As we continued our almost weekly camping trips in 1991, I know now that I was absorbing design ideas from nature. I would have gone to the beach every time, but the ocean was a long drive and Robert wanted to go places that were closer.
Paradise at Mt. Rainier
We went to Paradise at Mount Rainier and quite amazingly Beaky the Van chugged slowly up and down the mountain roads with no breakdowns.
Mt. Rainier
snow
flowers at Paradise
wildflower meadow at Paradise
There are boardwalks through the meadows to keep them from getting damaged.
a Capability Brown style landscape
How often have I tried to capture the look of a creek bed!
camping
On the way home, we had to stop at a wayside so that Robert could play his guitar for the daily hour. There we found a homeless camp, reminding us of our involvement in Operation Homestead in Seattle. Note the beautification attempt with a bouquet.
homeless camp
Nason Creek
As a child I had gone tent camping frequently with my parents, and Nason Creek was a favourite destination. Here I believe came the initial inspiration for what is now my bogsy woods: Water, with clumps of shrubs, and river rocks strewn about.
the rock
That huge rock was my favourite playing spot. It had a flat plateau spot hidden in the middle just perfect for a small child to climb to and sit in. It used to be part of the campground. Now it was in the middle of the stream due to flooding. Robert and I waded and swam to get to it.
my rock
I found periwinkles in the shallow water and they crawled on my hand just as when I was a child. Later, while Robert played his guitar, I walked in the woods across the river.
view of The Rock from the bluff across the river
trail ride
As a child, I had taken trail rides from a horse rental place at Lake Wenatchee. How well I remembered the hot piney scent of the woods.
I was shocked to come upon logging…
near the campground
….and condominiums and a golf course.
townhouses and golf
And I turned back to the wild area along the creek.
our campsite from across the river
Nason Creek
dry creekbed
At night, the river rocks tumbled together in the water making a clinking, rumbling sound all night long. Along the creek, smooth rocks driften in swales in a way that I have tried to replicate in landscapes ever since. I remembered how as a child I played with tiny round rocks where the gutter water came down from our roof, arranged them into miniature dry creekbed landscapes with rivulets of rainwater.
listening to the river rocks
our campsite
campsite
The old campground at Nason Creek was, the ranger told us, about to be repaved and modernized. I was so glad I got to see its old rustic self. I feared it would be modernized too much, but this video shows it is still quite simple.
the old Nason Creek Campground
Lake Wenatchee
horse rentals
As I had often done with my mother as a child (while my dad went fishing), Robert and I walked down the road about half a mile from the Nason Creek campground to Lake Wenatchee. There we passed the horse rental place that had obsessed me as a horse crazy city girl.
Lake Wenatchee
a boat with grasses
an island on Lake Wenatchee, one of my favourite photos
Even though I so preferred the ocean beach to the mountains, all the designs of nature that I saw along the way inspired me later when we began our gardening business.
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