SPEED DEMONS OF THE RAIN FOREST

Also called the Mosquito Hawk, or the Lord of June, dragonflies are among the fastest fliers in the insect kingdom. At a zippy 35 miles per hour, they can give a race horse a real run for its money. When we were kids, we called dragonflies "snake doctors".

The Green Darner Dragonfly (Anax junius), commonly found in the Olympic Mountains, can be seen darting about the pond from April to September. Male Darners patrol their territory about eight feet up and 8 feet from the pond's edge. The Green Darner is one of 38 species of dragonflies found in the U.S.

When "dragon flight" came to Huckleberry Hollow, a whole new era of rain forest aviation was born. Suddenly, a weekend trip to the high meadows was within easy reach of the small creatures. Transporting goods several miles distance was now entirely possible. Dragonfly Express offices sprang up in villages throughout the rain forest.

What was to become of the simple life and the old ways of the forest? This concerned Mrs. Trowbridge more than a little. She mentioned it many times in her journal. Yet she also often spoke with fondness of her family's first dragonfly trip to the high meadows.

The rocky outcroppings that you see in Mrs. T's painting are where the rarest wild flowers are found. I have seen the Pipers Bell Flower, and the Flett Violet--both rare Olympic endemics--clinging to life in the crevices of pillow lava outcroppings like these on numerous treks into the high country.

I took these shots in Royal Basin, in the Olympic Mountains. It is so beautiful up here that it is said to be "suitable for royalty"...hence the name. The small creatures loved to visit idyllic locales like this during the warm summer months. You may find rare wild flowers growing among these rocks.

Would you like to see what Huckleberry Hollow really looks like? Would you like to see for yourself the rare wild flowers that grow only here? There really is such a place. I know...I have been there. It's situated on Wild Rose Creek in the Quinault Rain Forest. Would you like to see vistas like what you see in the above photos? You can, and I will guide you to all of these spectacular places. The Olympic Rain Forest is so special and unique--one of the few temperate rain forests on earth--that it is designated a World Heritage Site. That puts it in company with the Serengeti Plain, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Taj Mahal.

If I get enough response, I will put together a tour package lasting about one week. I will guide you to the most spectacular places in the Olympic National Park. The tour will culminate with a night in one of the world's great lodges, Lake Quinault Lodge. Go to www.visitlakequinault.com, look at the pictures, and you're sure to sign on for the trip. (You may recall, Lake Quinault is the lake that Mrs. Trowbridge's family had to cross on their summer journey to the Pacific Ocean.)

The last day, after a wonderful breakfast at Lake Quinault Lodge, we will depart for a day hike deep into the rain forest. Our destination will be the place where the Trowbridge Chronicles were born---Huckleberry Hollow, on Wild Rose Creek. Let me know if you would like more information. I'm planning on going to Huckleberry Hollow this summer anyway...I figured I might as well take you along with me. P.S. Bring your sketchpad!

SPRINGTIME EARLY BLOOMER

The Cutleaf Syntheris was among Mrs. Trowbridge's favorite flowers. Though she had great respect and admiration for it, she didn't realize just how special this high meadow early bloomer really is. In addition to its unusually hardy nature, the Cutleaf Syntheris (Syntheris pinnatifida var. lanugosa) is one of eight "Olympic endemics", rare wildflowers found here and nowhere else on earth.

Imagine being in darkness all winter and well into the spring. Much of Mrs. T's journal work was done by lantern light. They used lupine seed oil for their lanterns because lupines are plentiful, and easy to find. It was the oil of choice in their cooking too. They preferred it over other plant seed oils because it didn't go rancid so quickly.
Here is my photograph of one of the world's rarest wild flowers. Don't look for it on Google Image...this flower is so rare and special, it's hard to find ANY photo evidence of it, not even in the wild flower books. We first encountered the Cutleaf Syntheris on the summit of Blue Mountain, in the north Olympic Mountains. It was Memorial Day weekend...I caught it at the end of its blooming season, long before the other wildflowers had even begun to bloom.

MONSTERS, MYTHS, LORE & LEGENDS

Many of Mrs. Trowbridge's pages were devoted to the legends and lore of the rain forest.

You may have noticed that the painting on this page has a more painterly appearance than Mrs. T's usual watercolor renderings. Though Mrs. T preferred watercolor, occasionally she painted with an oil-based medium, made from the seed of the Sitka valerian plant. She ground her own pigments using raw materials that she gathered in the forest. This painting represents her oil painting technique.

As you might imagine, Mrs. Trowbridge was very nervous sketching a Log Ogre's den in plein air, so she very quickly layed out her subject with her fir needle charcoal stick, then returned to her studio cottage to apply the color. She was able to use her expert knowledge of the forest and its hues to apply the colors from memory.

The fern on top of the nurse log is a deer fern (Blechnum splicant), the white plant to the right of the log is an Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora), and the yellow flowers growing in the moss are the Western buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis).

TWO LEFT FEET

I've read and reread this page from Mrs. Trowbridge's journal. It's one of my favorites. I especially love the pages where she writes about her husband. Her love for Woodrow always shines through. I wish I could have watched them Dancing with the Stars... and the full moon on that special night.

LADYBUG TATTOOS

Mrs. Trowbridge was very traditional. When something new came along, she was reluctant to embrace it. Case in point, the day when a tattoo trend swept through the forest...ladybugs were having their shells repainted, with new designs "tattooed" on. The trend began in the Hoh Rain Forest to the north and spread south to Huckleberry Hollow in the Quinault Rain Forest.

This is the charcoal foundation sketch for Mrs. T's painting. To learn how she made her charcoal sticks, see Cat's Claw.

Mrs. T sketched some of the ladybugs after their shells were tattooed.

One of my most memorable days ever was last summer when I trekked into that place deep in the rain forest where Huckleberry Hollow once was. (See Trowbridge Story) I instantly recognized this moss covered mound from Mrs. T's journal. The resemblance is so striking, I'm reasonably sure that this is the very place where Madam Lucy Ladybug opened her tattoo parlor so many years ago. The fungus growths are called Shelf Fungus (Ganoderma applanatum). The underside has a pleasant scent.