2021 is almost wrapping up, and I have a lot of pictures I haven’t edited or organized, and events I haven’t written about.

That’s okay!

I’ll do it someday… Or, never… It doesn’t really matter.

But it would be a tragedy if I didn’t write about my favorite hike of the year and one of the single most spectacular places I visited before 2021 ended.

So here goes.

Warning: a quadrillion images will ensue…

Christmas lights are pretty in part because of the colors, in part because of the garishness. The celebration.

What do you get when you take that color away?

When you leave them to shine in darkness?

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After visiting family for Thanksgiving, I returned to Seattle.

On my first weekend back in town, I got a cheap vacuum cleaner, and I cleaned my apartment. Then, I got a coronavirus booster shot, and collapsed into lethargy.

Since then, I’ve been bouncing around, seeing people and doing stuff, or alternatively, getting my blog closer to some semblance of updated or completed. Oh, heck, I also did some baking too.

I’ve also been very much enjoying some of the quieter pre-holiday workdays, and have been taking advantage of some flexibility in order to catch a bit of sunlight… and yes, some ducks.

This then is a hodgepodge of topics and events… and even then, I’m leaving out a solid half of my photographs.

I always come home for the holidays, except for when I don’t.

But, for Thanksgiving I was home. The fam and I paid a brief, windy visit to the Reading Pagoda.

What can I do sometimes, but venture out of city limits towards the most popular trail in one of the nearest natural parks?

In my defense, the weather forecast called for clear skies in a time when my soul expected only rain, and while I knew I wanted to get out, I also knew that I was not necessarily in the mood to go super far.

Like most trails in the area (I imagine), it’s mostly uphill in one direction, but the slope is gentler than, say, Dirty Harry’s peak. And, the elevation is lower too.

This meant that I got to spend more time in one of my favorite environments: the forest. And in particular, I think that forests in the Pacific Northwest are amongst the most beautiful places on the planet. The sheen of fog and gray skies juxtaposed with lush, lush moss clinging to downed trees, verdant fungus, and the infamous Douglas Firs are the things that dreamscapes are made of.

On the 6th of November, I finally got around to venturing out on a Washington-area hike for the first time this year. How would it compare to the Pennsylvania hikes I have become so accustomed to?

Well, to put it bluntly, the difference was steep. That is to say that I had a much higher elevation gain:mileage ratio on this trail, than I would have on the ones nearest my parents’ home.

But, wow, it was an enjoyable experience… Other than the rain and sleet, and so forth.

Indiana Dunes National Park isn’t just home to the titular dunes. It’s also home to wetlands which serve as a habitat for numerous local species.

One of these areas is the “Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk”. Quoth the official copy:

It’s an easy location to watch for migrating birds in the spring and summer […] Visitors can enjoy easy access to the lakefront and trails that highlight dune succession.

So, how could I not want to go?