Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover


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Haiku Moment: the path

here or there, the path

sometimes smooth, other times rough-

love keeps us on track

the path by Angie Quantrell

photo taken in Montreal, Quebec


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Sunday Inspiration

photo by Angie Quantrell

Bush Pioneer County Park, Bay Center, WA


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Haiku Moment: uncurl

summer arrives! what

lies beneath forest litter?

time to stretch, uncurl

nod heads, reach for sun;

fling out your arms and grow tall

shade shelter below

by Angie Quantrell

photo by Angie Quantrell

Lodge Lake trail, Snoqualmie Pass, Cascades


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Central Washington Hike: Umptanum Creek Falls

What a beautiful hike!

Whether spelled “Umptanum” or “Umtanum,” it was gorgeous! Here is the view from the bottom of Umptanum Creek Falls. The clamber down was pretty slicky-slidey in dirt, but worth the effort. The crawl back up was even more tenuous! I noticed someone had tied a rope between two points on the south climb back up around. We didn’t use it, but look for it if you choose that way to get back to the top of the falls (the way back to the car park).

Proof of the “Umptanum” spelling. No potties here, friends, so plan ahead.

Evidence of a previous fire lines both sides of the trail. I found the stark black a beautiful counterpoint to the spring greens and gray bark.

Umptanum Creek is such a pretty, quiet little stream!

From the bottom of the falls. We had a wet, drizzly day (perfect to my way of thinking), so it was pretty chilly sitting at the bottom while we enjoyed the view.

This is the view from the top of the falls. The wildflowers were out in abundance! Gorgeous!

Pretty scenery along the way. We didn’t encounter very many people on the way to the falls, but the crowd was picking up on our way back.

Just starting to bloom!

Also…DUH dum…this looks like stinging nettles. There were huge sections of this plant lining parts of the trail. Just a heads up. I double-checked my photo with online sources and they look the same to me. We hiked with poles, so it was easy to push back plants as we walked through.

Honey? I want this in my back yard!

The hardest parts of this trails were: 1. getting there (pretty, but long drive from Yakima on a dirt road); 2. getting back up the steep hillsides from the bottom of the falls; and 3. no potties.

You can read more about this hike at Washington Trails Association.


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Sunday Inspiration

Photo by Angie Quantrell

Umtanum Creek Falls, Central Washington


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Sunday Inspiration

Photo by Angie Quantrell

The Butchart Gardens, Brentwood Bay (near Victoria), BC


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Haiku Moment: in pink

had my colors done

i’m a spring, bring on flowers;

lookin’ good in pink

in pink by Angie Quantrell

photo by Angie Quantrell, Yakima Valley


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Haiku Moment: snow hats

spring began, stuttered

winter rushed back, hanging on

dumped a cold white gift

my hat! it’s heavy

my neck bends low, ground view

where did the sun go?

we wait, hope for warmth

wrap our coat-leaves tight, shiver

dreaming of sunbeams

snow hats by Angie Quantrell

photos by Angie Quantrell, Yakima Valley