Green!

Six months in arid lands, and now I am once again home in Oregon.  At the moment, I am at the Delta campground, staying under old growth forest between the South Fork of the McKenzie River and the McKenzie River.  It has been raining for two days, and it will be another two days before the rain stops.  That's ok.

When photographers use darkroom techniques to intensify colors, either digitally or chemically, that is called saturation.  In this case, nature has saturated this area, and the intensity of the green is incredible.

First, right outside my door, ferns three feet tall border moss-covered wood.

Heading off on a short hike, I was impressed by the five foot diameter trees that are quite common here.

Streams are filtered by the forest, so the water runs clear.  Back east, after this much rain, most streams would be brown.

The trail continues, passing ferns and moss-draped giants.

So - which trail would YOU take?

I followed the nice, flat, wide trail on the right, but looking at the top surface of the fallen tree where the moss that should be there is not, I am sure that a lot of kids choose the long, cylindrical wooden platform provided by nature.