1001 Natural Wonders

Read a good chunk of this book by Michael Bright.

The distribution by country (about 147 countries are listed)

Countries I have visited
USA 114 (including Hawaii)
Australia 107
France 33
Scotland 26
England 22
Canada 17
New Zealand 12
Japan 11
Mexico 9
Italy 9
Austria 8
Switzerland 8
Germany 7
Ireland 5
Czech Republic 3
Belgium 1

Countries I would like to visit
South Africa 48
China 40
Thailand 34
Spain 33
India 26
Brazil 19
Chile 16
Namibia 13
Ecuador 12
Greece 12
Russia 11
Nepal 10
Costa Rica 10
Papua New Guinea 9
Norway 9
Sweden 9
Argentina 9
Tibet 8
Turkey 8
Iceland 8
Sri Lanka 7
Vietnam 6
Wales 6
Bhutan 3

Breakdown in the USA

New York
Niagra Falls
The Great Lakes

Alaska
Brooks Range
McNeil Falls
Mount Katmai
Bear Glacier
(and more)

Washington
Mount Rainier
Grand Coulee
Dry Falls
Upper Skagit River
Mount St. Helens

Oregon
Crater Lake
Multnomah Falls
Mountain Hood
Columbia River Gorge

Coleman reading Flora of Pacific NW Burroughs 3
Originally uploaded by brewbooks.

Coleman reading Flora of Pacific NW Burroughs 3

Coleman carried a most impressive botanical reference manual up to 8000 feet, his signed first edition of:

Flora of the Pacific Northwest
An Illustrated manual
by C. Leo Hitchcock
and Arthur Cronquist

Burroughs 3 is one of my favorite spots to go on an early morning in August or September. It is a quiet spot with a quite of view of Mount Rainier. It is a good walk from Sunrise , maybe 3 miles and with ups and downs maybe 2000 feet of elevation gain.
It's one of the easiest ways to get to 8000 feet in Washington State.

Shelf fungi at Green Lake, Mount Rainier National Park
Originally uploaded by brewbooks.

You can really see how this fungi pulls moisture from this decaying log.
Fungi play an important role o\in the ecology of this forest, a subject I am always trying to learn more about.

( see the top side )

Nurse log, Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail
Originally uploaded by brewbooks.

Nurse log, Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail
Olympic National Park is home to a temperate rain forest , a very interesting ecosystem. A nurse log is a fallen tree which, as it decays, provides ecological facilitation to seedlings.

Nurse log is on the Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail in Olympic National Park. This is a very short walk, but very worthwhile - one of a number short family walks in the area of Lake Quinault.

Indian Henry's Hunting Ground and Patrol Cabin(this was our lunch time view, days like this are why I love being in the mountains). This was October, 2006

Indian Henry's Hunting Ground and Patrol Cabin
Originally uploaded by brewbooks.

Carbon Glacier, Mount Rainier National Park
Originally uploaded by brewbooks.

On a December, 2004 hike with my friend Clark. THis used to be a very easy hike, about 3.5 miles and 1300 feet of elevation gain to this spot. With the recent (November, 2006) floods at Mount Rainier National Park, it is going to be much longer because the road to the parking lot has been severely damaged. It's always a great hike, I hope that the road is repaired, esle it will be a much longer hike.

This was taken at the base of the '>Carbon Glacier in Mount Rainier National Park, I believe the lowest elevation glacier in the continental US. It's also a glacier that hasn't receded much (unlike others in Washington state). It is covered with a lot of dirt and rocks, hence the name Carbon Glacier.