April 4th, 2020
It’s been a while, but life changed drastically for every one of us these past few weeks and even months. The coronavirus has affected people all over the world and nobody knows when or if this is going to end, which can make living life pretty scary. But, in these times we have to distract ourselves and make the best of the situation.
As soon as the situation in Spain, where I live most of the year, got very bad and just seemed like it was going to get worse, I flew back to the United States. At least here I was with my family and the situation was more controlled back home in Washington state.
I traded city roads for forest trails. The metro transportation system for my electric car. Warmer weather with little rain for colder weather with quite a bit of rain and hail. I traded nights out for Netflix and board game nights. I traded in-class university to online university. It’s been quite a change but you just have to make the best of it, it’s been a nice change of pace and a way of letting the earth heal. The earth was in need of a break as well from humans, and that is what we are giving it.
These days, social distancing has been the highest priority to avoid spreading the virus. I decided to go take a hike in Soaring Eagle Regional park, which luckily is very close to home for me. I would be able to breathe in fresh air, get a good workout while practicing social distancing.
Soaring Eagle regional park has a variety of plants and wildlife that can be seen very easily. There are many animals that live there starting with bunnies and going all the way to bats, bears and bobcats (this morning during my walk I might have freaked out when a bat started flying towards me). The bears even sometimes come out of the forest at night and come to eat food out of our trash cans! Regarding the flora, there are many western hemlock trees (with that being Washington’s national tree), there are blackberry bushes that usually have blackberries around August, there is a variety of types of moss and lichen on the trees and many other types of plants.
It is a 790 acre park with 12 miles of trails. The trails are for walking/hiking, biking and even horseback riding. It connects the separate sides of the city of Sammamish, so driving around to the other side and walking through the forest takes about the same amount of time to get to the same destination. The trails are easy for any skill level and it is a nice way to get outside, especially these days when it is very easy to get cabin fever.
In these days, when times are tough and life has changed drastically look for ways to go outside and enjoy what the earth has to offer us while still practicing social distancing, even if this just means going out in your neighborhood for a run, but also remember to follow federal regulations above all so we can keep everyone safe. Most of all, practice kindness these days because we are all going through this.
Sincerely,
The Eternal Traveler