Today was the last day of exploring new National Parks for us, tomorrow we head up to Canada to get the boys out of the country for the first time in their lives.  The National Park we visited today was North Cascades, and it was pretty awesome.

There was a lot less hiking than what we’re used to, but the views were spectacular.  At times it felt like we were in the Canadian Rockies near Yoho.  

The waterfalls were incredible, the mountains gorgeous, and the lakes an unbelievable shade of green from the glacial run off.  It was awesome!

So now we’ve checked off 22 of the 59 National Parks and I’m pumped to check off the remaining 37 over the next several years!

Thanks!!!

1. Glacier 
2. Yellowstone 
3. Grand Tetons 
4. Badlands
5. Death Valley
6. Arches
7. Canyonlands
8. Capitol Reef
9. Zion
10. Bryce Canyon
11. Dry Tortugas
12. Everglades
13. Volcanoes
14. Wind Cave
15. Rocky Mountain
16. Theodore Roosevelt
17. Joshua Tree
18. Channel Islands 
19. Pinnacles
20. Olympic
21. Mount Rainier
22. North Cascades

While hiking in mount Rainier National Park this morning we hiked through another grove of ancient trees.  As we wandered in wonder of these huge sentinels we came across several “nurse logs,” the once giant trees fallen by the elements that has begun to decompose and has become a place for new trees to grow.  They’re beautiful in a few different ways, mainly in the beauty of nature and in the beauty of giving of itself even at its end.

We’ve seen many examples of these trees on this trip, the one above is a perfect example.  As its last gift to the world it provides a source of nutrition and safety, it gives new trees a place to grow.  There’s something about seeing them that just seems right, and I smile as I see them.

A little while later we happened past a sign that was explaining the way that nurse trees work and then included a quote by Edwin Way Teale.  As I read it I couldn’t help but think of my dad…

“For a great tree death comes as a gradual transformation. Its vitality ebbs slowly. Even when life has abandoned it entirely it remains a majestic thing. On some hilltop a dead tree may dominate the landscape for miles around. Alone among living things it retains its character and dignity after death. Plans wither; animals disintegrates. But a dead tree may be as arresting, as filled with personality, in death as it is in life. Even in its final moments, when the massive trunk lies prone and it has moldering into a ridge covered with mosses and fungi, it arrives at a fitting and noble end. It enriches and refreshes the earth. And later, as part of other green and growing things, it rises again.”

My thoughts immediately went to the memory of Dad.  In the past weeks his personality and smile have dominated my landscape.  He’s retained his character and dignity after death and I’m more aware of it now than ever.  Even though he’s gone he’s continued to enrich so many lives.  Many of his friends and families have done things to put smiles on the faces of strangers, have helped others, and done things they normally may not have, inspired by Dad.  He’s now risen to heaven and continues to live in us forever.

Just as the nurse tree Dad continues to provide a source of growth and food for my soul.  He raised me, helped instill his values in me, provided me with safety, and has continued to help me grow even through his death.

Dad, I love you dude!  I’ve been thinking about you often on this trip, wondering if you’ve seen these places before, and smiling knowing that you’re seeing them with me now.  Talking with you has put a smile on my face, I know you’re smiling too!

Thanks!!!

One of the many reasons I love the dream of going to every national park is that there are so many unexpected surprises.  There’ve been many times in which I’ve gone to a park with either low expectations or having a pretty solid hunch of what my favorite part of the park will be.  Wind Cave was a perfect example of this for me.  I went in thinking it was a checkmark and was only excited to knock it off the list because we were already close.  What I found instead was a profoundly deep experience in hearing, as the ancient Americans described it, “the breath of the Earth.”  Today was another of those days for me.

