Water, in it's falling form:

While investigating around Portland in the days immediately after the road trip, Celeste, Phil and I drove with our hosts out to Multnomah Falls. This is a large waterfall about 20 min. outside the city with some eye-popping hikes around it. I like the picture above because it gives you just a bit of perspective, plus you can also see the water splashing back up the side of the mountain near those viewers.

We left the falls and went for another hike several more miles down the highway. This walk and the subsequent waterfall we came upon was actually more breathtaking than Multnomah because although it was a smaller falls, there were no viewing bridges or tourist booths... we were right there in the woods. Driving through 17 states and visiting destination after park after city, many of the sights we saw were separate from our direct experience one way or another. Somehow along the way we often tended to be spectators. In this place, blessedly, there was the comforting natural experience of being a person in the world, interacting directly with the natural environment.