(Washington, that is.) I can totally see why the Greek gods chose to live in the highest mountains – the stark majesty of these places are just incredible. We have seen things of such a tremendous scale over the past few days on our journeys through Olympic National Park. We went up to the top of Hurricane Ridge and viewed the panorama of the mountain range from the top of the ridge. These mountains are ONLY 55 million years old, much younger than, say, the Rockies at 500 million years. The scope of time that this landscape suggests is just mind boggling.

The Hoh rainforest was another incredible place – magical ferns cover virtually everything, including the ancient spruces and cedars that are over 200 feet tall and some over 500 years old. The principle of death and regeneration is so obvious here – old trees die and fall to the ground where they often provide sustenance for new trees which actually grow out of the old log. The trees to the right have grown out of this kind of “nurse log” as it’s called, and four huge spruce trees have sprung from one fallen log. It’s really amazing and gives you a glimpse into the wonder and magic of the process of life.

We couldn’t believe our luck when driving down the main road in the rainforest we saw a herd of the Roosevelt Elk that make the Olympic Penninsula their home. We have our own herd of deer that make a home near Rich’s garden so we aren’t easily impressed, but these majestic elk were so regal and unafraid of humans. Although they aren’t tame (you can’t pet them), they’re not spooked by cars and the big male elk of the herd posed for about 20 minutes for the crowd of shutterbugs that gathered.

JM and I have been having a small discussion in the comments section and I have to post here her beautiful statement with respect to the optimism that Pluto in Sagittarius teaches: “The optimism isn’t based on events turning out well. It’s based on trust in the fact that it’s right the way it is.” Being a witness to nature’s majesty and its timeless process, my faith and trust has reached a new point of wonder.