Bliss.

This weekend, I went of my first-ever backpacking trip. The verdict? It was amazing. We went to Ozette, which no one seems to be familiar with. You can read about it here. The whole notion that I was able to carry everything I needed to survive for 2-3 days on my back was exhilarating. Like most of the coastal hikes I've done, you follow a beautiful trail and then, boom, all of a sudden, you get a magnificent ocean view. There's no word for it other than breathtaking.

We didn't do a ton other than relax and explore. I got to show off my knowledge of tide pools, and I learned how to make a fire without using any paper. The weather was perfect, it was clear, sunny and warm until the sun went down. The last night, a fog rolled in, but it was a deep, peaceful fog that only the ocean could provide. We saw petroglyphs, deer, frogs, sea lions, whales, bugs, raccoons, chipmunks, ducks, minnows, anemones, crabs--you name it. (Except bears. Phew!)

The beach had been overtaken by kelp, which I really believe is, at this point, a weed. This posed some challenges when it came to walking along the beach, but it was minor. I wasn't about to let anything spoil this trip. The sea lions, who seemed to have their own island, were constantly making noise. Arf, arf, arf, arf every minute of every day. What could they be talking about? We figured gossip. But they were loud! At a certain point, they became white noise, and now I almost kind of miss them... kind of. Since it was Labor Day weekend, there were a lot more people than normal... specifically a lot more children. They're cute at first, but the yelling in the morning? Not so adorable. Small price to pay; they too were soon drowned out by bliss.

It was exactly what I needed, and we couldn't have picked a better location or asked for better weather. I could have sworn I saved pictures on this server, but I guess not. Those will have to come later!