Birth Week 1976 Local Landmark #14: Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve, Olympia, WA
Formed: estimated 16,000 years ago. Established as Natural Area Preserve: 1976.

Of course I also reserve a day of my Birth Week every year for my dad, and I wanted one this year that was separate from the day he and Sherri so generously hosted my 50th birthday party. So: we went to one of the most fascinating things I found in my 1976-landmark research: Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve.

Oddly, the sign posted at the park itself states that the Preserve was established in 1975—shit! But, hey, their website states it was established in 1976. So, that's what I'm going with. And I've been on this earth for 50 years, lived in Washington State the same amount of time, was born in Olympia 14 miles from there, and had never heard of Mima Mounds until I started doing research for this year's Birth Week! This seemed kind of wild to me, but I guess random shit happens all the time—like spending a lifetime never realizing you have fascinating geological oddities right in your own backyard.

The thing that fascinates me most about Mima Mounds is that there are dozens of possible explanations for how they formed—but no one knows for certain which is right. The Natural Area Preserve covers 756 acres, and any trees that grow are actively cut and removed from that land, as are any invasive species, in an effort to restore and maintain the native prairie ecosystem.

I'm glad I've now seen the Mima Mounds, although to be perfectly honest, one visit is probably enough. You've seen one mound, you've seen them all, am I right? Okay, there were a lot of camas flowers in bloom in certain areas of the mounds, making them rather pretty. There are two trails you can walk through the mounds, one 2 miles long and one half a mile long, and we all walked both of them.

And with that, all of my Birth Week 2026 events were finished! What a great week—as it always is, of course, but the aim was to make this one a special one, and with the help of dear friends and family, we succeeded.

[posted 5:50 am]

Sun, 12:55 Birth Week 1976 Local Landmark #14: Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve, Olympia, WA
Formed: estimated 16,000 years ago. Established as Natural Area Preserve: 1976.
I've been on this earth for 50 years, lived in Washington State the same amount of time, was born in Olympia 14 miles from here, and had never heard of Mima Mounds until I started doing research for this year's Birth Week! This seemed kind of wild to me, but I guess random shit happens all the time—like spending a lifetime never realizing you have fascinating geological oddities right in your own backyard. https://t.co/TyBfb14JhO

Sun, 18:28: I asked Laney to write and sing me a song for my 50th birthday party, and boy did she deliver!
I edited this version of the video to combine the visuals from both the version I recorded with my phone, and the version Laney's daughter Jessica recorded with hers. https://t.co/5iEbqfDgAq

Birth Week 2026, Day Ten: Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve

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