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Exploring Nature by Bicycle


A few hundred yards from our driveway is a 45-mile paved trail that winds its way along the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles to Port Townsend.  With today's partly sunny skies, it seemed the perfect day to explore nature along the path by bike. We usually take the path that heads west, where we are quickly immersed in a mile of forest before the terrain opens up to reveal a rocky shoreline.

As soon we reach the trail head, we walk the wooden planks of a trestle bridge that spans Morse Creek. The bridge affords views up and down the swollen creek, where snow melt and recent rain have caused the water to rush rapidly out to the Strait.  We stop a moment to enjoy the views.



Then we head into the woods.


Along our route, we notice that several small waterfalls trickle down the steep, saturated cliffs, which have been crumbling and sliding down into the sea.


Someone has come along and blazed the path back through the mud.


The forest has now opened up to the sea and the invigorating sea breeze cools us off.  The air feels wonderful and we breathe deeply, noticing how its fragrance intermingles sea and budding new life from the trees and plants, along with the scent of rich soil and decomposing seaweed.  It's the circle of life.


We come upon a path that is too tempting to ignore. Leaving our bikes behind for a bit, we walk down to explore the shore.



One of the waterfalls ends in this stream that tumbles into the Strait.



 The water is crystal clear.  We look for seashells and pretty rocks.


Seaweed is everywhere along this stretch of the shore. We walk carefully so as not to slip and fall.


Of course, my daughter digs underneath rocks and finds a black crab to pick up.


It's time to continue on...as we head back to our bikes, we notice this hole in a hillside. Perhaps a Hobbit hole?


We pedal on for a while, and soon there is another wooden bridge and a stream to view.



We notice there are flowers blooming everywhere. Along the way, I take photos of a few to look up later.   



One flower that I am hoping to look for and gather later in the year are wild roses, as I would like to gather rose hips. I've heard that they are high in Vitamin C and also can be used medicinally.

It's getting late and we need to head back now.  We turn around and make our way back along the familiar path.  As we go, we notice someone stacked rocks in multiple placed on the shore.



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