Moominmama's Adventures

  Wherein Moominmama reviews a few of the many libraries she visited during the latter half of her 2026 travels... Moominmama writes this as she sits in a library in Grand Junction, Colorado. She did keep a record of libraries visited over the course of her 2026 travels, but most never made it into the weekly blogposts. Take this spot here: the Richfield Carnegie Library in Richfield, Utah, one of the cutest and most historic libraries. Built in 1913-1914, it's one of the 23 Carnegie libraries built in Utah, in turn one of 1,650 libraries throughout the U.S built thanks to the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie. He would offer to pay the full cost of construction if the community agreed to buy the land, stock the new library with books, maintain the building and provide a librarian. It is also one of the rare libraries built in the Craftsman style, which I find adorable. It's not a large library, not imposing. Richfield is not large, with a population of about 8,500. The library b...

In which Moominmama seeks out ancient art and tries to puzzle out its meaning... Moominmama first discovered what's called Barrier Canyon-style pictographs during a hike into Sego Canyon early this year. Sego Canyon is in Utah but not far from Grand Junction where she was staying and where a friend mentioned the panel. The photo below is from Sego Canyon. Moominmama finds the images hypnotic and struggles to see into the minds of their creators. Since Sego Canyon, she has sought out other examples of the Barrier Canyon-style pictographs. And this fall, made a plan to get to the panels that gave this artwork its name. Horseshoe Canyon is located in the most remote section of Canyonlands National Park and in the cooler seasons of spring and fall, a ranger-led hike sets out on most Saturdays.  See, Horseshoe Canyon used to be known as Barrier Canyon - and that's how this era of pictograph got its name. Yesterday, Moominmama did that hike.  There is very little known about this Ar...

In which Moominmama finally gets up to Nevada's highest mountain and its bristlecone pine grove on the third try... Wheeler Peak has been elusive, with Moominmama having failed twice in prior years to get to the rare bristlecone pine grove on its slopes. The mountain, highest in Nevada at just over 13,000 feet, has the rocky limestone slopes -- cold, dry and windswept -- where these ancient trees grow so slowly that the wood is unimaginably dense and insect resistant. The tree pictured here is 3,200 years old, with a birthdate estimated at 1230 BCE. You may think it's dead but if you look on the left-hand side, you'll see a green branch that remains living and growing. Narrow strips of live bark, full of resin, run from root to branch and keep that limb alive even as other parts of the tree have died. In contrast, Moominmama found a young bristlecone; it was about shoulder height to me and not yet twisted with age. According to a park ranger, it was about 100 years old. But...

Wherein Moominmama returns to the Olympic Peninsula and the Oregon Coast... Last year, Moominmama discovered the Klahhane Ridge trail in the mountains of Olympic National Park but was unable to hike its length after a check-engine light ate up the day at the local Toyota dealer. This year, coming back into the U.S. from Vancouver Island, she had a second chance. I awoke to some fog, but the sun was trying to push through. I figured it would clear during the morning so at least, I'd get the spectacular views on the way down. Not so much. In fact, by the time I got back to the parking lot in the afternoon, the fog was so thick I could barely see to back the car out safely. So this hike is on my re-do list, but that said, I had a marvelous time. On my way up, I met a couple who had just turned back because the wife had seen what she thought was cougar scat. (It looked like dog poop to me.) The husband wanted to continue, so there was a bit of a dispute ongoing, which I was able to sol...

In which Moominmama visits the north end of Vancouver Island and ferries to Malcolm Island in search of Orcas before meeting up with fellow Altoistes... Moominmama has been jumping from place to place, proving how exhausting that can be. Normally my travel plans allow for stays of at least a week. This has served as a reminder that fast-paced travel is too much! Moominmama's arrival on Vancouver Island was by ferry into Nanaimo and from there, my reservations required a long drive to Port Hardy in the far north! My campground was along the Gwa'dzi or Quatse river estuary, where this small totem pole, featuring a bear holding a salmon stood, a gift of the indingenous people of the area. This estuary (low tide here) supports the salmon runs of the Coho, Pink and endangered Chinook salmon. It's also home to many bald eagles. I was awoken daily by the bald eagle chirps and whistles, even though I rarely saw them high up in the trees. I had no idea they made so much noise! Moomi...