A Snohomish Christmas

The Sky Tram

Haven't you always wanted to fly among the tree tops? Kind of like Harry Potter? Well you can at the 'Trees of Mystery.' And you can take your dog!!!



The Brotherhood tree reminds us to keep our feet on the ground while letting the better parts of our soul fly.


Lewis is just not sure if he wants to fly.


Karen and Charlotte are happy riders....Lobo not so much.


Luna and I have done this before. It's always a favorite part of our trip.


Karen and Charlotte


Some of the view.


Coastal fog floats among the trees.


The Top.


Me and Luna


Mandy and Marianne


Mike and Lewis


Charlotte and Lobo


Pretty Eyes.


The ride down was not so traumatic for Lewis.


Away from the top of the mountain.


She already wants to go back.


Lewis is just happy for a grounded couch.


If you visit the Trees of Mystery, you can make that trail walk in a short time or take a few hours and do the trail and the Sky Ride. But don't just pass it up because Paul and the Ox are out in the parking lot talking and you think it's hokey. It's a great place. While there are Redwood trails everywhere in this area, many are not good for people that have issues walking. Additionally, NONE of the trails in the Redwood forest allow dogs on them. This is one of the few places that is easy, comfortable and dog friendly for everybody. Plus there is homemade ice cream and fudge in the gift shop when you're done. YUM!

On The Road Again

Are we there yet Mom?


We will lick you to death if you would just unhook us!!!


Ahhhhhh, the 'Trees of Mystery!' LOVE this place.

The Family Tree -- 12 trees in one.


And here is some of my family tree. Char and Marianne


Karen and Lobo


Mike & Karen with Luna, Lewis, Lobo and Mandy


Can't see the forest for the Uncia covered trees


Beautiful Trees


Big Trees


Fun People


Fast Walkers (Yea, right)


The Group On Tour


The Cathedral of Trees


Breathtaking


A Forest Temple





Luna and Me

Luna at Best Friend's Window

The Toltecs speak of using Death as your Advisor. I sometimes imagine Death standing behind my right shoulder whispering gently in my ear, “Don’t forget to pay attention to the small things as you move through this time and space as you will not take on this exact form or timeline again.” While in my very personal beliefs I walk somewhat parallel to Buddhist Traditions, I dress in very Pagan clothes. I try to be present to the delicate structure of a tree leaf and still know that its roots carve themselves unseen by my eyes into the dirt of Mother Earth. That the rain-mist falling on Luna’s back made itself from mountain tops and oceans foam while carrying the breaths of Savannah lions, the melting snows of Kilimanjaro and the stilled breath of Galileo.

Daily I spend only a few minutes reminding myself that the energy of living things constantly display themselves in ways so magnificent that they burn into my heart permeating my spirit-blood so that when I turn to dust someday it will travel with me as a part of my never dying energy. The human Kim and the Redwood tree, the roadway of moon diamonds across the ocean’s skin at midnight, my Mother’s scent, or the sound of the ocean kissing the ironwood shore. All separate and then sometimes together, in just one spot, to be together forever more.

Once connected, always connected. Pink sunrise on Taj marble burned into brain and heart cells. Starlight so thick across the rent of the Grand Canyon it allows for envisioning the rituals of the Ancients reflecting back the constellations in feather and footwork. The rising smell of horse sweat and wet leather mingled with desert sage and desert sun. A hanging drop of water at the tip of a cave Straw someday to become a standing stalagmite in the heart of the earth.

These knowings of this Earth Planet are but a few of the energy-makings of me. I am also blessed in the knowing of the humans that surround me. Good and fair of heart, brilliant of mind, full of humor and some good mischief of thought, the people that invite Luna and I into their homes and hearts are irreplaceable. They are unique unto themselves, continually developing souls that share their ever growing knowledge of the best and worst ways to walk this planet, to live a life, to leave an imprint for the seventh generation. Strong of will….or not, always with an opinion – wanted or not, all of varied experiences in education and knowledge, some subtle in their touch and footprint…… or not.

All are teachers in the truest sense of the word. Reminding me to ‘not forget’ how to live life to its fullest before this life-experience shifts to the next body-mind-spirit event. From the youths with unblemished skin that still delight in warm dappled sunlight and chilled river swimming waters to my same-age peers that share gaining knowledge while shedding the useless things, I become what they teach me. And while my wandering foot-path may travel different Nations, my Elders keep watch to make sure I do not wander too far off the edge of my Spirit-Path without a correction. Whether by humor or reprimand, gifts of story or a parable crowned with food, Elders are the light-keepers that guide and guard the way to the future. And I become all that my friends and family, my 'people' teach me.

And so it goes. Everything I see and do, every living thing…..I carry its energy and I become what it teaches me.