Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

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56
Tolmie State Park
56

Tolmie State Park

northeast of Olympia, Washington
visited 24 July 2021
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For those who live in the South Puget Sound region, Tolmie offers a big back yard: a place to dig for clams or just enjoy the beach. When I visited on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it was very popular.

Parking can be limited at this park, so be prepared.

A wide gravel and sand beach at low tide under a deep blue summer sky, with a dense wall of evergreen forest along the shoreline and a handful of people walking and digging across the exposed tideflat.

As I was walking by, I heard one of these kids say, “Look! Look here! It’s a huge crab hotel!”

So adorable!

A long wooden footbridge crosses a shallow tidal estuary under a clear blue sky, with dense green conifer and deciduous forest behind it. People, including children, wade and explore in the muddy low-tide water, while a gravel path runs along the right edge.

For those wanting to step away from the madding crowd (raises hand), there is the Four Cedars Trail. A sign at the start of the trail suggests (accurately) that you allow an hour for the hike.

A wooden plank boardwalk winds through a lush green forest of ferns, mossy tree trunks, and dense undergrowth, with log edging marking a dirt path at its near end, lit by dappled midday sunlight.
A narrow dirt hiking trail winds through a dense, green forest of tall conifers and moss-covered tree trunks, flanked by lush ferns and undergrowth with dappled sunlight falling across the path.
A gravel and dirt forest trail winding through dense woods, with flat round stepping stones set into the path and lush sword ferns lining both sides beneath tall trees in dappled sunlight.
A narrow dirt hiking trail winds through a sunlit evergreen forest, flanked by lush sword ferns and green undergrowth, with tall mossy conifers rising toward a bright blue sky.
A weathered wooden boardwalk winds through a lush green forest, its planks dappled with sunlight filtering through the overhead canopy, flanked by dense ferns, shrubs, and moss-covered tree trunks.

Referred to as “a tree with legs,” this tree likely started growing on the remains of another fallen tree. As the older tree rotted away, the new tree’s root structure remained, but became exposed, revealing the complicated above-ground root structure we see today:

A large tree in a green forest with moss-covered roots that arch up from the ground, forming an open gap or archway where the trunk grows atop the decayed remains of an older nurse log or stump. Dappled sunlight filters through surrounding ferns and leafy understory.
A weathered tree trunk with peeling, reddish-brown bark stands in a lush green forest, with sword ferns arching into the foreground and mossy branches and undergrowth filling the background.
A narrow dirt hiking trail winds through a lush green forest, flanked by dense ferns and leafy undergrowth, with tall moss-covered tree trunks rising toward a sunlit canopy and patches of blue sky overhead.
A large decaying tree with a split, moss-covered trunk and bare upper branches stands beside a narrow dirt trail winding through a lush green forest of ferns and leafy undergrowth, dappled with midday sunlight.
The base of a large tree with thick, reddish-brown and greenish moss-tinged bark, framed by bright green sword ferns growing at its foot in a forest setting.
The moss-covered base of a large tree in a lush forest, its trunk draped in thick green moss and pale lichen, surrounded by low green groundcover plants, ferns, and scattered fallen leaves on the forest floor.

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