Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Happy Bench Monday

(+7 insets) The Beverly Beach Trail…the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly When I read about this park, there were remarks that the trail which makes a loop around the park is hugely popular--too popular in fact--for people hoping for peace and serenity. I wondered about that and discovered that the proclamation was both true and false. An early morning walk met with no others and I shared the forest with twittering birds and lovely light. As the day went on, however, the number of people I encountered went up dramatically. Weekends were a high point for sure. Unleashed in this safe haven, children ran amok without supervision, screaming and yelling, breaking off branches--and even toppling a young tree in fact!--destroying and trampling plants, and leaving destruction visible everywhere. The park rangers and hosts would come through and clean up the mess on Monday and I did my part too. However, even though there was damage on occasion and far too many people (and their dogs) in the middle of the day, I was able to avoid the majority of the inundation. I was happy that people could enjoy such beauty and hoped that parents would guide their kids towards respecting nature instead of destroying it. I was happy that very little lasting damage occurred and that this amazing place could bring such joy to so many people! Today's Picture The trail leading down the edge of Spencer Creek breaks away here and there to meander through the forest. I discovered this moss and lichen-encrusted bench next to a magnificent tree and enjoyed appreciating this pair every day when I walked by. I imagined couples and kids sitting there through the years and it brought a smile to my face picturing the many stories that could be told from this lovely spot. Today's Insets Inset #1: This is a view of Spencer Creek where it meets the ocean on a very dramatic, cloud-filled morning on Beverly Beach. Inset #2: There was ivy crawling up trees in many places, a subject I have a hard time resisting! This perfect grouping of fresh new leaves made a nice basis for a fun, filtered image. Inset #3: Breathtaking Spencer Creek, adorned with greenery and lovely reflections. The park's main trail led up one side of the creek, over a foot bridge and down the other side and took walkers to the beach trail and was the emerald jewel of the park! Inset #4: A remarkable feature of Beverly Beach was its marvelous trees with cage-like roots that rose up and made wonderful caves that kids loved to play in. Here is my silly husband looking like a crazy person, peeking out from one of the tree's roots. (These trees begin by establishing themselves on a stump. Over the years the stump disintegrates and leaves the roots seemingly growing out of the ground in a cage-like appearance.) Inset #5: Fascinating detail of the unusual horsehair fern, a favorite plant of mine. It always makes me pause in wonder to think about the age of this living fossil. It is the remaining species of its genus and has survived for over 100 million years! It, along with many additional species at that time once dominated the understory of late Paleozoic forests. Remarkable! Inset #6: A vertical panorama which shows the lush forest encroaching on the footpath along Spencer Creek Inset #7: The other day I posted a picture showing a close-up of these beautiful leaves. Here they are again in their entirety, along with forest bokeh to set them off. Thanks for Your Visit! I hope all of you have a wonderful new week! Please stay safe! Explored on 2/7/22; highest placement #2.

(+5 insets) Eek! I almost forgot about HBM! I'll make this quick! Today's Picture On the wonderful trail around the edge of Woahink Lake, which leads to the magical forest loop, is a fantastic memorial bench and the plaque that tells all about the couple who the bench is dedicated to. I sat on that bench many times and enjoyed the view through the trees and out onto the water. (By the way, if you click on the link "View on map", on the right side of this page, you can see exactly where this picture was taken, and shows the trail too! :) Zooming out shows the park as well!) Today's Insets Inset #1: This is the plaque centered on the bench backrest and I reread it many times because it was so touching. Inset #2-5: Honeyman's campground was vast in size and fun to walk through to and from my daily hike. One day I walked past one site and saw a wonderful chalk drawing of Winnie the Pooh adorning the cement in front of the RV. As it happened, a very friendly fellow stepped out of his RV as I was admiring the artwork and I asked if he'd drawn it. "Yes!" he said, and we then had a great conversation about art and camping and life that was really cool and interesting. What a nice guy. Later, Steve came back from walking Pumpkin around in her pocket front-pack and told me about Michael, who turned out to be the same guy I'd met! They'd chatted for 20 minutes about all sorts of things and both Steve and I were so happy to make his acquaintance. The next day I walked by and there was another drawing, this time of Piglet! With Michael this time was his darling daughter, who was cute as a button! It was very nice to meet her and later I also waved at Michael's wife. I learned they were just driving from one campground to the next, enjoying life and having a fantastic, nomadic existence. How cool is that?! :) Over the next few days there were more drawings, of Wise Owl and a beautiful mandala too! What fun it was to appreciate such pretty drawings every day! :) Thank you so much! I cannot tell you how nice it is that you are all visiting and giving me your comments, stars and support. I'm still wrestling with a lot of anxiety but starting to get a handle on it. I'm hoping I'll be able to be my usual vociferous self with my comments soon! Until then, I appreciate you all very much and miss my visits with you! Please take care!! Explored on 1/18/22; highest placement #5.

