Category Nature
Hiking and grilling and 75 degrees
This past week has been the best week of weather we’ve had all year so far. Day after day of clear sun—and sun in the Pacific Northwest is hard to beat. On Thursday and Friday I worked most of the day on my roof deck. Today we went on a hike to Bridal Veil Falls […]
One last weekend, and now back to work
Yesterday was Easter Sunday, the second day of General Conference, and the last day of my three-week vacation. With a heavily overcast, steel-grey sky and an aggressive case of the Sunday Scaries that kept threatening to take over, I struggled to appreciate the time that I’ve had and the fact that so much is good […]
Exploring the north coast
Let’s see, we had done the western beaches, the southern coast, and the eastern volcanoes—time to explore the north coast! The weather was overcast and chilly, so we didn’t even bother looking for beaches; instead we wanted to take in the lush jungly terrain, the famous waterfalls, and explore the town of Hilo. We didn’t […]
Then we watched the sun set
We stayed in the west side of the island, which made for perfect sunset-watching. We just walked down to the edge of the golf course next to the Hilton and enjoyed the colours and breeze at the end of the day. And we weren’t the only ones. Slowly a number of other families and couples […]
History and sea turtles and long talks on a rocky beach
After our beach day we drove south along the western coast of the big island to see what we could see. We started at the bottom at a site that was a sacred site where Hawaiians who broke one of the many strict cultural taboos could seek refuge in order to avoid dire consequences. The […]
Petroglyphs and sea arch!
Within Volcanoes National Park there’s a road that leads down from the craters to the water’s edge, where the lava cliffs and ocean waves make for a dramatic coastline. Along the way there’s an understated stopping point with a trailhead to the middle of nowhere. This particular bit of nowhere happens to be a stretch […]
Plants!
The big island seems to alternate between vast swaths of barren lava sheets, lush jungle, and scrubby desert hillside. Seeing how the micro climates change from one place to another has been fascinating, and one of my favourite aspects of the trip has been discovering the range of plants that characterise each one. My absolute […]
Volcanoes!
We dedicated a whole day to visiting Volcanoes National Park. It’s in the opposite side of the island and kind of a schlep to get to, but it wouldn’t have done to have missed it. The forecast predicted rain, but very little of it fell while we were outside the car. And while there was […]
Hawaii! — let’s start with beaches…
I cannot tell you how good it feels to get out of the house, Seattle, the daily routine—and instead enjoy sun, warmth, and the joy of living in a big and beautiful world. And having Heather decide to join me at the last minute has made it even better. We flew in yesterday, separately, and […]
Hiking at Lake Cushman
Amy and I set aside this weekend for a hike in the Olympic Peninsula. After a long dark winter full of work and wet, we were both itching to get out into nature. And since the forecast predicted rain everywhere, we decided to lean into it and head for the rainforest. Our luck seemed dicey […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 