Silver Falls State Park, Oregon (set 2 of 2)
Twice in October 2017, I visited fabulous Silver Falls State Park, just south of Silverton, Oregon. Here is the second set of two. (See the first.) I was amazed how much the tree colors had changed in just a few weeks. Ah, autumn!
Camas Lily Bloom in Camassia Natural Area, April 2017
April 2017. It was time to return to Camassia Natural Area in West Linn, Oregon. Why? Because the camas lilies were all in bloom of course! Brilliant blue hues blanketed the fields in the park, which is about 26 acres of protected oak groves nestled across from Oregon City. There were other flowers too, white, pink, yellow...
Winter Hike in Champoeg, Oregon
In early February 2017, on a very cold, wet winter's day, I hiked around the Champoeg State Heritage Area outside of Butteville, Oregon. Champoeg (pronounced like "shampooey") was an important settlement in the 19th century and in 1843 formed an early regional government, a key step for the area eventually becoming a state. Today the former townsite is merely a field, but the surrounding 600 or so acres have become a park with forested trails easing along the Willamette River....
Opal Creek and Jawbone Flats, Oregon
In January 2015 I explored Opal Creek and the quasi-ghost town of Jawbone Flats (population 5) in the central Cascade Mountains in Oregon. The area is thick with gorgeous fir trees, and the water in the creeks and rivers is crystal clear. It's so clear in fact that when it pools, it looks insanely, surreally blue...
Treadwell Mine, Douglas, Alaska
On the edge of downtown Douglas, Alaska, in a lush forest with a serene, rocky beach, you can find the remains of the Treadwell gold mine. What once was a thriving hub of miners, horses, and donkeys, is now a lovely hiking trail in which you come across strange metal pipes and machine pieces, concrete walls, and glory holes...
Lakes around Mount Hood, Sept 2016
After a tough week with a very, very tough photoshoot at a hospital, I took a day off to just grab my swimming trunks and head off to some of the fabulous lakes south of Mount Hood in Oregon. By the time I arrived, a lovely morning fog had burned off and bright sunshine warmed the air. I hit Trillium Lake, Little Crater Lake, and Timothy Lake in Clackamas County, and briefly Clear Lake in Wasco County...
Coyote Wall, Washington, April 2016
Last April I went hiking with Meghan Sinnott and four-legged friends, Maddy and Journey, up Coyote Wall at the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge in Washington. The outing offered a great chance to try out my newly purchased Velvet 56 lens from Portland's own Lens Baby; the lens can do some really fun "velvety" bokah tricks (particularly along the frame edges) and looks nice whether you're shooting landscapes, portraits, or macros...
Rainier Day 2: Sunrise, Washington
After our stop at Eunice Lake, we traveled onward to Sunrise, Washington, which is the highest spot in the park you can drive to. From its lodge, hiking trails spider off in all directions for easy hikes that all offer truly breathtaking views of Mount Rainier and its surrounding foothills. Cascade beauty! As we drove up to the site, a thick layer of clouds sat around the mountain, but as we started hiking the cloud cover quickly burned off.
