Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Warm Spring Days

Now that the weather is beginning to show signs of Spring warmth, our little family decided to have a picnic and enjoy an afternoon exploring last Saturday. With gas at nearly $4.50/gallon we chose a spot relatively close to home, but still far enough to feel like we'd "gotten away from it all"---at least for a few hours.

Kuchel Visitor Center is just a mile, or so, south of Orick, at the mouth of Redwood Creek. It's back door opens onto the beach, with waves from the Pacific crashing to shore just a stone's throw away. This particular area was once home to the Yurok tribe. There is a sign posted outside the visitor center that tells a local Yurok legend---let me take a moment to share it with you:


"There was a young Yurok girl from the village known as Aut-mec-quar who was always crying and wailing for no apparent reason other than for her own amusement. The girl's parents tried to explain to her the seriousness of crying for no reason----to the Yurok people it was like wishing to be in mourning.


After a long while the girl's parents pleaded with her to stop, warning that something bad might happen if she continued. Sure enough, one night the great owl, Tech-quan-is, who is the bearer of bad news, came and carried her away to a huge rock called Aus-keel-el that stands in the ocean, just off the shore.


Day after day, various men from the tribe would row out to the rock to rescue her after hearing her cries, but each time they did, her feet would turn to stone and she could not be moved. As the men would start back to shore, they could see her running across the rock, but when they once again returned for her, she would be held fast by feet of stone.


Each time the men came for the young girl over the course of many days, they would find more of her had turned to stone so that she could not move at all. Eventually, the girl's entire form became solid stone and, if one looks closely enough, you can see her still standing on the huge ocean rock, and if you turn your ear to the ocean you can sometimes hear her wailing and crying. The moral of the story is aimed at children who behave badly and cry about nothing."


Heading north, there is a trail that leads to the creek----a calm, peaceful area just right for shell-searching and driftwood-hunting.




We spent a lovely several hours exploring and simply enjoying being out in nature, smelling the faint scent of salty air and listening to the birds flitting in the nearby trees. As we walked slowly back to the Visitor Center, we could see cows grazing in the meadow on the east side of the creek and watched as two Canadian geese came in for a landing on the creek.




After we had our fill of exploring, we headed back south, toward home. On the way, we stopped at The Little Red Schoolhouse (a local museum and summer RV haven) to take photos of the largest wild elk herd in our area. This herd has been coming down the mountain to graze in the meadow there since I was a little girl. At the height of tourist season, the roadsides are packed with those anxious to take photos of what we may sometimes take for granted.


Every time I take the opportunity to be outdoors in this magnificent paradise that I am blessed to live in, I feel refreshed and renewed. I find myself becoming more aware of not just who I am, but of the importance of being spiritually connected to this beautiful earth that we share with so many other creatures.


"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~~~John Muir


"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive." ~~~Eleonora Duse

1 comment:

  1. Had a great time exploring around Redwood Creek. There are still so many places we haven't visited and I'm looking forward to more adventures!

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