Our first major activity of the trip was hiking in the Ohanapecosh area of Rainier National Park. It was incredibly beautiful, though also quite hot and very humid. I was so excited to see the vegetation in this area. We're gearing up for botany this next school year, and we had the opportunity to see plants and fungi that we simply don't see here in Utah.
Lots and lots of moss.
Not sure if these are mushrooms, but they were clearly some sort of fungi.
Lichens and moss.
Preston was an amazing little hiker. We hiked over four miles, and he probably walked at least three of those miles. The main times he fussed were when he wanted to keep throwing rocks in the water, and the rest of us wanted to actually make progress down the trail, so he had to be carried. He didn't like that.
Ferns--probably old hat to many people, but we don't have ferns in Utah. At least, I've never seen any.
Sariah and her cousin N.
Sariah and N crossing the swinging bridge. I was the only one who freaked out on this bridge. If you don't stay in the middle, or if there is too much weight, it sways. Only one person can cross at a time, and I was crossing with Preston and got the balance off. I screamed.
More cool mushrooms, lichens, and moss.
Dallin and E. crossing the bridge.
The Silver Falls area was the epitome of beauty.
Silver Falls again.
These are decaying logs covered with moss and vegetation. In Waldorf botany, Rudolph Steiner taught that trees are actually an extension of the earth. Wood is part of the earth, and the leaves are like tiny little plants growing out of that wood/earth. I thought these logs portrayed this beautifully. It was difficult to tell where the logs ended and the ground began, and at some point they will become completely one.
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