(+6 insets) (Please scroll down to "Today's Image" for photo info) Notes From the Road: Exciting Times are Afoot! We Got Our First Vaccine Shot! The other morning Steve rushed into my room exclaiming, "I have some very important news!!" Holding his phone in front of me I read the headline: "Vaccine Now Available to All Oregon Residents Beginning April First." OMG! OMG OMG!! Steve and I immediately went to the registration site and were excited to learn that there was a vaccination event happening in three days, just an 8-minute's drive from Harris Beach State Park to Brookings! Furthermore, we were able to get appointments one after the other and in the late morning too. Huzzah! For the next couple of days we couldn't stop talking about our upcoming shots. Since vaccine research was first announced, I've kept tabs on developments but didn't fixate on them. Why work myself I into a lather every day? I watched the expanding distribution that began in December last year, and looked forward to the day we would finally qualify to get our first shots. In the end though, it was Steve who discovered we were eligible for our first shot! We arrived at the hospital early that day, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It was a good thing because the paperwork took a while but soon we were sent back to a clinic room. We pulled our sleeves up and before we knew it, Steve and I were the very happy recipients of the Moderna version of the vaccine--as luck would have it, that was our preferred type! As I sit typing, it's the day after and I'm happy to report that neither of us have had any side effects whatsoever. I don't consider tenderness at the shot site a side-effect since that's a given whenever I get shots. I didn't sleep on my left side because the muscle is sore but that's normal. Steve only feels tenderness if he touches the spot where the needle went in. We don't expect any ill effects and feel great. We wonder if being on a keto lifestyle might have anything to do with lack of issues, though we do know that we've been extraordinarily healthy since we began this low-carb lifestyle years ago. We have appointments to return in a month, which will mean a four-hour drive each way to get from the campground we'll be at. We'd like to find somewhere closer but if we can't manage, we'll happily make the drive. The drive down and back up the rugged Oregon coast would be lovely so it's not something we'll worry about either way. :) I hope that folks are getting their vaccines too. In the end, even vaccinated there is a possibility of infection so we'll always need to be careful but what a relief it will be to have such great protection. (This post was originally written about April 10, 2021) Today's Picture Steve and I had such a great time on our hike to Loeb State Park! The trail was just the type we like, with plenty of elevation gain and loss, interesting curves in the trail, lots of variation in areas we walked through, including a lovely canopy of deciduous forest and traveling next to a river and various streams. I also loved the plants and flowers along the way. It really was such a pretty walk! At one point we found this old bench, made from logs, overtaken by moss and rotting away into nothing. I couldn't resist capturing this old relic and though it's not the greatest picture, I love the uniqueness of this hand-hewn place to sit, where one can look out at the pretty forest beyond and think about the good fortune of being there. Today's Insets The first picture would be perfect for Happy Fence Friday and shows an awe-struck view up a mossy-covered, boulder-strewn stream with a footbridge at the top and trees above. Steve and I couldn't get enough of this amazing spot and this is also my favorite picture of today's group! Other insets include the following: Logs beset by moss and shelf fungus, accented by dappled sunshine Another little stream waterfall A stream bed filled with boulders and accented by interesting branches to enjoy A lovely Wood Sorrel blossom sitting in its sea of leaves--any wonder why this is also called "False Clover"?! :) A vertical panorama featuring a dappled trail and the wonderful habitat we walked through Thank You For Stopping By! I've always have a great time romping about to see what each of you is up to. Such a wonderful way to get a fabulous world tour that includes photography of every sort, and many interesting things to read and think about. Hope you all have a lovely week ahead! :) Explored on 11/15/21; highest placement #1.

(+7 insets!) Stop #3 of our 2020 Escaping Covid trip: Tugman State Park Leaving Bullard's Beach after a wonderful week of fun, relaxation and adventure, we headed north for a new campground destination. Tugman State Park would turn out to be so wonderful that it now sits on our list of favorite Oregon State Parks! Family Planning Not Quite According to Plan! Before we found out that campgrounds were open again, Steve's sister called to let us know that things had changed. She lives in California (about 700 miles south in the Los Angeles metropolitan area) and since we had an RV, she thought it was high time we got together for part of our trips. So she and Steve coordinated a spot where we could hang out and that turned out to be Tugman State Park! However, our desire to reserve a nice long stay proved to be impossible. We ended up reserving four nights, followed by a two-night stay at a "glorified parking lot" private RV park, and then seven more nights at Tugman. Not ideal but at least the private RV park was only 45 minutes away. Tugman State Park Located just to the side of the lovely and large Eel Lake, this campground features closely-connected loops that are nested within each other--something that I haven't found in other parks. The result is a fairly compact park that can be a bit confusing when trying to remember where your camping spot is. This campground has three unique and wonderful aspects: two trails which are just a walk from the campground, and of course, the lake itself. The shorter of the two trails is just 1.1 miles but don't let the length disappoint you--that wonderful trail will have me returning forever! It leads in and out of the forest and around the western shore--it's absolutely perfect to start each day with. I looked forward to every walk I went on and just thinking about it now makes me wish I were there! The trail terminates in benches that are perched on a spot that juts just a bit into the lake. Sitting there or standing out and looking at the twinkling lake, there are few places to match this tranquil beauty. The 6.1-mile hike along the eastern shore is outstanding and gorgeous, leading through the mixed conifer and deciduous forest and peeking out on the lake here and there with benches for anyone needing breaks. Finally, the lake itself is stunning and fantastic for canoeing or kayaking, or for those who'd like to try catching a fish. Today's Pictures I discovered that I've only posted a couple of pictures from our stay here so I'll be sharing pictures from our stay in this area for a few days! :) Today I'm featuring the perfect picture for Happy Bench Monday! Would you just LOOK at that crazy bench?! It sits at the end of the short trail I started every day with. As you can see from one of the insets, the view is wonderful! My insets show some of the beautiful things I saw on my walk and I'll be posting other pictures in the coming days to add to this. I hope that you are all doing well. At our house it's very cold, snowy, rainy, mucky and pretty miserable outside, but in the afternoons it's sometimes gorgeous and sunny! Crazy weather! Stay safe and thank you so much for all of your marvelous comments and stars--your visits mean so much to me! Explored on 2/9/29; highest placement #1.

