Moonlit Olympic

It's a rainy evening here at Olympic National Park. This vast landscape within Washington State is uniquely diverse in its offerings, stretching from Rocky Coast lines to wide open valleys, lush rainforests and stunningly high mountain peaks. Along the Olympic coast, waves crash against large rocky islands that jet out from the ocean's surface. In the grassy valleys, families of marmots gnaw on reeds and exposed roots enjoying the bounty of their natural habitat. In the mountains high above, thick sheets of white fog are draped across the rocky peaks. The air is still, quiet and welcoming. An invitation to pause, relax, and unwind. So as we settle in for the evening, let's deepen our state of relaxation with a short wind down exercise. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you're ready, let's begin. So first, get yourself comfortable. Now, just bringing the attention to the breath, just noticing where you feel it in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We're going to be taking a deep breath in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. So are you ready? Let's begin, in for four, two, three, four. Hold it for four, two, three, four. Breathing out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. Great, now returning the breath to normal. In an open meadow near Hurricane Ridge, a brown, bushy-tailed Olympic marmot holds stems of yellow glacier lilies and violet lupine in his tiny claws. Nearby, his burrow-mate rests on a rock, her furry belly flat on the cool surface. These house cat-sized rodents can only be found in Olympic National Park. They are some of the most social creatures of these lands, preferring Hurricane Ridge over the wet rainforests below. Soon the marmots will burrow into the surface of the meadow and hibernate with their colony. But until then, they will play, eat as many flowering plants as they can, and prepare their winter bedding with soft grasses. The meadow rolls uphill and turns into subalpine forests of juniper and Douglas fir. These trees grow for centuries on increasingly steep ground, roots anchored in the cliffside soil. It's not easy being a mountain tree in this climate. The heavy snow, ice crystals, and winds off the Pacific shape the growth of these otherwise tall evergreens. And on temperate days when the snow melts off the branches, water moves down the meadow to nourish the wild flowers that are now in the marmot's full belly. Despite changes in elevation and climate everything is interdependent and connected here. (no audio) There are many ways to...