Our weekly ride in the country nearby took us out past Granite Falls on the Mountain Loop Road to Verlot. This place is small village situated between the Mt Pilchuck State Park and the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It lies at the bottom of the valley along the Stillaguamish River. When we arrived, it was raining (surprise).
Due to the pandemic, all the picnic areas and campgrounds in the park are closed. This limited what we could ride around and see. So, we stopped in a few places to photo the mosses and lichens on the trees.
When I grew up down south, we were always told that moss grows on the north side of the tree and we could use that to roughly figure out directions. Well, I'm here to tell you that if you count on this to find your way in the northwest, you're screwed. There are places where every surface of every tree is totally covered.
The explosive growth of these plants gives the trees a soft, "upholstered" look from a distance. However, when you get closer, you can see that these are complicated plant systems.
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