off the beaten path

I have been trying to take full advantage of having a rental car, sunny weather, and time off since Christmas.

And, since I have had a week filled with adventures and many, many, pictures, I thought I'd blog about something I did in November.

After my tech and I went to Healesville and saw the kangaroos and such, we randomly decided to drive into the Dandenong National forest, through a little area called the black spur.

It was one of the best random choices ever:



These trees are Mountain Ash, and were amazing! The road was steep, incredibly curvy, and bordered by this forest. It was literally an awesome experience.

Then, after meandering through the forest we decided to visit Steavenson Falls, which is outside of Marysville, Victoria:



Near the foot of the falls, there was a little plaque:



On January 9th, 1968, 7 teenagers went for a hike in the woods near the falls, and, even though there was no wind, the top of one of the Mountain Ash (3m in diameter!) snapped off ahead of them, rolling down the mountain, killing the 4 people listed on the plaque and injuring the other 3.

Isn't that one of the most random tragedies ever heard of?

It really reminds me how fragile and temporary life is, and how I shouldn't waste my precious time on negativity, but to use my time to be an accepting, positive force in the world.*

*My ONLY New Year's Resolution