the snake won

we stopped in big sur for some hiking and spent the night in a cabin. it was beautiful, obviously, but after all that washington green it felt noticeably drier—sunny, dusty, and a little more determined to scratch you.

then i almost stepped on a snake.

not saw a snake from a pleasant, educational distance. almost put my foot on a snake. i could not anymore after that. my hiking career was over for the day.

so we retired to the cabin with a bottle of wine and pizza and watched our stories on the ipad. nature had made its point; indoor entertainment restored order.

hey you guys

cannon beach is already one of my favorite places. haystack rock, the endless stretch of sand, the ocean mist—every direction looked a little unreal.

the goonies connection made the whole place feel even more cinematic, but honestly cannon beach did not need the help. i could not get over how beautiful it was as the sun started to drop. scott and i just strolled along the water and admired everything, which was exactly the right amount of agenda.

we finished the evening with expensive mexican food for dinner and puffin wine at the wine shack. a slightly extravagant ending to a very good beach day. no treasure map required.

please take my money

i am already completely enamored with how green washington is, but the hoh rainforest in olympic national park is green on an entirely different scale. green underfoot, green overhead, green hanging from every branch. truly stunning. loved, loved, loved it.

every turn looked like the forest had been left alone to invent another kind of green.

we went on the fourth of july, when admission was free. a bargain, technically. the two-hour line of cars was less of a bargain.

i do not recommend visiting on a holiday. national park service: please take my money. whatever it costs to never spend two hours waiting to enter a rainforest again.