me by my wonderful sister:





Whole wheat pancakes and hot tea -- what could be better? I had been somewhat sad that I would spend most of the day alone, but my family's birthday greetings certainly brightened my day. Lovely white carnations -- a gift from a friend -- are now doing their best to brighten the kitchen in a vintage milk jug:




The Lord has been so gracious to me in these past nineteen years, and I look forward to where He will lead me in the years to come!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Further Up, and Further In!


Have a mentioned that I now love the Pacific Northwest? The haze of the marine layer clings to the shore, shrouding rocks and trees in mist. From the spicy scent of Eucalyptus to the rocky shores and breakers, I think I loved every inch of our journey along the coast. Our "chauffeur" handled the crazy curving roads along the coast with expertise (I think he's watched too much of Jeff Gordon...).

 




 
After our bare, sandy Florida shores, it was refreshing to see craggy rocks jutting into the water, topped with evergreens. As we drove north of San Francisco, we entered "Redwood Country." A spontaneous decision to follow signs to a "Drive-thru tree" led us to the Chandelier Tree:

 



Our rental car looked delightfully vintage coming through the tree!













Our wonderful chauffeur, relaxing on a redwood bench:










Heading north toward Oregon, we came across the little Victorian town of Ferndale, California. What a quaint, delightful town! The town was overrun with historic homes, but this cottage was my personal favorite:





This was certainly the smallest house we saw in town! We're still not quite sure of its purpose, unless it is a children's play house:




As we neared the Oregon border, we drove through Redwood National Forest. Forests are certainly my favorite places on earth, and this forest ranks near the top of my list. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting a golden light on the forest floor. Enormous redwood trunks reached skyward, their tops lost to sight in the foliage above. We twisted our way through the forest, delighting in every new turn of the road.

 




Seattle was our next destination. To our delight, we had beautiful, sunny weather during our stay there. Who would have ever thought that the sun could shine so brightly in Seattle?

 






We took the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle, a beautiful 1-hour way to get to the city. It was certainly "A Fare to Remember"




(Sorry, couldn't resist!) We stayed in the historic section of town since we were limited to walking, with a brief jaunt into Chinatown for lunch. One of our favorite places was the Pike Street Market -- a queer several-storied building that houses all sorts of shops. Book shops, variety shops, antique shops, Egyptian shops (no joke!) -- anything seemed at home there! The upper story was a sort of open-air market, lined with flowers and produce.


 


As we headed into the historic district, I saw a sign that said "Lark in the Morning." I could scarcely believe it! A friend had given me a catalog several years ago, and I had enjoyed browsing through pages of the most unique instruments I had ever seen. We simply had to stop by, and to my delight they had a hurdy-gurdy on display! Besides being a fascinating instrument, the name is positively delightful! The historic district was lovely -- the architecture was wonderful, and there were trees on every street.


 




I should love to visit Seattle again, if I ever have the chance! It's too liberal for me to want to do more than visit, but all the same, it's a lovely city. Sorry for all the pictures! These posts must take forever to load, but I really have tried to whittle it down. Really... *wink*