THE HOLIDAY ELVES KEEP PULLING ME BACK TO LEWIS RIVER FOR ONE LAST ADVENTURE: THE FINALE OF THE WASHINGTON SAGA….

You’re obsessed, Meg. Get over it and move on. But first, let me groove one more time on those splendid waterfalls that were around every bend as we climbed along the Lewis River in Washington last August.

I know I sound like a broken record, but truth to tell, Jon and I spent three days and nights at the most beautiful campsite of all time beside the Lewis River. We walked in a thick forest with sun streaming through, making the foliage seem almost artificially green. We overlooked the river, sometimes pale emerald and sometimes deep aqua, with cliffs of red soil, moss, and rocks rising from a shoreline of narrow pebbled beaches.

Campsite

The river below our campsite

I photographed the waterfalls from every angle, and stood down below, bathed in the spray and enveloped in its pervasive roar.

Nature can sure make you feel small!

Delicate beauty popping up everywhere

Tiatnapum Falls

Goodbye to the waterfalls

Lunch on the shore

The weary hikers

Before I left Washington I spent a few days with my daughter, Cary, on Whidbey Island, working in the Good Cheer and the Chinook Gardens and meeting with old friends at a final potluck supper. Just like the good old days. How I love the community at Talking Circle in Langley!

Now it’s on to 2012 and the surprises and possibilities lurking just around the corner.