Exploring the American Wilderness and Other Adventures

Towell Falls and Escure Ranch, Central Washington

Did you know that Washington is the location of SIX biomes? When we think of Washington, we think of the temperate forests of the Seattle area, but it is also home to prairies, wetlands, estuaries, shrub steppe, marine waters, and grasslands. I love the vibrant greens of the forests in western Washington, especially in the Olympic National Park (I wrote about that here yesterday). But even more than that, I love the shrub-steppe ecosystem in the scablands of the Columbian Plateau region of Washington.

Since I am starting off this writing with a question, why not make it a whole-ass quiz? Did you know that Washington is the only place on the planet where you can find those ecosystems? It is true because the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife told me so.

Anyway, there is a reason for this post, but I have to get through some stuff, first.

Towell Falls and Escure Ranch was once the location of some Basque sheep farmers, and there is plenty of evidence left behind of their work. The road into the area is a winding, poorly-maintained dirt road that cuts through free-range cattle fields. I would not say you need a high-clearance vehicle to get there, but you need the patience to drive slowly and the preparation and skills to manage something going sideways.

The end of the road is the trailhead, campground, and Escure Ranch, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. There are horse stalls, spots for horse trailers, a bathroom, and a picnic shelter. The campground is simply a few spots with fire rings – I think four? There is plenty of space for more people to spread out, though.

There is a bridge that crosses Rock Creek and goes to Escure Ranch. I have not yet set up camp there, but that is what I want to do next. Many buildings are locked, but a cool barn is wide open and cleaned out, and I think it would be fun to camp in there. I also think it would be a cool location to have a very sexy photoshoot!

The trail to Towell Falls is mostly on old roads from the sheep herding days that have overgrown. I have walked these trails every season and can confirm that if you have an aversion to creatures that love the heat (tics and snakes), you would prefer the colder months. You walk along the creek most of the way, through tall grass, and my feelings are that being in the wide open sun, having no cell service, seeing the crags and basalt cliffs not far away, and knowing the Blue Mountains are just a little further, must be some version of heaven on Earth.

The falls are lowland falls that you reach after 3-ish miles of walking. Hiking down into each fall can feel sketchy because most people seem to stop above the falls, so the wear on the trails ends before you want it to end. You can read directions on navigating the falls here. There are spots to put up your tent near the falls if you prefer to backpack instead of a day hike or camp. They are not BLM-established sites, but they have been used season after season enough to feel established enough. This would be a tremendous inaugural trip for novice backpackers.

I am choosing to write about this unique place today because this is where Barbarian Scientist and I got married, and today is our anniversary. We met on a dating app called Hinge – he was looking for love, and I was looking for fun. This guy is brilliant, often to his demise. He was truly the on-paper version of every girl’s so-called perfect match. He learned from every woman in his life, including his conveyor belt of one-night stands, and was trying so hard to find The One. And I was not interested in anyone who could be that. I did not want “The One.” I did not want someone that everyone wanted. I liked the weirdos. And he liked me. What got me? Honestly, it was his consistency in being kind and trying to learn how to do the things. All the things. He was willing to be wrong and did not try to make me feel bad when I was wrong, which was/is important to me. He knew the differences between core values and preferences and never challenged my values while encouraging me to try new things that might affect my preferences.

I dated after my divorce. Most of the people I dated were versions of my ex-husband, as we often do while growing up and learning. One person was very kind, though. But I was unkind. I never really thought about it afterward until I decided to be serious about Barbarian Scientist and knew that I had the power to make or break my opportunity with him. I regret being the cause of someone else being hurt, and when I knew I would rather set myself on fire than do that to this one, I was done for.

So, after he asked me to marry him 400 times, I agreed. We planned a beautiful thing to happen in Sedona, Arizona. Then, Covid-19 told our plans to get bent. After that, it became seemingly impossible to devise a plan for all of my children, now young adults and moving around, to be in the same place simultaneously, so we decided to elope.

February 21, 2021, we grabbed some of our weirdo friends, a black dress, and some dead flowers and ran away to Towell Falls. It was exactly 0 degrees, and the wind chill made it much colder. It was perfect for me.

We had no idea what was coming for us, but we should have known it would not be easy. We were so set on aggressively seeking joy that we were often able to dismiss how sick I was getting. Less than a year later, though, cancer became a daily word, and I went from having exactly zero doctors to having a full team of medical care staff. We went from thinking the biggest challenge in our relationship might be him learning to manage me being gone for months to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail to now ensuring our affairs are in order and that he and all of our kids have the support they will need as this disease progresses.

I have been pretty ugly at times. I have fallen short of my commitment to be better and rejected him simply because of his devotion and kindness. Grief is an awful bitch, and sometimes I wear it like it is more than just a mask. But, he never does.

One of my favorite books is The Humans, by Matt Haig. The entire book is quotable if you understand it, but I included this part in my vows:

“And I felt an incredible excitement at being able to witness the love reemerge inside him, because it was a total, prime-of-life love. The kind that could only be possible in someone who was going to die at some point in the future, and also someone who had lived enough to know that loving and being loved back was a hard thing to get right, but when you managed it, you could see forever. Two mirrors, opposite and facing each other at perfectly parallel angles, viewing themselves through the other, the view as deep as infinity. Love was a way to live forever in a single moment, and it was also a way to see yourself as you had never actually seen yourself, and made you realise – having done so – that this view was a more meaningful one than any of your previous self-perceptions and self-deceptions.”

Loving and being loved back is hard to get right, but once you manage it, you can see forever.

“The point of love was to help you survive. The point was also to forget meaning. To stop looking and start living. The meaning was to hold the hand of someone you cared about and to live inside the present.”

Loving and being loved back is hard to get right, but once you manage it, you can see forever.

My vows, in entirety:

From The Humans, by Matt Haig: And I felt an incredible excitement at being able to witness the love reemerge inside her because it was a total prime of life love. The kind that could only be possible in someone who was going to die at some point in the future, and also someone who had lived enough to know that loving and being loved back was a hard thing to get right, but when you managed it you could see forever.

Two mirrors, opposite and facing each other at perfectly parallel angles, viewing themselves through the other, the view as deep as infinity.

Yes, that was what love was for. (I may not understand marriage, but I understand love) Love was a way to live forever in a single moment, and it was also a way to see yourself as you had never actually seen yourself, and made you realize – having done so, that this view was more meaningful than any of your previous self-perceptions and self deceptions.

Graham Green said, “One cannot love and do nothing.”

Trevor, I don’t think anyone loves so specifically or with as much dignity as you. They say love is a verb, but I see that love for most people usually ends at words. Our life together is because of your love in action. You don’t ask me to be someone I am not and you never try to minimize the value of the world I want. You pour your heart into making everywhere I go feel like home even when I go alone. You never try to make me feel small, even when I’m hard to understand, and you believe in me, especially when my faith is hard to find.

One cannot love and do nothing.

So, here am I.

There is a time, a time to love,

A time to sing, a time to shine,

A time to stay, a time to go

There is a time, a time to cry,

A time to love, a time to,

There is a time, a time to sing,

A time to love

And in the cold light, I live to love and adore you

It’s all that I am, it’s all that I have (Mumford and Sons)

These are my vows – they are simple. I will always look for the beautiful, even when it is hard and especially when it is small. And everytime I find it, I will share it with you. And when you’re weak, when you’re on your knees, you won’t be alone, and you won’t have to rush. I’ll be ten feet tall if it helps, I’ll turn into a monster for you so you can feel what you need until you decide who you are again. My love will go beyond where the pavement ends. My love will be a verb.