ALRIGHT, I have a few minutes so I thought I’d throw together some of my favorite photos from the 2009 road trip we had in Northern California. Now, I’ve revisited in 2016 and it’s still (or more) magical and again in 2017 with the same feelings. Enjoy some sun streaming through some big, green trees! Happy Friday, Happy Forest Friday, and just Happy Day. Find the joy, find the forest, and have a good one.
#ForestFriday - Urban Oasis
I spend a lot of time in the city. I live in the center of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and it can take hours to get through it all to escape as the sprawl is out of control. When I’m at home, I try to find little parks that have trees and a nice path to take the dog for a walk. Here are some photos of the paved paths at River Legacy Park in Arlington, Texas. This park has miles and miles of paved paths connecting multiple areas throughout the city. There are always shaded paths to seek refuge in the summer and little openings to find the sun in the winter. Enjoy a few photos of the places I am fortunate enough to have found!
#ForestFriday - Weekend Recap
Are you sick of hearing about Minnesota? Last week I shared photos from the 2018 trip, including some snowy trees, but honestly do snow covered trees ever get old? (maybe to some, but not to me) This will be the last post about it, for a little while anyway…maybe, I can’t make any promises. Enjoy some snow covered trees from my weekend in Minnesota. (Read about the “hike” here)
#ForestFriday - Snowy & Cold
When you read this post, I’ll be on my way to a cabin off the grid… the one I wrote about on Wednesday. Anyway, I wanted to share some snowy forest photos from the past few times I visited in the winter so you have an idea of what it’s like where I’m at. The forecast is zero or below and lots of snow and clouds, so it’ll likely be less cherry than these, but it’ll be quiet and secluded as always. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
#ForestFriday - Ouachita National Forest (Oklahoma)
Back in September of 2017, I visited the Ouachita National Forest in southeastern Oklahoma. This is a gem that sit only a few hours away from me that I need to revisit this year, FOR SURE. Enjoy some photos fro my morning that day and may you find the forest today and everyday.
#ForestFriday - Lake Irene (RMNP)
This week I go back to Rocky Mountain National Park. I haven’t been there since 2014, and I really need to get back. This was a little spot called Lake Irene that was a quick walk from the main road. I hope you can find the forest, even if it’s just through this post! Enjoy and happy Forest Friday!
#ForestFriday - Dreaming of Northern Minnesota
I’ll be heading to Northern Minnesota in early February to brave the cold and snow to go off the grid for a few days. I’ve talked about it before, but my friend’s cabin is one of my favorite places in the whole world. The cabin is a short hike or paddle from the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness and surround by Natoinal Forest on the other side. It is peaceful, quiet, and the perfect retreat.
If you’ve followed me, you know the BWCAW is important to me but also an important part of Northern Minnesota. I support Save The Boundary Waters which is a nonprofit set up to promote the preservation of the Boundary Waters. If you want more information, would like to donate to the cause, want to find ways to get involved, and/or need a link to leave a public comment against mining in or near the Boundary Waters, click HERE.
From Save The Boundary Waters homepage - they said it better than I could.
“On December 20, the Trump Administration’s U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it will renew Chilean mining giant Antofagasta’s Twin Metals mining leases. This action is intended to avoid America’s bedrock environmental laws to allow dangerous sulfide-ore copper mining on public lands next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for the benefit of a foreign mining company.
The Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters is leading the effort to ensure permanent protection for the Boundary Waters Wilderness, America's most visited Wilderness and Minnesota's crown jewel, from proposed sulfide-ore copper mining. “
Here are some photos from a trip taken in September of 2015. I can’t wait to get up there and snowshoe down to the BWCAW and hide out from everything going on in the world for a few days. Please join me in supporting the efforts to protect this special place. Happy Friday and may you find the forest - even if it’s just through this post.
#ForestFriday - the magnificent Bristlecone Pines
When I first saw them in person, I was in love. When I read about them, and their resilience, I was inspired. Enjoy some photos of the majestic and tough bristlecone pine trees from 2017 visits to Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument.
