After a wonderful week re-connecting with my cousin Gloria (and recuperating from minor surgery), I finally hit the road again this morning. I was glad I got to meet several of Gloria’s family while I was there. Staying an extra day meant that I got to meet her husband Dick and I’m glad I got to do that. I am going to miss Gloria. But we’ve made plans to get together in Arizona next March, so I’m looking forward to that, and it makes the goodbyes a little easier.
I drove through lots of ex-forests today. Lots of sick forests.
Even more fake forests. Somebody somewhere decided that the roads I’ve been on lately are scenic routes. It says so on the map, and in one of my guidebooks. What were they thinking? Did they think we wouldn’t notice that many of the forests were gone? That many of the trees are now just stumps? 
That many of the forests that remain are fake forests? You can tell they’re not real; either they are all made of the same tree, or they are growing too close together, or they are all the same height, or they are artificially thinned. The comforting chaos of nature was missing. I drove into a national forest and thought it would change – but I still saw the stumps of huge trees long chopped off and ex-forests (usually an attempt is made to hide them, but they’re not always successful). I drove onto tribal lands and thought it would change, but I still saw the stumps of huge trees long chopped off, and ex-forests, and sick forests. I began to wonder if there are any old-growth forests left.
This is logging country. It’s been the backbone of the economy for years here, and no one apologizes for that. It’s a tradition of which they’re proud. If they didn’t log the daylights out of the forests here, you wouldn’t have lumber of all kinds and sizes available in your local hardware store in your town, wherever you are. But how can they not mind it, when they look up into the used-to-be-forested hills across their land, and see stumps instead?
How can it not hurt their heart? The idea seems to be that they will just re-plant the forests, then re-harvest them when they’re ready, then re-plant them again, in a continuing cycle. That is such a depressing thought to me. Well, I’m glad I don’t buy newspapers anymore. Or magazines. And that I re-cyle. And send e-cards instead of paper ones. And I only buy used books, and even plan to convert to a Kindle one of these days….It makes me feel less guilty as I drive through this chainsaw-blasted country.
On the other hand, Olympic National Park is a treat. I stopped at Lake Quenault and took in the amazing views. I spent the night on the coast last night, at Kalaloch (“clay-lock”) Campground. It’s right next to the beach, and many of us brought our lawn chairs over and watched the sun turn the ocean to liquid gold. Lovely spot. Lovely show. Lovely ending to the day.
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