Lewis and Clark (State Park)

I went to a nearby park today. One thing about Washington, the state parks are beautiful. And, if you go to the right ones, serene. Anyway, the one I went to was Lewis and Clark State Park. Lewis and Clark isn't known for anything but, if it was known for something, it'd be it's old-growth trees. Some of the evergreen trees there are astonishingly archaic and wider around then gargantuan hamburgers.

Apart from the trees, the only other things Lewis and Clark has to offer are a swing set and a field. The field is not too big but there is something pleasant about a small field surrounded by trees and filled with flowers. The swing set is also decent. It's a little bit squeaky and is missing one of its four swings but still very nice.

To sum up, it was a nice little trip. I like walking down windy forest paths; not knowing where I'm headed and not really caring. It's just so pleasant.

The Sui Generis Personality of Small Town Fairs

This is the week of the Southwest Washington Fair, so that's where I spent my Tuesday afternoon and evening. As is typical with the SWW Fair, there were many cows and llamas -- or alpacas, I cannot tell the two apart -- and pigs. Although it's fun to see those animals, I hate walking past them. The cows and pigs smell unbearably bad and the llamas stare at me in their creepy llama-esque way. The llamas are especially bad at night when their stalls are dark and you're walking alone down a long, empty aisle that strongly resembles an ally and you see sets of big, shiny llama eyes staring out at you from the darkness.

Apart from the animals, the fair consists of overly-expensive rides, a redneck demolition derby, vendors selling things that don't work, and food that shouldn't be eaten. I'll grant that the vendors and the food and rides can probably be found at any fair. The demolition derby, on the other hand, I think is unique to redneck fairs. I had never watched it before, (never really feeling the urge to), but this time I decided to watch a round to see what it was like. It was boring and probably wasn't worth the risk and gasoline put into it. Still, everyone else liked it.

Oh yes, and yesterday I found that kangaroo rats are adept swimmers. I witnessed one jumping into the water, diving down several inches, and swimming away completely submerged! It was very graceful and unusual looking.

Tonight and Tomorrow

Tonight I realized just how much I enjoy photography. My brother allowed me, albeit hesitantly, to use his new camera. It was very satisfying to be able to photograph what I see -- all of the things I've grown accustomed to enjoying on my own and in my own head.

Perhaps I'm finally finding good ways to express myself; this blog, those photos. I'm not sure though, perhaps I'm just as awkward as ever. Still, let's not forget that sentiment.

To change the subject, the fair is tomorrow! My day will be filled with the wonderful sights of a small town fair: cotton candy munching cowboys, little children vomiting on the roller coasters, and more cows, sheep, and bunnies than you could squeeze in a lifetime. All things considered, it promises to be a pretty fun day. I will report on it later.

First Little Rambling

So, time to make a first post. Hmm...

I'm actually a bit tired. Yesterday was a very busy day, courtesy of a family wedding reception. I'm not too social and usually I don't know more than a couple people in a crowd so this time I felt pretty comfortable, (what with all the relatives there).

The reception was in Seattle. Seattle neighborhoods are usually very nice. In even dense neighborhoods, many of the yards still contain towering, archaic evergreen trees that were probably there long before most of the houses. Trees like that make neighborhoods much more pleasant and appealing.

How was that for a first post? My mind tends to ramble a bit I see but I'll still try to keep writing.