Dora Liu

I have a goal to visit all 63 US National Parks. I recently visited my 29th at Olympic National Park. The Park encompasses areas down at the beach all the way up to 7980 feet Mount Olympus where a number of glaciers reside.

The glaciers were visible along the Hurricane Ridge trails and view points now but they are melting.  A number of artists created art work dedicated to different glaciers in a project called Terminus. Their work will last even after the glacier is gone. The glacier will be remembered in each poem, painting, sculpture, and the many other creative art works that captured the essence of the glacier. My favorite was the embroidery of Geri-Freki Glacier by Kait Evensen. My hobby when I was younger was needlework so I was drawn to her piece. I liked how Kait captured what the glacier looks like and the colorful sky and landscape from the setting sun.

In addition to glaciers, Olympic National Park preserves the Hoh Rain Forest. Trees in forests are usually scattered about in a grove. However a few trees were standing one next to the other in a straight row like you would see on a farm. Who planted these trees? It was all the work of nature. The seedlings landed on a fallen log and thrived. The trees grew along the length of the log which is long gone. The result was a perfectly straight row of trees. 

The rainforest was nice and damp so the banana slugs slithered out in plain view. Other animal sightings included a deer that hoped for handouts at the Hurricane Ridge parking lot. A rabbit took a break from snacking in the shrub to watch me hike pass. I shared the hiking trail with an almond scented caterpillar. I didn’t try to confirm its namesake odor.

I got to see glaciers before they melt away, a tree phenomenon, and had a few wildlife sightings on my 29th National Park. I need to start planning for the big 3-0.