Waterfalls and Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest
Happy New Year! Although I didn't do quite as much traveling this past year (in part to COVID), I did make it to the Pacific Northwest a couple of times this past year. I thought I would take one last look back to my journeys to Oregon and Washington in 2020. I visited a couple of new national parks this year (North Cascades and Crater Lake) but also visited a couple of familiar favorites (Olympic and Mount Rainier). The western part of Washington and Oregon sees a lot of rain, especially in the colder half of the year. The terrain and high rainfall means there are numerous waterfalls.
One of the larger and more photogenic waterfalls in Oregon is located in Silver Falls State Park, near Salem. A 7+ mile hike on the Trail Of Ten Falls is the best way to see this beautiful state park. Above you can see a picture of South Falls, one of those 10 waterfalls. I was here in October, the best month to see fall foliage here. Although the majority of trees in Oregon are evergreen, there are some maple trees that make for some splashes of color in such a green forest.
Pictured above are Tokeete Falls in Oregon (left) and Falls Creek Falls in Washington (right).
Pictured above are Panther Creek Falls (left) and Christine Falls in Washington (right). A trip to see Pacific Northwest waterfalls would not be complete without a visit to the Columbia River Gorge. Another large and photogenic waterfall in Oregon is Multnomah Falls. Because it is literally next to a rest stop on I-84 east of Portland, it is photographed hundreds of times a day. However, it was a must see for this first time visitor to the Columbia River Gorge.
Other waterfalls can be seen with a short hike from the road, such as this waterfall known as Fairy Falls.
The result is some of most lush forests in the world. Common trees along the Washington coast include Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock. Many of these trees have clumps of moss hanging on the branches with numerous ferns on the ground.
I'm already thinking about another trip back to this part of the country...next time it will be to spend more time on the Oregon Coast. 2021 Calendar ImagesNow is the time to order get those 2021 wall calendars and my photography has been featured in 3 different state calendars. This image of Pinnacle Mountain was taken from January 2016, which was the last time central Arkansas saw a big snow. This was on a morning just after it had snowed about 8 inches.
That picture is featured on the January page of the Arkansas Wild & Scenic 2021 wall calendar from Brown Trout Publishing. It can be ordered here. Another winter picture of mine is featured on the February page of the Missouri Wild & Scenic 2021 wall calendar that can be ordered here. It was -4 degrees on this January morning at Grand Falls near Joplin, Missouri.
I am also featured on the April page of 2021 Oklahoma Wall Calendar from Smith-Southwestern. This image was from the grounds of the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa.
Mount Rainier: America's Mountain
It's been a pretty busy couple of months for me and my wife. This fall, we completed a move together from our former home in Fayetteville to our new home in Rogers. I have also been working on a new project, which I will reveal to you in 2021. Anyway, I'm finally getting around to working on my photos from my two trips to Mount Rainier earlier this year. A longer visit back in August and a brief visit again in October. Early August is typically the peak of wildflower season here. My favorite hike was a destination on the Wonderland Trail known as "Indian Henry's Hunting Ground" where there were many flowers in bloom.
On this same 6-mile one way hike was The appropriately named Mirror Lake. Despite walking back to the car in the dark, it was worth being there during the early evening to see the beautiful reflections and flowers there.
I was also able to get some nice reflections with a thin layer of morning fog at Bench Lake.
At over 14,000 feet, Mount Rainier is one of the highest mountains in the lower 48. From base to summit, it is also the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. To me, Mount Rainier is the most impressive and beautiful mountain in the lower 48. A couple of times, I have found myself even startled when I first see the glaciated summit. It is still potentially an active volcano that will likely reawaken in the future. Eyewitnesses in Seattle last reported eruptive activity in 1894, but it has been quiet since. Some of you can remember when nearby Mount St. Helen's had a violent eruption in 1980. I'm glad that I made my visit shortly before all the Pacific Northwest fires that would occur later in August and September. Skies were clear for the majority of the time but I also had some occasional atmospherics such as fog and some light haze.
On my second trip to the Pacific Northwest this year, I briefly visited Mount Rainier, but this time after an early snow in October.
I have more pictures to go through from Oregon and Washington. On the next blog, I will be writing about the rainforest and waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest. Loose in the Palouse
Welcome to September! The weather is getting cooler across middle part of the nation this week and we are transitioning from summer to fall. That also means harvest season. On my recent trip to Washington, I visited a farming region in southeast Washington known as "The Palouse". Centered around towns like Colfax and Pullman, Whitman County is the number one wheat producing county in the United States.
The Palouse is characterized by gentle rolling hills covered with wheat fields. The hills were formed over tens of thousands of years from wind blown dust and silt, called "loess", from dry regions to the southwest. The best vantage point to see these hills is from the summit of Steptoe Butte. They look like giant sand dunes because they were formed in much the same way.
With an ultra zoom lens from atop Steptoe Butte, the patterns of these rolling hills are especially fun to compose in the low light just after sunrise and just before sunset. The isolated cottonwood trees can also be fun subjects in the vast wheat fields.
The landscape here is much like western Kansas...but with bigger hills! There are a few old barns and abandoned homes as well.
North Cascades National Park
I typically spend some time each summer in one of my favorite states, Colorado. However, for this year, I decided to do something different and instead spend time in the state of Washington. I spent 5 days backpacking with Wildland Trekking across North Cascades National Park, just south of the Canadian border. We backpacked for 35 miles from Ross Lake to over Whatcom Pass and over Hannegan Pass. North Cascades is a lesser visited park. There are no lodges and only one road going through the park. With limited facilities, it is primarily a hiking and backpacking park. Even in peak season, you can still get a decent amount of solitude here with just a little effort. Although I didn't take a lot of pictures, I thought would briefly share some of my favorite pictures while visiting.
One of the highlights on this trip was crossing the Chilliwack River on a "cable car". Here is a video clip:
While in Washington, I also visited Mount Rainer National Park as well as the region known as "The Palouse". I will share some of those pictures in a future blog entry. |
