365 Inspirations—176: Seattle's Abundance of Nature

“Earth does not belong to us; we belong to earth.
Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints.”—Chief Sealth (Seattle's namesake)

If you are looking for a city with an abundance of nature, Seattle's your place. Trees, ocean, beaches, rivers, lakes, streams, forests, trails, mountains—it's got it ALL.

I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I had to go far away to experience all this beauty. It's right there in my backyard!

Today, on a walk through Carkeek Park in Seattle, a 10-minute drive from our house, I witnessed nature in all her glory.

Being a Washingtonian native, I've learned to identify various plants, flowers and berries...yes, it's berry season in Washington and we have an abundance of wild berries growing right in our city parks.

Today I saw lots of ripe huckleberry and we devoured many.

I also found a field of thimble berries and many of them were ripe and ready to pick. They were delicious.

Salmon berries are just about at their peak, but we found some good ones too.

The wild roses along the path by the water smelled divine.

It was the trees that really seemed to speak on the path.....and we were listening....

Finally, we meandered down to the ocean. It was low, low tide. We took off our shoes and walked along the beach with our feet sinking into the sand.

 The smell of seaweed and salt permeated the air. We saw crabs, clams, kelp, barnacles, mussels and even this guy.....a crane!

I felt so rejuvenated walking in this park and the amazing thing is that Korean food is also just a 10 minute drive away and that's where we stopped in for lunch!

I'm realizing, after my solo trip to the country, that often the best place is right where you are. I feel lucky!

Do you like where you live? Is there an abundance of nature where you are?