Hoh Rainforest, I have big crash, the squirrel grapevine and more postcards

Today we did what I had come over two previous times to attempt, and failed both times: go to the Hoh Rainforest. It is a rainforest and a World Heritage site. I had decided to make one last attempt, and with two weeks of sunny weather, though it predicted rain, today turned out sunny. We drove out there (2.5 hours) and did a “semi-accessible trail” – if you consider stairs to be 10 inches and higher ‘semi-accessible.’ But I saw the Hoh rainforest and I took a couple hundred pictures. (Camera whores are we!)

We saw the Hall of Mosses and we saw two first year black squirrels fooling around in the tall trees (acting like the teenagers they were, swinging from the moss and other dignified actions). I have to wait until I return to give you the whole pictures and story.

But I did have a exciting spectacular accident which involved me running out of control down a steep narrow trail on a section where there was a drop off and no guard rail. Apparently after a look of terror I said, “Help, Help!” before I managed with the one wheel on the ground to direct myself toward the steep incline the trail was cut from (the wall of dirt and tree roots). I hit it, which flipped the chair over, threw me TOWARDS the drop, and then threw the chair into the AIR, with my legs still strapped in, landing atop me (how that is possible I don’t know. That is what the two witnesses say and it makes Very interesting bruises). But, I did NOT fall over the edge (whew!), though apparently I hit so hard a cloud of dust and tree leaves made a plume into the air and my head was a few inches from the side of the down slope cliff.

Some people from below, having seen the plume, ran up to help. At this point I was pretty sure that my finger as well as at least one knee was broken because well, I could FEEL THEM, and what they were saying is not to be repeated in polite company (so skin me down and body slam me a few times and you CAN get some feeling out of me).

I looked up and said, "I am ONE with the forest!" (apparently two goth girl who had come to help...or watch, found that very funny)
I was assessed and carried into my chair and decided NOT to take the additional trail, but call it a day. No, nothing broken, at least nothing obvious. So just an exciting finish to the day (but wait...there's more!) There were lots of great woods and great moss and just wait for the pictures. But yeah, there was a bit of hell trail.

We had lunch and a couple crows appeared to beg. I said, “No way, I’m waiting for squirrels.” It was a joke.

But you know how the squirrel grapevine goes. Well, a few minutes a young squirrel (a few months old and about 4 inches long) appeared racing across the parking lot and in little jumps approached towards me. I threw what I had which was a piece of roll, so a bit of bread. He came about 18 inches away and grabbed it, eating it down. It was a red squirrel with red tail and red chest. As he was eating a SECOND squirrel appeared. He had a pinecone in his mouth and raced past. After feeding the first squirrel a few more times, he left, racing off the way the very young and very energetic squirrels do.

Then the second squirrel raced back, buried the pine cone a few feet away and had a “My turn now?” look to his face. I tossed the bread in the air and he ended up going within a few inches of Linda (who was taking pictures – I was too busy being the ‘squirrel whisperer’) to grab it and then have a good munch. So that was a good end of a trip; got to see a world heritage site, a great forest, bruised and bleeding AND got to have red squirrels (which I had not seen before) seek me out. Not Linda or Cheryl, ME, (seriously, do I have some sort of squirrel musk on me?).

I can’t show you pictures of the Hoh (until I get home to download them) so I will show you what I did work on yesterday which is some more postcards. I am sending these out right now. And to complete my ‘I am the punch doll of the universe’, for the second week in a row 10% of my postings from the last week appeared in my post box, only this time for a different reason. After about 400 postcards, it seems there is some stick-up-the-arse in Tacoma sorting center who has issue with me sending decorated cards, or Japanese cards or whatever. So I just keep working. And here are some of those who I spent a month or more getting. I think they have beauty.

The postcard project doesn’t define me, but it allows me to reach out to other people, to say that I actually care about something beyond myself – which is in a way, a gift I give myself and one I hope I give to those who receive them. They are important to me, and now they too are being a bit stomped on. To see a set of cards that took an average of 3-6 hours each to make returned is painful, but I don’t quit, I don’t stop, not as long as there is intent in my brain and a way to continue. So I will keep posting the ones I send out. And I will keep sending.

I don’t know much but this I have experienced from “health professionals”, and social workers and those who are to help the vulnerable and the police and the politicians: that the act of giving a damn, of caring about an individual is a rare one. Even to the point of just sending a personal postcard is very rare. I wish I had any of my health care “professionals” spend that much time in a week thinking and caring about me. I imagine there are millions out there who do. I can’t send out millions of postcards, but I can send hundreds, maybe if I have time left before I die, a couple thousand. People matter.