PNW

I am falling love. I am falling in love... with the PNW. If you have never been to the Pacific North West (PNW) I can NOT recommend it enough. It is STUNNING up here! The trees, the mountains, the water, the parks, the drives, the animals... it's truly beautiful.

But let me catch you up... short version style.

Last we talked, I was heading to Glacier NP. There were many inches of snow on the ground that day and it continued to snow through the night. When I got to Glacier, there was only one road open for about 7 miles and most of the hikes were closed. So I took a short drive and after seeing someone else in a ditch, decided I had enough adventure of driving in the snow and headed out. I drove around Whitefish Lake and then headed to Polson, MT where I was lucky enough to catch up with an old friend whom I quite literally haven't seen in 20 years.

Leaving Polson the next morning, I drove through the National Bison Range - which was quite honestly a let down after so many up close and personal Bison run-ins leading to this day - and then kept on trucking through that little blip of Idaho and in to Washington State. I was struck by how plains and prairie Eastern Washington felt, but the closer I got to North Cascades NP, the more it felt like the Washington I had always pictured!

The drive through North Cascades was incredible. Snow capped mountains and evergreens. Rivers running through. Absolutely beautiful. It was raining that day and I didn't feel like much of a hike, so off I went north to Semiahmoo.

It was my birthday this week. My 40th Birthday. I have now completed 40 years of this life. It doesn't feel like it. I don't feel that removed from high school. I don't feel "old" or "middle aged". I remember when my parents turned 40 and I thought it was SO OLD. Age is nothing but a number and I feel happier and mentally healthier than I certainly did at 30. So... here's to the next decade.

For my birthday, I treated myself to a stay at the Semiahmoo Resort and Spa. It was amazing. I got there around 4:30 and when I checked in they gave me a treat bag (part of a package but also because of my birthday) AND told me that they have a movie theater you can SIGN OUT and watch movies on a big screen. You bet your bippy I signed that thing out THAT NIGHT and after hours of scanning the 10 1/2 page spreadsheet of movies and narrowing it down to 5, I went with my gut instinct and watched one of my all time faves, Sleepless in Seattle. How fitting. Before the movie, I treated myself to a nice dinner - steak, au gratin blue cheese potatoes, veggies and a signature cocktail off their themed Marvel menu called the Steve Rogers. What could be more perfect? OH! I know! Sitting in a 50 seat movie theater BY MYSELF watching one of my favorite movies in the peace and quiet of it all.

My actual day of birth was the next day to which I got some work done in the morning and then had a massage. They treated me to free champagne after. Why yes I will accept that gift, thank you very much! And of course, I booked out the movie theater again for a matinee and this time watched The Greatest Showman. It's just so good. You laugh, you cry, you sing - all the feels and no one cared that I sang out loud and wept audibly. The night ended with a movie night date with some friends watching Beetlejuice - virtually of course. It was a great day!

After those two glorious nights of pampering, I drove down to Seattle where my friend Nadia generously offered her guest room to me while I trounced around the state. We had a Seattle day together - a walk through and lunch at Pike Place, up the Space Needle and through the Chihuly Glass Museum. I saw a troll under a bridge and some beautiful parks and views!

And then I headed west to what is known as the Olympic Peninsula. I took a ferry - a real one - one that fits many cars and many humans - and was the first car in line so I had the most amazing views the whole trip. The ferry took me to Bainbridge Island which I drove through on the way up to Port Angeles where one of the main entrances to Olympic NP sits. The Ranger there told me that particular scenic drive was closed but suggested continuing west to Lake Crescent and hiking the Marymere Falls trail - so I did. It was so beautiful. And then I took the Whale Trail drive up along the northern most coast to Neah Bay and Cape Flattery... which were closed. Because they are on the tribal lands of the Makah. Around I turned and headed down to Forks.

For those of you that recognize these names from a semi-well known book series - yes, I took myself on a mini Twilight Tour. I am not ashamed of this. The book store in Port Angeles isn't real. Forks itself has made some good tourist moves off the movies for sure, but there isn't actually a lot to see there, and La Push was also closed as it is for real on the Quiletue Reservation. Also, for some unknown reason every single hotel room in and around Forks was booked, so I found a campground between Forks and the Hoh Rainforest and camped for the night. It wasn't actually as cold as they called for it to be, so that was nice :)

I was up early that next morning and headed into the Rainforest - my first, ever Rainforest. On the road in to the park, three Elk were hanging out on the edges. They scattered as soon as they saw the car so I sadly didn't get any pictures :( The rainforest was amazing. I hiked the Hall of Mosses and the Spruce Nature Trail. It takes you along the Hoh River - absolutely incredible. And I made a new friend. A little black bear hiking along the trail. It stopped by a tree and looked at me before deciding to go on the other side of said tree where I couldn't see it. Do I go? Do I wait? I waited to see if it would come back around front and it poked it's head out the other side where it was deciding whether to climb the tree. It decided not to and meandered over a fallen tree behind it, scouted around, and scampered off into the woods. Amazing.

It would be hard to beat that moment, so I decided not to go to the Quinault Rainforest on the way back to Seattle. I drove through Olympia and Tacoma and stopped for another movie moment at the high school where 10 Things I Hate About You was filmed. It's gorgeous! AND I cheated. For the first time since I left Dallas, I drove on an interstate. I know, I know! How could I?! Honestly, I was tired. And to take the non-interstate way would add almost 2 hours to the trip back to Seattle and I just wanted to be there. So, there ya go. Confessed.

Today I took a "day off". Slept in, did some work. We did go to the University of Washington Campus and to Gas Works Park. It's a beautiful day here in Seattle. Otherwise, I've been at Nadia's working and pondering life's big questions: Am I returning to New York? Am I buying a van and living that #vanlife? What am I doing to contribute to society? How am I making this world a better place?

All things I'll think about as I move on to Mt Rainier tomorrow and then down to Oregon.

IMAGE: view from car of North Cascades National Park main scenic drive with snowy mountains and evergreens