The Northern Realm of Trowbridge Chronicles

 Many of you know that about ten years ago I happened upon a tiny journal encased in a small gold box while hiking cross-country up Wild Rose Creek in the Olympic Wilderness of Washington State, USA. A glint of light caught my eye from the other side of the creek. I was puzzled that any solid object deep in the wilderness would reflect light. So I crossed the creek, climbed up a mossy ledge and found the little gold box resting on a bed of sphagnum moss. That's the short version of how I found Mrs. Violet Trowbridge's tiny journal that she called The Trowbridge Chronicles. Mr. Trowbridge was a Trowbridge Shrew, by the way. As a superb scribe and watercolorist, she journaled much of life as it was at that time (about 200 years ago) in the tiny forest village of Huckleberry Hollow on Wild Rose Creek. I've made several treks up Wild Rose Creek, which was Mr's T's home territory. It has always been a thrill to be "in her neighborhood".

I kept the journal for about three years, then decided to make it public, one page at a time. That's how The Trowbridge Chronicles was born to the world. I hope you've enjoyed Mrs. T's writing, scribing and watercolor work on this blog. I'm continually inspired by her work.

The above photo, taken by my good friend, noted photographer Ross Hamilton, looks south across Dungeness Valley and the town of Sequim on the North Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, USA. The snow-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains loom in the background. Mrs. T documented her journeys through the Olympic Wilderness with her family and friends, and some of her family treks took her to the northern boundary of the Olympic Mountains, which you see here. This is The Northern Realm of The Trowbridge Chronicles. I was born and raised in this valley, in the town of Sequim.

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy?

HOLIDAY AT CRESCENT SEA STACK

This week we take a brief departure from our Shrew Khan graphic novel to join Mrs. Trowbridge as she and her family travel north from Huckleberry Hollow for their summer holiday at Crescent Sea Stack. The natural beauty and gentle sea breeze made Crescent Sea Stack a favorite holiday destination for the Trowbridge family. This is one of my favorites among Mrs. Trowbridge's paintings.

I will always remember the day that I visited the very same sea stack that Mrs. T visited so long ago. It's located on the north Olympic Peninsula in Washington State,  just a few minutes west of Port Angeles. Follow Highway 101 west from Port Angeles, then turn off onto Highway 112. Turn right on Camp Hayden Road to Crescent Bay on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. You will immediately recognize the beautiful sea stack in the bay. 

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy? 

SHI SHI BEACH HEADLAND at POINT of ARCHES

The huge cave in the above photo is a familiar and welcome site at Shi Shi Beach...it's the sign that you've reached Point of Arches, the southern headland of Shi Shi Beach. Note the smooth light gray sand. It's the smoothest sand I've seen at a Pacific beach. What's even better is that there are no tire tracks in this sand like there are at so many other public Washington State beaches further to the south. You can reach Shi Shi beach only by way of a three-mile trail. Shi Shi is considered by many to be the most primitive beach on the West Coast of the U.S. When you see my next post, you'll see how primitive it looks in the coves to the south of Point of Arches. When you're here you feel like you've stepped into an ancient epoch.

The photos would have been more impressive were it not for the cloudy skies that day. A sunny day at Shi Shi is hard to beat. At least we didn't get any liquid sunshine on our trip to Point of Arches.

This view from the southern opening of the cave reveals that it's larger than it appears to be, and that it's more of a tunnel than a cave. Just to the right of the opening you will see my sister, Brenda Williamson. The image of my sister gives you a perspective of the size of the cave. How was it formed? The most obvious explanation would be wave action. If it was created by wave action, it would be a true demonstration of the power of breaking waves over eons of time.

You have to time your trips to Point of Arches. If you're some distance south of Point of Arches and you're trying to get back to Shi Shi and the tide is coming in, you could be in serious trouble. Some have been pinned by the waves against the rock cliffs and drowned.  Long beach hikes in this area require careful planning because of the tide.

Have you seen my other blog? Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy

TROWBRIDGE TREK to SHI SHI BEACH

Every summer I look forward to treks into the Olympic Rain Forest wilderness where Mrs. Trowbridge once lived. My last trip was to Shi Shi Beach, on the Pacific Coast in Washington State, a stretch of coastline considered to be the most rugged and untamed on the West Coast.

The above view from atop the 150-foot high bluff overlooking the beach offers the first glimpse of this fantastical realm. There are more sea stacks here than anywhere on the West Coast





















As we hiked southward along the 2.3-mile long crescent shaped beach toward Point of Arches, I kept an eye out for a patch of forest just off the beach where I could begin sketching, and writing the words you are now reading. I found the perfect spot that you see above. It was almost as if a little patch of pristine forest had been prepared for me. I'm writing this in longhand while sitting on the log in the foreground. The grass in front of me looks almost like the domesticated grass in my back yard. The large-leaf plants growing from the grass are Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus). The steep high bank begins abruptly, where you see the sword ferns (polystichum munitum) growing. The entire hillside above is an enormous sword fern garden.

There was a purpose for our trek to Shi Shi. I have suspected that Mrs. T and her family visited Shi Shi on their summer treks to the shore over 200 years ago. I have seen a number of her sketches that resemble the features of Shi Shi Beach so I wanted to see the beach for myself to confirm my belief that she was here many years ago.

Shi Shi Beach is not just another beach. One visit is all it takes to realize that this is a very special place. As part of the Olympic National Park, Shi Shi Beach is an Unesco World Heritage Site. The Travel Channel named it the "best nature beach". And it was declard one of the Top Five Wilderness Beaches in the World.

Next episode: Point of Arches at Shi Shi Beach

Have you seen my other blog? It's called Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy

WOODROW THE ROCK CLIMBER

For those of you who are new to this blog, Violet Trowbridge was a Trowbridge shrew who lived about two centuries ago in the Quinault Rain Forest in Washington State, USA. As a young shrew, her mother taught her the art of calligraphy and watercolor. Using her pen and brush, she recorded life as she saw it through most of her life in the village of Huckleberry Hollow. 

A number of years ago, while hiking up Wild Rose Creek in the Quinault Rain Forest, I found a tiny gold box on a mossy ledge that contained a toad-skin leather cover book, which was titled The Trowbridge Chronicles. I had found a myth-shrouded treasure, which today provides us with a glimpse of life long ago among the small creatures in the rain forest. These journal pages are her story, in her own hand-scribed words. 

Today's story: Woodrow, Violet's husband has taken up rock climbing and has brought his new rock climbing equipment along on their family summer outing in the high meadows. Mrs. Trowbridge has deftly sketched her handsome husband as he enjoys the view from atop a towering five-foot boulder.

Mrs. Trowbridge captures Woodrow in charcoal as he rappels down a boulder. I have spent many days and nights in the high meadows of the Olympic wilderness. I have, in fact, made a number of treks into Wild Rose Creek, where Mrs. T lived with her family. My times in the Olympic Mountains have been among the most special and memorable times of my life. 

Have you seen my other art blog? It's called Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy.