Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: HBM

(+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.

(+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.