It's not much of a trail, and it barely qualifies as a lake. Just a pool in the mountains. But it's a good place to go with a friend. To talk. And to think. And to stand by the water. #SoapstoneLake #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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A contrast of ferns #SoapstoneLake #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Both vans had to be left nearly a mile from the trail head because of a fallen tree and snow. We almost turned around. I'm glad we stayed #BlackButte #Sisters #DeschutesNationalForest #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Bright morning sun on a patch of water in the forest #SoapstoneLake #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I couldn't quite capture the entirety of this arch. I considered backing up one more step or maybe two. But I was a little bit afraid, and it was a long way down #NaturalArch #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I have friends who were married here, but I've never been inside. I just really like the windows #Albany #LinnCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Most of the trees here had been cut and replanted. I was curious about those that remained. There are always a few. #TillamookStateForest #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Is it possible to get tired of a place when every single last one feels like a miracle? #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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We were coming back through this meadow a second time when I first saw past the trees and noticed the snow #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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I don't usually drive her out into the forest - she's not that kind of car - but on this trip, I didn't have any other friends to take, and she was willing #NaturalArch #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I never know exactly what to say #TamanawasFalls #ColdSpringCreek #MtHoodNationalForest #HoodRiverCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Nature doesn't always color inside the lines, and I'm OK with that #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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There are so many ways to approach this water. None of them are wrong. #TamanawasFalls #ColdSpringCreek #MtHoodNationalForest #HoodRiverCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I've already posted too many photos from this spot along the water. I couldn't bear not to share all of them #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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Stand here with me. Don't say anything. The silence is fine. #BlackButte #Sisters #DeschutesNationalForest #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Leaves. Berries. The soft, early ice of a weekend in November #BlackButte #Sisters #DeschutesNationalForest #Oregon #OregonExplored

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It doesn't matter where I am or where I'm going - that light through the trees always reminds me of other places, earlier times, and home #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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While I waited (it seems you're always waiting for someone at the start of a new trail) I thought about where we were headed. So much to see in the world. #TamanawasFalls #ColdSpringCreek #MtHoodNationalForest #HoodRiverCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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From this distance that bridge seems like just a little thing. And also everything. #TamanawasFalls #ColdSpringCreek #MtHoodNationalForest #HoodRiverCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Two friends decided at the last possible moment that they couldn't climb to the top of the butte, so we stood here near the trailhead, talked about life and looked at the trees #BlackButte #Sisters #DeschutesNationalForest #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I laid on my back for the longest time, sitting up just long enough to remind myself that I'm here. I'm still here #NaturalArch #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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These trees - the way they stretch into the distance - gentle breath #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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Glaze ice was accumulating on the tumble of stones to the right of the falls, slowing our approach and giving us more time to think. More time to listen. #TamanawasFalls #ColdSpringCreek #MtHoodNationalForest #HoodRiverCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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A circle of trees seemed to be protecting this dry, dark-shadowed space from the wind #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I will go this way #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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Walking along a wooded trail, there is almost nothing more comforting, more cheerful, more bright, than the sound of water #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I try to touch each tree along the path, to not take them for granted #SaddleMountain #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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A place to wait and to listen #SpokaneFalls #Spokane #SpokaneCounty #Washington #WashingtonExplored

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There are so many horizons, and I may never get to see them all. There are some, though, that I will make time to see as many times as I can. #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Blue is the color of distance #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I sat in the center of this fallen log and waited for whatever might choose to appear in the clearing #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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It is not a conventionally attractive face, but it made me feel welcome #SaddleMountain #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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It is good from time to time to go to a place where you can see #PanoramaPoint #CoalCreek #Colorado

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That leaf and the red segment of branch and this small shoot; nature is good at saying more than one thing at a time #SaddleMountain #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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That light feels to me just a little like hope #SaddleMountain #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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Trees large and small always seem to be framing my attention #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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There is so much drama in the way gathering clouds affect the light #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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Every hike has small spots of color waiting for you to notice and to be delighted #4TTrail #Portland #MultnomahCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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The best way to feel the immensity of this rocky formation is to lie down, face up, beneath it. And wait there for a while. #NaturalArch #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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On most days, if not for trees, I might not take time to consider that moment's sky shapes #HoodRiver #HoodRiverCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I like the line of a path through the trees #SaddleMountain #ClatsopCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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The Oregon Coast can be both overwhelming and just exactly enough #NetartsBay #TillamookCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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That curve up ahead, pulling me, always, just a little bit farther #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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This mountain kept coming into view #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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I've hiked this trail alone and with friends nearly half a dozen times over the years since I moved back to Oregon. It feels like home #4TTrail #Portland #MultnomahCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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There are places I've been only once in my life, that I may never get to visit again, and that I do not want to forget #LongLakeTrail #BrainardLake #RooseveltNationalForest #Colorado

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This choppy blue water, a line of trees, that jumble of clouds on the horizon #PayetteLake #McCall #Idaho #IdahoExplored

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This Christmas tree farm along a gravel road on a rise out of town was where I decided to wait for the morning sun #Gates #MarionCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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I don't know the story here - why one tree has risked standing out in this way - or why it was left when others were taken #SantiamStateForest #CascadeMountains #Oregon #OregonExplored

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This is the last photo I have to share of this structure from my summer visit. But I plan to stop there again someday soon #Donald #MarionCounty #Oregon #OregonExplored

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