#ForestFriday - Driving Through the Big Trees
I love the giant trees of Redwood National & State Parks. I seriously think of them on a weekly basis and always try to find a way to get back to them. I love standing under them, hiking with them, and driving very slowly through them. Enjoy a few photos of the drive along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. (Photos from August 2017)
#ForestFriday - Ocqueoc Falls
Enjoy some scenes from December 2015. Enjoy the forest, or at least some photos of one… The Ocqueoc River and falls are minutes from my childhood home. I know this is probably more river than forest, but I think it satisfies the tree quota!
#ForestFriday - Winter in Northern Michigan (2017)
In following the the theme for this week, I’m going to share some outdoor photos from our trip to Michigan for Christmas in 2017. Enjoy the winter wonderland! I hope you get a chance to sneak out to the forest soon! (Bonus, dogs included at no extra charge haha!)
#ForestFriday - New Mexico!
One of my favorite places to escape to on a quick weekend journey is the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. There are endless campgrounds and plenty of good views to go around. The trees are tall, the air is a little thinner, and the skies are GORGEOUS in any weather. I’m thankful to have such beautiful places within 9 hours of my house. I’ll drive all night to get to camp in the SFNF for an evening because it is just that wonderful. Where do you like to escape for the weekend?
Sunset in the Santa Fe National Forest
Bright morning hike in the Santa Fe National Forest
Rain on the horizon in the Santa Fe National Forest
#ForestFriday - Exit Glacier Trail
Kenai Fjords National Park is somewhere I’d like to revisit for a bit longer than we did. I loved hiking up to see the glacier, but I’d like to spend more time there and see even more. Beyond that, I remember the trail to the glacier and the little bit of forest it went through. There were creek crossings, glacier runoff creeks, and tons of greenery. Enjoy a couple of photos from the forest on the way to the glacier. Happy Forest Friday!
#ForestFriday - The North
Back in 2015 I visited my Dad’s property in Northern Michigan and took these photos. Enjoy a little escape to the snow covered woods behind my childhood home. I hope the winter ahead brings plenty of forest adventures!
#ForestFriday - Where the trees are skyscrapers and life is simpler
Today we go to the Northwestern part of this great land to a place called the Olympic Peninsula. These particular photos are from the trail to Pony Bridge from Graves Creek Campground. I recently did Hike 29 out there and, as usual, can’t stop thinking about going back. Enjoy the escape to the forest and have a great weekend if you can!
#ForestFriday - Up Close!
Here are some artsy fartsy photos I tried to take with the new iPhone. *shrug*
Photos taken in Northern, as in far north, Minnesota… near Canada and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I hope you can escape to the forest soon, even if just through these photos.
#ForestFriday - Mind on Minnesota
I’ll see you soon enough, Minnesota. Can’t wait to spend a couple of nights off the grid at the cabin. Looks like it’s going to be cold and rainy in weeks ahead, so enjoy I’ll enjoy the sunshine photos for now.
#ForestFriday - Wishing for snow!
Cooler weather has FINALLY arrived here in Texas and it has my brain thinking beyond fall and into winter. I also know, some places already have snow, and I’m jealous. Anyway, here are some photos from the forest in Northern Michigan around my grandparent’s house. Not quite the wild and free mountain forests, but the forests I grew up exploring! (November 2007)
#ForestFriday - TGIFF!
Thank goodness it’s Forest Friday!
The photo I’m sharing is from when I was working on location, during one of the recent weeks away from home. When doing my field work, I often find myself on these narrow back roads and it is one part of the job I do not mind at all. Take a minute to find something you love and focus on that today!
#ForestFriday - Kenai Lake
Today, in photos anyway, I’m heading back to Alaska to Kenai Lake. We camped here for one night last June on our family adventure around Alaska. Enjoy some photos and the escape back to the forest. I hope you get outside this weekend!
