"There's a fine balance between preparation and seeing what happens naturally."
-Timothee Chamalet
Rock balancing is the fine art of naturally balancing rocks upon each other without any adhesive or construction devices to keep them in place.
The process strikes some people as free form art, others as a meditative journey. And there's also a camp who consider balanced rocks to be a blight on nature, an unholy disturbance of an otherwise wild landscape, a straight pain in the neck.
I can understand all three points of view.
But back in the summer of 2010, when my family and I encountered an explosion of these striking creations on the beach of Kalaloch, I was entirely charmed. Here are my photos - along with the original captions - of the balanced rocks we saw on that trip.
^ I went on my annual camping trip to Kalaloch Beach, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It's a lovely wild place...probably my favorite place on earth.
But this year, when I got to the beach I found these...rock towers. Someone...or several someones...had built them here and there, all over the beach. I found them fascinating.
^ The biggest stones you see here are bigger than my hand...the tiny ones are like a small coin. Look at how they are tucked into the little hiding places on this beach log. So cool.
^ Someone spent a LOT of time making all these. I built some myself and it is not so easy.
^ These are the tallest ones I found. So great!
^ Top view, looking down. I feel like a giant looking down on a forest of stone trees.
^ We built these.
^ Ranger had to be very careful not to knock them over with his leash.
^ I wasn't the only one taking pics of them. Seemed like every person who walked by with a camera stopped to capture them too.
^ When Ranger took his nap, we built a tiny tower on his head.
^ Wet, sandy., tired, happy dog.
^ This one was my favorite. I loved how the big stone is balanced on the tip of this log. I took so many pics of it!
^ See what I mean?
^ Beneath my favorite tower lies this cluster of mini towers, tucked into the crevice of this tree.
^ Aren't they so cute??
I took way more pics of these than I posted to this album. Aren't you glad I edited??!!
^ I am harnessing the power of the sun.
^ Fully loaded.
^ Ranger and me.
^ 'The cool air off the Pacific fills the beach with mist.
^ Again with the towers!
^ Sun sinking lower, sliding behind the clouds along the horizon.
Gone!
* * * * *
My family and I go to Kalaloch a lot. Here are stories from our trips over the years:
2019
2018
2017
2015
2014
Lovely. Thank you for the memory. <3
ReplyDelete-h
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it!
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