To stand in a forest is to stand in a moment in time. Feeling the moist air breathe through the trees, seeing mosses glinting with dew, hearing the soft song of a chickadee or the gentle chatter of a snowmelt stream. All these moments make up the life of every forest. Some forests are full of hundreds of years of these moments, each day a time capsule of butterflies and birdsong. Old growth forests are the most ancient. Groves of Sitka spruce, hemlock, Douglas fir, and red cedar…hundreds of years old. That timeless wisdom stretches along the Pacific Coast and holds inside it the greatest lessons in life…slow down, breathe, let your roots find their way down into the soil and stay a while. The time we have is rushing past in our attempt to direct life’s winding current. So stand in the forest, listen to the woods, and feel the years long past, beneath you and around you. Become the old growth and never forget to be a part of this world…
9/22/2023
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National Geographic Quest
Friday Harbor and Sucia Island
As we awoke for the last full day of our marvelous expedition together, we set eyes upon the striking lands that are the San Juan Islands. Pulling into the dock at Friday Harbor, located on the largest island, San Juan, we cleared customs smoothly and had a little bit of free time to explore the town. Bustling even at ten in the morning, small shops filled with aromatic coffee, fresh pastries, and sparkly crafts kept our attention until soon it was time to return to the ship once again. We set sail and weaved through the smaller islands. Harbor porpoises glinted in the waves, flirting with the ship and disappearing below. Our arrival at Sucia Island shortly after lunch yielded a remarkable playground for us to explore. The large, horseshoe shaped island with thin islets scattered about offers fascinating geology around every bend. Unique formations in the sandstone caused by algae eating away at the rock create beautiful honeycomb shapes along the shore. The aptly named Fossil Bay has hidden treasures of ammonites and hardened crabs for those with keen eyes and the patience to look. We strolled, hiked, and even kayaked in the flat, calm waters of the bay. We returned to our home one last time to celebrate our journey, including the friends we have made and the memories we won’t forget.