Mother's Day Weekend, we hiked to the Rainbow Falls Viewpoint, near the McKenzie River Bridge. The trees were mostly cedars or pines, with a smattering of vine maples and madrone. The viewpoint itself is a rock outcropping, and it would be just the place for a NeoPagan ritual.
What struck me was how one tree was growing out of a rock. It had had its main trunk damaged, with much of the bark missing, and yet it still managed to snake its way across a rock face and sprout leaves on the other end. It was very much a natural bonsai.
The madrone tree growing on the outcropping contrasted the other trees around it. I tried to get a good picture of it, because the under-bark was a kind of greenish pistachio color.
Hiking in, the most prominent noises were the sounds of our feet and the breeze moving through the trees. Only when we got to the outcropping did we hear the falls. At one point, we thought we heard some strange croaking-growling noise, as if there were a large amphibian concealed in the treetops; this turned out to be water in Mark's thermos glugging as he moved.
We had a good laugh after we'd been standing still to try to figure out what strange animal was calling to us.