(+21 insets) (Sorry so many, I wanted to get all of my scattered images together!) Revisiting a Lovely Park! The second stop on our "Escaping Covid" trip was Bullard's Beach State Park, a beautiful, sprawling campground that we visited for only a single day the year before because of Memorial Day…every campground was full! One of the insets has a picture with a link that tells of the fun we had in that day. However, needless to say, we were delighted to get a chance to spend a full week there this time around! It was so nice to relax and enjoy this pretty park in a much more relaxed manner. Bullard's Beach This coastal campground is nestled just inside the scrub and forest which begins where the sand and dunes end. The natural wind-break means the park isn't windy, which is very nice. The park has many campsites with a good distance between them too, and I really like the way this place feels. Laid out on mostly flat ground, all of the three campground loops are wonderful for strolling and bike riding too. There's also a path which leads a mile down to the beach which goes for miles in each direction. Unique features of this park include the wide Coquille River which empties out into the ocean nearby and the view of Bullard's Bridge, which is has two vertical-lift spans and is an impressive sight. Another difference: sandy hiking trails… *wince* Sandy "Trails of Tears" The day I decided to go on one of the Bullard's Beach "hiking trails" was when I discovered its least positive unique aspect. Unless one stays on cement paths, the deep, sandy paths are often a painfully slow and arduous "three steps forward and two steps back." I learned this the hard way. I decided one day to go on a trail which led for a few miles on a supposed loop path up and around an area just inland of Bullard's Beach. Stepping off the campground's cement path onto the sandy trail, I really should have just turned around right then and there. But I was determined! Plus, I'd never gone on a walk like this before. The terrain was interesting and different so I was optimistic. It couldn't be all sand…could it? Um…yes. Deep, loose, slippery sand the entire way. It didn't help that these trails were frequented by horseback riders, and that meant the trails weren't packed down at all. So, instead of my usual brisk pace, I was forced to plug along at a snail's crawl. Normally I would have been around that trail in perhaps a couple of hours. In the end, it took about three hours to the point that I gave up and turned around to retrace my steps. (see inset) What misery! It was pretty to see and I enjoyed the environment and views but the time it took for progress was ridiculous. I was so happy and relieved when I finally stepped back onto the cement path again! Today's Pictures The road down to the beach has a lovely paved path that parallels it with the Coquille River just across the way. Today's main image features a bench and tree which look out over the wide Coquille River. I finally have a nice image to include for Happy Bench Monday! :) Insets for Today's Presentation Walking down the path to the beach from the Bullard's Beach campground, I got a nice pano with not-so-great picture of the cool dual-span Bullard's Bridge and the fun shot of the path that includes a picnic table tucked away in a meadow past protective bushes. Picnic gazebo: I thought it was interesting to see one of the park's group party areas that was blocked off with yellow tape because of the corona virus. It made me stop and think about the way the world has changed--and continues to do so, because of the pandemic. One day Steve and I drove down to the road that goes along the beach and went to the light house for pictures. It was miserably windy and cold though so we didn't end up going on a beach stroll as we'd hoped. I got the light house, which is probably one of the least interesting I've ever seen, but I also noticed a fellow nearby who was "crabbing", or putting in crab traps. The Coquille River is deep enough that big ships use it to transport goods and I got a couple of nice pictures of a ship entering the river. The beach itself had some fun driftwood forts and interesting lean-tos that I took pictures of. As well, the morning that we left, I rode my bike down to the beach and got some pretty beach pictures, along with a few of the golden carpet of flowers that grew in the scrubby area between the beach and the campground. Next to last, I've included pictures of the "sandy trail of tears" walk that I went on, including a map that shows the trail and how far I got. Finally, I am also including links to the other Bullard's Beach posts I made in the past so this is a complete collection. Sorry for the vastness of this presentation, enjoy what you can! :) Thanks so much for all of your visits, comments and favorites! Be safe and have a fantastic week! Explored on 2/1/29; highest placement #5.