On our first day at Olympic National Park I was so pumped when we saw Hurricane Ridge.  The beautiful line of several mountain peaks appearing seemingly out of nowhere was nothing short of spectacular.  When Dominic first saw them he immediately stated that this was his favorite national park.  The views were amazing and I was pretty sure that I’d seen what would be the best part of this park.  The next couple of days would just be because we’re already here…  which leads me to today…

As we were driving back from our morning hikes and lunch we stopped in the Sol Duc area to check out the hot springs (BUST – it was a freaking swimming pool!) and a falls (BEAUTIFUL!).  While there we were also going to check out this cool little grove of ancient trees, the “Ancient Grove.”  A short hike, I was expecting a nice little walk in the woods.  What I experienced was anything but that.

In this grove were ancient trees (surprising, never would’ve guessed that by the name, would you?).  The sign on our way in explained that some were over 750 years old.  Walking in I was expecting a thick and lush rain forest setting similar to Muir Woods, but instead it opened into a wide open expanse filled only with giant trees (350+ feet?), moss, and a few ferns.  It was wide open yet totally full and untouched.  As I stepped into the grove there was an overwhelming feeling of serenity. It was calm, no stress, no chaos, no sadness, no frustration…  just peace.  The breeze lightly blew through the woods and the sun came down in beams, broken up by the primeval giants.  Everything was right in the world, I was in heaven on Earth.  My heart was filled and all was good in my life.  To say it was amazing was an understatement.

I must’ve been acting a little off, Becky came up to me and asked if I was okay.  All I could mutter and explain was that I was feeling great, incredible, at peace.  It was tough to explain, but it was one of those moments in my life when everything just felt right.  Not just right, but “right.”  Closer to something bigger than myself than I had been in a long time, something that had called me there without me knowing it, something that just felt like home.  It felt right.

To say that I was surprised by how incredible this little grove was, just over a half mile hike, would be an understatement.  With Dad’s death so fresh in my heart this was the breath of calm I needed.  It brought me peace.  Earlier in the day I had been talking with Dad while I was hiking, telling him about how I was missing him, wishing he was here, and knowing that he was.  At one point as I stopped a gentle breeze blew across my face in what had been otherwise stagnant air…  I knew he was with me.  When I felt the peace of the Ancient Groves I didn’t even need to talk with him, I knew he was there.  And for that, I am so deeply grateful.

Thanks!!!

The Kreilings had an excellent time in Olympic National Park today, it was pretty much a standard Kreiling vacation day.  There was everything from seeing a new national park (to us) to seeing cool wildlife to learning / teaching life lessons to frustration to happiness to camera shenanigans to good food and a beer or two…  Everything was pretty much what we’d normally hope for in a Kreiling vacation day – including 8 miles or so of hiking 🙂

Thanks!!!

Last night Gavin decided to try something and then showed one of our young neighbors how much fun it was.  Gavin took a rock, climbed up on a swing set, and then proceeded to pound on a thin aluminum post cap for the other neighbor’s fence.  By the time he was done with it the cap was pretty much toast.

As you can expect, we were pretty ticked when we found out what he had done.  He apologized to one set of neighbors and then went over to the other neighbor’s house, without being asked, to apologize.  When he came home from the neighbor’s we asked what they said.  Gavin shared, “He said that he would be mad, but I was man enough to own up to what I had done and apologized in person so he wasn’t mad.”

When Gavin went to bed last night we talked about it some more, and he had tears running down his face until he fell asleep.  After taking time to think about what he had done he realized he made a huge mistake and felt bad for damaging something that wasn’t his.

This morning he and I got up early, headed out to Menards, picked up a couple of new post covers, talked with our neighbor, and had the new ones installed before 8am.

While I’m still frustrated that he did it in the first place, I was glad that he learned several valuable lessons from this.  First, think before acting and don’t do anything to damage other people’s things.  Second, when you make a mistake, own up to it right away and apologize in person.  Last, after the mistake has been made, take action ASAP to fix it.  I’m thankful for him learning these lessons on something like this that can be easily fixed.

Thanks!!!